World News | Singapore to Introduce New Racial Harmony Law to Encourage Moderation, Tolerance: PM Lee

Singapore, Aug 29 (PTI) Singapore will introduce a new law on racial harmony to encourage moderation and tolerance between different racial groups in the city-state, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday.

Speaking at the National Day rally, an annual address to the country, Lee said that the new Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act will consolidate all existing laws dealing with racial issues, which are currently scattered under various pieces of legislation like the Penal Code.

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Apart from providing for penalties to deal with racial offences, the new law will also incorporate "softer and gentler touches" that focus on persuasion and rehabilitation.

For instance, it will vest the authorities with powers to order someone who has caused offence to stop and make amends by learning more about the other race.

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This softer approach will help to heal hurt and mend ties between races, rather than leaving resentment in the wake of such incidents, Lee was quoted as saying by the Straits Times.

While the real solution to racism is to change attitudes, which takes time and effort, legislation can play a role, he said.

"Laws may not, by themselves, make people get along with one another or like one another," said Lee.

"But laws can signal what our society considers right or wrong, and nudge people over time to behave better," he said.

He pointed to the existing Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, which the new law will be modelled on.

The law has never been used since it came into effect in 1992.

But its very existence has helped to restrain intolerance and promote religious harmony, he said.

Similarly, the new law on racial harmony will signal the "overriding importance" of this issue to Singapore society, he added.

In his speech, Lee made reference to several recent high-profile racist incidents, noting several of these have targeted Indians.

There are two reasons for this, he surmised. One could be the large number of Indian work pass holders in Singapore, while the other could be linked to the Delta variant of Covid-19, which was first identified in India.

But it is illogical to blame these issues on Indians and let these frustrations impact racial harmony, Lee asserted.

"Just as it is illogical to blame the Alpha variant on the English, the KTV (karaoke television clubs) cluster on the Vietnamese, or the initial outbreak in Wuhan on the Chinese," he added.

"Lee said everyone must address the real issues - manage the work pass numbers and concentrations, and improve our border health safeguards.

While these racist incidents are a reminder of the fragility of Singapore's harmony, they do not negate the country's multi-racial approach which has worked well, he said, adding that racial harmony did not happen spontaneously here.

He noted that everyone retains racial or religious preferences, which are natural in every society.

"But sometimes, it goes beyond racial and cultural preferences to become biases and prejudices. Then it is a problem," he said.

He gave the example of job advertisements which require Chinese speakers even though it is not clear that this is a genuine job necessity.

He also cited individuals who are rejected for rentals after property agents find out they are not Chinese.

People from minority groups experience these things more acutely because they are the ones most affected by such racial discrimination, Lee said.

The majority must be more sensitive to minority concerns, while individuals must also have the moral courage to take a stand against racist behaviour, he said.

This means expressing clear disapproval of racist incidents, and also to call out deliberate racist agitation that masquerades as something else.

In his address, he also noted that the campaign against the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with India (CECA), for instance, claimed to be about putting Singaporeans first but had a strong racial undertone.

The CECA, a Free Trade Agreement, was signed in June 2005 but has been criticised by locals for being a reason for increase in Indian nationals working in Singapore, depriving locals of jobs.

CECA was debated in Singapore parliament recently as a broad-base interaction with 1.38 billion market in India and creating opportunities for Singapore businesses to engage their Indian counterparts to tap the regional and global markets, observers said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)