Actor Suhaimi Yusof explains differences in Malay costumes

In a funny and informative meme, Singaporean actor-comedian Suhaimi Yusof attempts to explain the differences in Malay costumes.

His Instagram post on Monday came in the wake of a blunder by the People's Association (PA), which had used a photo of a Malay couple in their wedding finery to make a standee for Hari Raya celebrations.

Not only did it not get permission from the couple, but it also cut out their faces.

While PA had publicly apologised over the weekend, Suhaimi decided to lighten the mood with humour.

In the collage of five photos titled Malay Costumes In A Nutshell, he can be seen in different costumes which he had labelled, "When I marry someone", "When I marry someone off", "When I celebrate Hari Raya", "When I display martial arts" and "When I make a mistake".

The last photo shows him wearing an oversized songkok, a hat worn by Muslim men, which covers his whole face.

"The recent error by PA when they used the wrong costume for the wrong occasion upset the community a bit. Well, everyone makes mistakes. Look on the bright side, now we know each other better," the 51-year-old wrote in the caption.

"To our non-Malay friends, now we've learnt that - it's a different outfit for a different occasion because it gives a different meaning to a different celebration."

In an interview with entertainment website 8 Days on Tuesday, he clarified that he was not defending PA, although he understood that the Malay community had every right to be angry.

"Now, if they had deliberately done it to degrade or humiliate (the Malay community), I would be angry. But if you look at the situation and realise that it was an error, well, as a father, I wouldn't slap my son without trying to understand what he did wrong. The intention is important," he said.

"This was clearly a misunderstanding, so the solution is to make people understand. And what better way to do that than to use humour?"