SINGAPORE, Sept 6 — Singapore police are looking into racist and xenophobic online comments about the Nepal-Tibet disaster and Singapore Airlines’ investment in Air India, as Senior Minister K Shanmugam warned against allowing such rhetoric to become normalised.
Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development and Information will also ask social media platforms to remove comments that breach their guidelines, Singapore-based media organisation CNA reported yesterday.
“The media tells me that they had to remove several comments because they were so nasty. I don't know if all the comments are all made by Singaporeans. But I will say this — the comments are shameful, nasty, totally unacceptable,” said Shanmugam, who is also home affairs minister and coordinating minister for national security.
“I have asked police to look into these comments.”
His remarks followed a series of racist posts about Singaporeans missing after devastating floods in Nepal, as well as another wave of abuse prompted by reports that Air India may seek fresh capital from shareholders including SIA.
Nine Singaporeans remain missing following the floods.
Shanmugam cited comments including “No they are not our own”, “I only see Indian faces here. Skip. Rescue cut.” and “All ABNNs look the same, how to AI?” He noted that “ABNN” was a derogatory term for Indians.
More than 1,000 people had died and Singaporeans remained unaccounted for, he said, yet such remarks continued to circulate.
He stressed that such views did not represent most Singaporeans, pointing to more than S$3 million (RM9.5 million) raised by the Singapore Red Cross for relief efforts.
“Singaporeans are generous, across all races. And it is important that we don't allow a minority to poison the entire well.”
CNA said users who post hate speech or racist and offensive remarks are blocked under its social media moderation policy. It also disabled comments on several posts about the Nepal-Tibet disaster after such remarks became widespread.
Shanmugam said reports that Air India was seeking more funding had prompted further “anti-Indian, racist ranting”, including references to “snakes, curry, prata, black magic”.
He said an “online mob” had also targeted Temasek chief executive Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara and other senior figures because of their ethnicity.
“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,” Shanmugam said.
“But for this online mob, however, all of that, the facts don't matter. What matters is their racism and their own prejudices.”
He added: “These people should be unmasked and dealt with rather than be allowed to hide behind online anonymity.”
Shanmugam said Singapore was not immune from “latent racism” and warned that hateful rhetoric could become accepted if left unchecked.
“I've decided to call out these people because you see what is happening in other countries. First, a minority says these nasty things; slowly it becomes normalised; then it becomes mainstream, and political and community leaders will say it,” he said.
“Public discourse is then debased. Social harmony is affected. Violence against people of a different skin colour and different religion becomes acceptable.”
He said racist comments, particularly against Indians, had become more frequent, with some originating overseas or being “fanned from overseas”.
“We are a very small multiracial, multi-ethnic country. If we are divided along racial or religious lines, we will lose the unity that has made Singapore strong,” he said.
“We should not tolerate this. This is not who we are as Singaporeans.”
The controversy has also fed into debate over SIA’s investment in Air India.
Reuters reported last month that Air India was seeking a further US$1.5 billion from owners Tata Sons and SIA, months after posting a record annual loss.
SIA has said its board would “carefully consider any requests for additional capital from Air India, taking into consideration the group's other capital requirements and Air India's business strategy”.
Shanmugam said it was SIA’s responsibility to decide whether further investment made commercial sense.
“Any decision to invest in Air India lies with SIA, and Temasek as a shareholder in SIA, along with other shareholders, will expect SIA to make its investment decisions responsibly.”
He said Temasek was accountable to the government for its overall portfolio and long-term performance, but not for individual investment decisions made by its portfolio companies.
Temasek and several of its portfolio companies have made substantial investments in India over the years, Shanmugam said, adding that India had been Temasek’s best-performing market over the past decade.
He cited the sale of Temasek’s stake in an Indian joint venture to Schneider Electric for more than S$8 billion, nearly 10 times its initial investment, as well as its investment in Manipal Health Enterprises, which he said was now valued at more than S$11 billion.
“Once governments or politicians start directing individual investment decisions, commercial discipline will be compromised,” he said.
“Decisions will become politicised — shaped by political considerations, rather than commercial judgment. In the end, Singaporeans will bear the cost.”
