‘Race is never absent in politics’: Murali Pillai says his poster was defaced during GE2020

Murali Pillai says defacing of GE2020 campaign poster done by ‘a small group for political purposes’

Senior Minister of State for Law and Transport Murali Pillai has revealed that vandals defaced his campaign poster during the 2020 General Election (GE2020).

In Facebook posts and a video on Sunday (2 Nov), he said the incident was “a sobering reminder to me that race is never absent in politics”.

Murali Pillai won Bukit Batok SMC twice

Mr Murali first emerged in the political scene when he contested the then Bukit Batok Single-Member Constituency (SMC) in a 2016 by-election.

He was the first minority candidate from the People’s Action Party (PAP) to contest an SMC “in some time”, he said.

At the time, he faced off against Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan and won.

During GE2020, he contested Bukit Batok SMC again and beat Dr Chee once again.

He is now an MP for Jurong East-Bukit Batok Group Representation Constituency (GRC). The GRC absorbed Bukit Batok SMC before the GE2025 election.

‘Race is never absent in politics’

In 2016, then Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam introduced Mr Murali, he recalled.

In response to a question about whether race would be a factor in the by-election, Mr Tharman replied:

Race is never absent in politics.

This was true in 2016, true today, and true in 1965 — when Singapore became independent — said Mr Murali.

Murali Pillai says poster defaced to make him look like ‘an unsuitable Indian candidate’

Mr Murali was reminded of this motto in GE2020. Vandals defaced his campaign poster during the campaign.

Sharing a photo of the vandalised poster, he noted that someone had drawn a beard and a black-and-red dot on his face.

This was to make him look like “an unsuitable Indian candidate”, he said.

The vandal also wrote insults mocking his race, including “死” (die) in Chinese.

“These nasty acts were done by a small group for political purposes,” Mr Murali said. He added that these “elements” are not necessarily residents of Bukit Batok.

It was an attempt to “weaponise race… for political purposes” and “attack me along racial lines”, he noted, adding:

They wanted to paint me as someone who was unsuitable to be elected.

Govt implements policies to overcome racial divisions: Murali

The “painful” incident reaffirmed Mr Murali’s belief that “harmony in Singapore cannot be left to chance or wishful thinking”.

He also felt sad as it showed how easily “race can be twisted into hate” and how harmony can be fragile if taken for granted.

Thus, the Government puts in place policies to overcome racial divisions and strengthen unity among Singaporeans, he said.

For example, the formation of GRCs means both sides will have to have minority candidates, so “it will be less easy to bring in race” during the GE.

It also ensures a minimum number of minority MPs and the reserved elected presidency, so “every race will have a chance to occupy the highest office in the land”, he noted.

Chee Soon Juan suggested Govt has been stoking racial politics

Mr Murali was responding to a Facebook video posted by Dr Chee on 17 Oct, where he spoke about Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam’s ministerial statement on race and religion in Parliament on 14 Oct.

He noted that Mr Shanmugam had called for opposition parties to steer clear of identity politics, but suggested that the Government itself had been stoking racial politics in Singapore.

He also claimed that the Government’s policies over the decades had split society along racial and religious lines.

For example, the labelling of Singaporeans by race on our identity cards “only accentuates the division among Singaporeans”, he said.

He also rejected the reasoning that GRCs ensure minority representation, citing the late Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam’s win in the 1981 Anson by-election and Mr Tharman’s victory at the 2023 Presidential Election, among others.

S’pore acknowledges diversity, not ignores it: Murali

But Mr Murali called Dr Chee’s claims “untrue”, saying that “ignoring race does not make divisions disappear”.

Instead, Singapore acknowledges our diversity, preserves our unique cultures and builds common ground on the belief that “every race has a rightful and equal place in society”, he added.

Though our policy safeguards are not perfect, they have helped us create a peaceful and stable society founded on mutual respect and shared progress, he noted.

Murali brings up SDP candidate’s ‘keling kia‘ comment

Mr Murali also took a dig at Dr Chee, noting that an SDP candidate referred to another candidate in the same GRC as “keling kia“.

The Hokkien phrase is widely regarded as a racial slur against Indians.

It was Dr Gigene Wong who uttered the offending phrase during a GE2025 campaign rally, referring to fellow Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC candidate Ariffin Sha.

Pointing out the irony of the incident, Mr Murali asked:

Did ignoring race result in SDP free of prejudice?

Also read: S’pore rapper confronts woman over racist remark at Bugis Junction, her son apologises

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Featured image adapted from Murali Pillai on Facebook and Facebook.