Police will look into racist online comments about Singaporeans missing after the Nepal floods, as well as remarks surrounding Singapore Airlines' investment in Air India.
Senior Minister K Shanmugam said on Saturday, 5 September, that he had asked the police to examine the comments and determine whether any offences had been committed.
Mr Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, described the remarks as “shameful, nasty and totally unacceptable”.
The Ministry of Digital Development and Information will also ask social media platforms to remove comments that breach their guidelines.
Racist Comments Targeted Missing Singaporeans
Nine Singaporeans remain unaccounted for following the devastating floods along the Nepal-China border.
After news of their disappearance emerged, some online commenters questioned whether the missing people were really Singaporean and made derogatory remarks referring to Indians.
Mr Shanmugam said he did not know whether all the comments had been posted by Singaporeans.
He noted that media organisations had already removed several particularly offensive comments. CNA said it had also switched off comments on several social media posts about the Nepal-Tibet disaster after racist and offensive remarks persisted.
Mr Shanmugam stressed that he did not believe such views represented most Singaporeans.
As one example, he pointed to the response to the Singapore Red Cross' Nepal fundraising appeal. The organisation said on 3 September that it had received more than S$3 million in public donations since launching the appeal.
Singapore has also deployed police and forensic specialists to Nepal to support disaster relief and victim identification efforts.
Air India Debate Also Drew Racist Remarks
A separate wave of racist comments appeared amid scrutiny of SIA's investment in Air India.
Reuters reported on 25 August that Air India was seeking about US$1.5 billion in fresh equity from its owners, Tata Sons and SIA. SIA owns a 25.1 per cent stake in the Indian airline.
According to Mr Shanmugam, some of the online discussion went beyond questioning whether SIA's investment made commercial sense and instead contained anti-Indian remarks.
Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara and other senior executives were also targeted over their ethnicity, including claims that Mr Pillay would favour Air India because he is of Indian ethnicity.
Mr Shanmugam rejected that reasoning and said individuals should not be attacked for business decisions based on their race.
Criticising SIA's Investment Is Not The Same As Racist Abuse
Mr Shanmugam also addressed criticism from Workers' Party MP Kenneth Tiong, who had questioned further investment in Air India and opposed the use of Temasek funds to support the carrier.
He said Mr Tiong, like any Singaporean, was entitled to question SIA and Temasek.
However, Mr Shanmugam stressed that SIA is a listed company and that decisions over investing in Air India belong to SIA's management and board. Temasek is a shareholder of SIA, while SIA itself is the shareholder in Air India.
When asked whether Mr Tiong's comments were racist or xenophobic, Mr Shanmugam did not characterise them as such, saying that Mr Tiong should be asked what he intended.
The police scrutiny announced on Saturday concerns racist comments that Mr Shanmugam said had crossed the line.
He warned that allowing race-based attacks to become normalised could damage Singapore's social cohesion, particularly in a small multiracial society.
