HDB and Bukit Merah NPC hop on the Facebook name pun meme

For some reason, an internet meme from 2014 has been making a comeback of sorts in recent days: that old chestnut about pun-worthy names on Facebook.

The premise of the joke is simple. Look for people on Facebook with names that can be pronounced as actual words and add other phrases to construct a sentence.  

The 2020 iteration of the meme involves an additional step — send a Facebook message to the person with pun potential and form a phrase or sentence. 

Here, some examples: 

You get how it goes. Yes, it can get a bit corny. 

But because we’re living in a very strange year, government agencies and adjacent bodies have no qualms in jumping on the latest memes, including this one.

Take Bukit Merah West Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) for example. They utilised a punny meme to remind the public to be wary of online scams, which have seen a significant spike in Singapore during the circuit breaker. 

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/BukitMerahWestNPC/photos/a.386267564860914/1685129078308083/[/embed]

To be fair, Bukit Merah West NPC does have a reputation for putting out some pretty dank memes and TikTok videos that both entertain and inform the public about crime prevention. 

The Housing & Development Board (HDB), however, isn’t really known for its meme-friendly content. And yet, the statutory board managed to pull off a pretty good one today (Aug 6) that doubles as a reminder that new Build To Order (BTO) flats will be launching soon. 

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/SingaporeHDB/photos/a.966983546661865/3868711893155668[/embed]

ilyas@asiaone.com