Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned against accepting or normalising racist remarks made online, including those related to the nine Singaporeans missing in the Nepal floods and Singapore Airlines’ investment in Air India [1, 2, 3]. Wong said, "We can and should have robust debates. But we should never use seemingly legitimate arguments as a cover to fuel prejudice against any community or hostility towards foreigners" [2]. He added that unchecked racist behaviour risks becoming normalised, deepening mistrust and dividing communities [3].
Senior Minister K. Shanmugam described some of the online comments as "shameful, nasty and totally unacceptable," referring to derogatory stereotypes involving snakes, curry, prata, and black magic [1]. He confirmed police investigations are underway into these remarks and said the Ministry of Digital Development and Information will ask platforms to remove racist comments breaching guidelines [1, 2, 3].
Shanmugam also addressed racist attacks targeting Temasek Holdings executives over their ethnicity amid the Air India investment, clarifying that Temasek’s investments are commercial decisions without government interference [2]. The Air India owners are close to securing an aid package worth 100 billion rupees (US$1.06 billion) [2].
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong also called on Singaporeans to reject hatred and condemned the racist and hateful comments [1]. In June, authorities blocked 14 online posts targeting the Indian community in Singapore [2, 3].
The warnings have been reaffirmed in recent days, with Shanmugam speaking out on September 5 and PM Wong posting on Facebook on September 6 [1, 2, 3]. On September 7, The Edge Malaysia published PM Wong’s comments on the risks of deepening social divides if racism persists [2].
