‘Shameful, nasty’: Singapore minister slams racist comments on Indians, police step in

Singapore's Senior Minister K Shanmugam has expressed outrage over a surge of racist and xenophobic remarks targeting people of Indian origin, particularly in response to the August 26 flash floods in Nepal. According to The Straits Times, the remarks were posted online against the backdrop of nine Singaporeans being among the missing and reports that Air India has sought about 1.5 billion dollars from its shareholders, including Singapore Airlines.

Speaking at Social Space @ Chong Pang, Shanmugam branded the comments "shameful, nasty and totally unacceptable," denouncing them for perpetuating harmful stereotypes. He emphasized the need to unmask and address those posting such content, rather than allowing it to thrive under the cloak of online anonymity. The Ministry of Digital Development and Information will also urge platforms to remove these comments, as they violate guidelines.

Shanmugam highlighted specific posts that implied the missing Singaporeans were "not our own" and one that employed ABNN, a derogatory term for Indians. He questioned the mindset of individuals who would make such disparaging remarks. Additionally, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs has compiled 20 instances of racist comments, primarily found on local news outlets' and social media pages' comment sections.

Among the slurs used was "CECA faces," a reference to the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, a free trade pact between India and Singapore. Shanmugam also condemned online attacks on Temasek chief executive Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara and his senior management, alleging that the CEO would favor Air India due to his ethnic Indian background.

The minister labeled these allegations as "vile" and "nasty and libellous." Temasek, the majority shareholder in Singapore Airlines, holds a 25.1 percent stake in Air India, with Tata Sons owning the remaining 74.9 percent. Last month, Reuters reported that Air India had requested approximately 1.5 billion dollars in fresh equity from both shareholders.

The Indian airline and its subsidiary, Air India Express, reported combined losses of about 2.33 billion dollars during the financial year ending March 2026, negatively impacting Singapore Airlines' earnings.