Racist, hateful comments toward Indians are deeply troubling; S’poreans must reject hatred: SM Lee
When incidents like this happen, leaders must speak up with force and conviction, said Lee.
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed deep concern over racist and hateful comments directed at the Indian community in Singapore following the Nepal flood disaster, urging Singaporeans to reject such hatred on September 6. In an online post, he emphasized that Singaporeans should show compassion and solidarity towards one another regardless of their race, language, or religion.
Lee acknowledged that Singapore faces challenges when it comes to inter-racial tolerance and respect, but stressed that the country must persist in strengthening its cohesion to safeguard racial harmony. He noted that leaders, like Senior Minister K. Shanmugam, must forcefully condemn manipulative emotions and call upon all Singaporeans to stand together during such instances.
Shanmugam revealed that the police are investigating racist and xenophobic comments related to the Nepal floods, as well as Singapore Airlines' investment in Air India. He condemned online remarks that contained racial stereotypes, including references to snakes, curry, prata, black magic, and other derogatory terms. Shanmugam claimed that these comments are "shameful, nasty, and totally unacceptable" and threatened to undermine public discourse and social harmony.
The Ministry of Digital Development and Information would urge online platforms to remove such comments, as they breach guidelines, Shanmugam added. He also highlighted how Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara faced online attacks after reports suggested Air India was seeking approximately US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) in investment, with SIA being one of the shareholders.
Shanmugam called these attacks vile and libellous, accusing them of favoritism due to the CEO's Indian ethnicity. Lee reminded Singaporeans that leaders have spoken about similar incidents related to race and religion in recent years, such as the anti-Indian sentiment during his 2021 National Day Rally speech due to the Covid-19 virus, and the 2025 general election, where Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had to counter attempts to use religion to rally Muslim voters against the government.
Lee concluded by emphasizing the importance of adhering to the values outlined in the National Pledge.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
