‘Saw death from close’: 8 Assam workers rescued from Nepal return; 8 missing

Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC Member of Parliament and Mayor of the North-West district Alex Yam has condemned racist and heartless remarks regarding the nationalities of the nine Singaporeans still missing after the Nepal floods. On social media, such comments have been made on platforms like Facebook and TikTok. In a post on August 31, Yam listed the names of the nine missing individuals, stating that "nine of our own" are still unaccounted for among thousands.

While expressing his grief over the tragedy, Yam highlighted the troubling nature of the comments left in response, such as "they don't look Singaporean" and "just import more." He pointed out that families anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones were met with people questioning the Singaporean identity of the missing. Some comments even wished for the missing to remain stranded or perish, and criticized Singaporean authorities for their response.

Yam emphasized that while there is a time and place for discussions on immigration, citizenship policies, and integration, such debates do not belong in this context. He stressed that compassion and praying for the safety of others should not be contingent upon ancestry or personal connections. Yam expressed his hope that the comments were made by trolls and hoped that Singaporeans would not "become so angry with one another that we lose the ability to simply be human." His post has received over 1,100 likes as of the time of writing.