Singapore must never allow prejudice against any community: PM Lawrence Wong on anti-Indian abuse

Singapore must never allow prejudice against any community to become normalised, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday about online abuse targeting persons of Indian origin in the country.

The comments came a day after Singaporean Home Minister K Shanmugam said that the police were investigating “nasty and racist” posts online about the Nepal-China flash flood and Singapore Airlines’ investment in Air India.

Shanmugam said that the comments had been directed at Singaporeans of Indian ethnicity, including the chief executive officer of the state-owned investment firm Temasek, and Indians in general.

On Sunday, Wong said that “an uglier side” had emerged in online discussions about the two matters.

The allegedly racist comments on social media were relating to some of the Singaporeans missing in the disaster in Nepal, Wong said. Some posts questioning the Singaporean national airline’s 25% stake in Air India had been “accompanied by anti-Indian abuse”, he said.

“We can and should have robust debates,” Wong said on social media. “But we should never use seemingly legitimate arguments as a cover to fuel prejudice against any community or hostility towards foreigners.”

Wong said that while the comments made in the posts do not represent Singapore, they cannot be dismissed as harmless online chatter. “If such behaviour goes unchecked, it can become normalised, deepen mistrust between communities,...

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