Racist, hateful comments towards Indians are deeply troubling; Singaporeans must reject hatred: SM Lee
In a Facebook post, he says that Singapore will always be vulnerable to visceral and divisive pulls
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong expressed deep concern over racist and hateful comments directed at the Indian community in Singapore, following the Nepal flood tragedy. On September 6, he called on Singaporeans to reject hatred and stand united, regardless of race, language or religion. Lee acknowledged that Singapore remains vulnerable to divisive forces, such as the temptation to stir up racial prejudices and animosities. He emphasized the importance of compassion and solidarity during such times.
The country's leaders must speak up forcefully and with conviction to condemn the manipulation of base emotions and call on all Singaporeans to stand together, Lee stated. He highlighted that the police are investigating racist and xenophobic comments related to the Nepal floods, police investigations, and Singapore Airlines' investment in Air India.
Some of the online comments were described as shameful, nasty, and totally unacceptable, containing references to snakes, curry, prata, black magic, and other racist stereotypes.
Minister for Digital Development and Information K Shanmugam also condemned the vile online attacks on Temasek's CEO Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara and the investment giant's senior management after it was reported that Air India was seeking about US$1.5 billion of investment from its shareholders, including SIA. These attacks included nasty and libellous comments suggesting that the Temasek CEO would favor Air India due to his Indian ethnicity.
Lee reminded Singaporeans that similar incidents related to race and religion have occurred in recent years, such as his National Day Rally speech in 2021 addressing anti-Indian sentiments linked to the Covid-19 virus and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's call out against attempts to use religion to incite Muslim voters against the government during the 2025 general election. He urged Singaporeans to remember the meaning of the National Pledge and strive to live up to its ideals.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
