Despite our New Year wishes, the things that have been appearing more than the zits on a teenager’s face in 2021 aren’t good opportunities or those that bring about hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will end soon.
Sadly, what we got to see more of this year in Singapore instead were random uncles and aunties being racist in public.
It’s not just this year that the few Tan Beow Hiongs have shown themselves, however, for such incidents have already begun to surface more than ever since last year itself.
Reports Of Racial Or Religious Friction Almost Double In 2020
Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam shared the number of police reports that involved racial or religious friction for the past five years on 5 July, Monday, in response to a parliamentary question.
Mr Seah Kian Peng, Member of Parliament for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency, had asked about the number of such reports.
He also wanted to know how well the Government thought about the readiness of Singaporeans in navigating a society that seemed to be increasingly polarised, or divided.
The topic about race religions came up following a recent bunch of incidents that were of a racist nature – besides the ones that blew up on social media, some others were also arrested for verbal and physical assault.
As compared to the 31 reported incidents in 2019, 2020 saw a total of 60 police reports made involving racial or religious friction.
That’s almost double the figure.
There were 23 reports made in 2016, 11 in 2017, and 18 in 2018, Mr Shanmugam added.
Such reports fall under Sections 298 and 298A of the Penal Code, which include acts that promote enmity between different racial or religious groups, are discriminatory towards them, or that deliberately wound such racial or religious feelings of anyone.
Polarisation Is A Growing Concern
Somehow, the minister noted that most of the increasing reports made last year came during the peak of the COVID-19 virus spreading and the General Elections.
All around the world, polarisation seemed to be a growing concern as well, he said.
Mr Shanmugam mentioned that in a local survey, 97% of those who were surveyed indicated that they found Singapore’s racial and religious harmony to either be moderate, high, or very high.
Yet, contradicting this was the fact that about a third of minority respondents in the same survey said they faced workplace discrimination at least sometimes.
Thus, he said that the Government holds that they must accept there are indeed fault lines along racial and religious harmony here, with racism present in Singapore.
He added that the Government will continue to act against those who threaten racial harmony and sow enmity regardless of race as an objective and neutral arbiter.
“This gives confidence to all communities that they can trust the Government to safeguard their interests and to hold the ring on our race relations,” Mr Shanmugam said.
However, he said that prosecution or legal action cannot be given to all accusations and allegations that surface in public for some simply do not cross the lines for it.
If so, people may just make reports for any perceived racial conflict, even though it may be a misunderstanding or deliberately exaggerated, which could “escalate tensions between races and undermine our hard-earned social harmony” over time.
However, the solution remains not the law, but the society coming together as a guard against social fractures, he said.
Although we should speak out against acts of racism, it should be done in a judicious way that doesn’t deepen fault lines but instead acts as a bridge between differences, he added.
“If we do this, and continue to take action against discrimination wherever we see it, building on our already strong foundations, I am confident that we will become an even more cohesive and harmonious society.”
Featured Image: YouTube (Gov.sg)
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