MDDI to ask social media platforms to take down racist comments, police to look into dealing with commenters
Senior Minister K. Shanmugam has asked the police to look into racist comments made online over the recent Nepal disaster, as well as Singapore Airlines’ (SIA’s) investment in Air India.
In a media doorstop on Saturday (5 Sept), he described these comments as “shameful, nasty, and totally unacceptable”.
Source: K Shanmugam Sc on Facebook
Media outlets removed several racist comments on missing S’poreans
In response to queries from a reporter, Mr Shanmugam said the comments made about the nine Singaporeans missing in the Nepal disaster included:
- “No they are not our own”
- “I only see Indian faces here. Skip. Rescue cut.”
- “All ABNNs look the same, how to AI?” (“ABNN” is a derogatory term for Indians)
He was told by media outlets that several of the comments were removed because they were so nasty, he noted, adding
I have asked police to look into these comments.
Majority of S’poreans don’t share such views: Shanmugam
While he did not know if all the comments were made by Singaporeans, Mr Shanmugam believed that the majority of Singaporeans do not share such views.
He cited how the Red Cross had raised more than S$3 million dollars for relief efforts in Nepal, saying:
Singaporeans are generous, across all races. And it is important that we don’t allow a minority to poison the entire well.
Source: @BokaThob2383 on X
More racist comments on Air India-SIA news
Mr Shanmugam then turned to the news about Air India seeking US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) in fresh equity funding from Tata Sons and SIA.
It has prompted “a whole series of anti-Indian, racist ranting” to surface online, he said, adding:
For example, references to “Snakes”, “Curry”, “Prata”, “black magic”, and so on.
Temasek’s Chief Executive Officer Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, as well as its senior management, have also been attacked “in vile, nasty terms” for their ethnicity, Mr Shanmugam revealed, adding:
It has been said that because the CEO is of Indian ethnicity, he would favour Air India. In the eyes of these people, the CEO’s sin is that he is of Indian ethnicity, even though he is as Singaporean as any of us. That is nasty and libellous.
Temasek Holdings is the majority shareholder of SIA.
Source: Singapore Airlines on Facebook
The minister pointed out that Temasek’s website says India is its best-performing geography for the last decade, compared with investments in the rest of the world.
However, “the facts don’t matter” to the online mob, but “what matters is their racism and their own prejudices”, he added.
Those behind racist comments should be ‘unmasked’: Shanmugam
Mr Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security and Home Affairs Minister, said the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) will ask social media platforms to take such comments down as they are in breach of guidelines.
He also felt that the people behind the comments should be “unmasked and dealt with” rather than be allowed to hide behind anonymous accounts, adding:
I will also ask the police to look into this to consider if any offences are made up.
‘Latent racism’ everywhere, including S’pore
The minister said he decided to call out these comments to prevent such behaviour from becoming normalised, debasing public discourse and affecting social harmony.
He also noted more racist comments recently, “particularly when it comes to Indians in Singapore”.
Acknowledging that there is “latent racism” everywhere, including in Singapore, he urged Singaporeans to work to make sure it doesn’t come out, adding:
If we are divided along racial or religious lines, we will lose the unity that has made Singapore strong.
When a reporter asked him whether the Government will be “looking at why this situation has developed and addressing some of these root causes”, he replied that the political and community leaders bear some responsibility for the discourse.
Besides latent racism, he also noted that “more and more people” online are looking at what happens elsewhere in the world and some feel “emboldened” to say such things, adding:
You’ve got to ask them why they do it.
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Featured image adapted from K Shanmugam Sc on Facebook, UNICEF and Air India on Facebook.
