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"Racist comments targeting Indians ‘shameful’ and cross the line"
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Date: September 5th, 2026 7:25 AM Author: AZNgirl stopping WhiteLady killing HandsomeBaby TIKTOK BIRDSHITS!
Racist comments targeting Indians ‘shameful’ and cross the line, police looking into them: Shanmugam Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Senior Minister K Shanmugam said he decided to call out people making such comments so that this behaviour does not become normalised. Senior Minister K. Shanmugam said he decided to call out people making such comments so that this behaviour does not become normalised. ST PHOTO: JOHNBOY IYPE JOHN
Published Sep 05, 2026, 05:00 PM
Updated Sep 05, 2026, 06:49 PM
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Listen SINGAPORE — The police are looking into racist and xenophobic comments relating to the Nepal floods and Singapore Airlines’ investment in Air India, Senior Minister K. Shanmugam said on Sept 5.
Speaking to the media at Social Space @ Chong Pang, Shanmugam noted that some online comments to these issues have been “shameful, nasty and totally unacceptable”, with references to snakes, curry, prata, black magic and other racist stereotypes.
The Coordinating Minister for National Security said he decided to call out people making such comments so that this behaviour does not become normalised, which then debases public discourse and affects social harmony.
“These people should be unmasked and dealt with, rather than be allowed to hide behind online anonymity,” he said.
The Ministry of Digital Development and Information will also ask platforms to take such comments down as they are in breach of guidelines, he added.
Noting that nine Singaporeans are among those missing from the Aug 26 flash floods in Nepal that have killed more than 1,200 people, Shanmugam called out comments that said the missing “are not our own”.
He also singled out a comment that said “all ABNNs look the same”, the abbreviation being a derogatory term for Indians.
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“What kind of people are these, who will come out and say these things about missing persons?” he asked.
“It really requires a type of person (who is) very ugly. And I think we need to call it out.”
The minister also drew attention to the way Temasek’s chief executive officer, Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, and the investment giant’s senior management were attacked online after it was reported that Air India was seeking about US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) of investment from its shareholders, which include SIA.
Temasek Holdings has a majority stake in Singapore’s flag carrier.
Shanmugam said the attacks were “vile”, and included comments that said the Temasek CEO would favour Air India because he is of Indian ethnicity.
“That is nasty and libellous,” he said.
Following his interview, the Ministry of Home Affairs followed up with a list of 20 examples of racist comments it had come across. Most were posted in the comments sections of local news outlets’ social media feeds.
The comments used a variety of slurs to refer to people of Indian origin, including the term “CECA faces”. CECA is the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, a bilateral free trade pact signed between Singapore and India in June 2005.
Responding to media queries, SPH Media said it will work with the authorities to ensure regulatory compliance on its platforms.
SPH Media publishes nine newspaper titles, including The Straits Times.
“As the national news company, SPH Media and its titles are committed to responsible discourse, as reflected across our newsrooms’ editorial positions,” said its spokesman.
“We denounce inflammatory and denigratory remarks that run counter to our national core values.”
Temasek, portfolio firms need to make commercial decisions without fear of politicisation: Shanmugam ‘They are our own’: Dinesh, Alex Yam urge compassion for S’poreans missing in Nepal and loved ones Noting that it is a small group that have made such remarks, Shanmugam said it is important that Singapore does not allow a minority to “poison the entire well” of community relations.
For example, Singaporeans across all races have been generous in donating to relief efforts in Nepal, with the Red Cross having raised over $3 million.
Even so, there have been noticeably more racist comments of late, particularly when it comes to Indians in Singapore, said the minister, adding that some of these have originated and been fanned from overseas.
This is despite the Republic having taken a tough line to protect its multi-racial, multi-religious fabric, and to keep social harmony.
“Today it’s Indians, tomorrow it will be the Malays, another day it will be the Chinese. How are you going to be socially harmonious in this situation?” he said.
While there is always latent racism among some sections of the public, recent attacks against Indians online have emboldened some people, he noted.
“After a while, if people will start saying these same things in public, and then when politicians see profit in it, it’ll become part of the political and public and community discourse,” he said.
While Singapore has not gotten there, this has already happened in many countries, including developed ones, said Shanmugam.
“I have had to speak on this more frequently than I would have liked, and it’s a consequence of this (behaviour) becoming more frequent online,” he said.
Shanmugam said it is important to acknowledge that Singaporeans are not immune to racism, and that political and community leaders bear some responsibility for the tenor of discourse.
“Our duty is to acknowledge that and work to make sure that (such racism) doesn’t come out, rather than putting in hand grenades for it to come out,” he said.
If, as a small, multiracial, multi-ethnic country, Singapore is divided along racial or religious lines, it will lose the unity that has made it strong.
“There will be feelings of ill will, suspicion, and we will all suffer,” he added.
“We should not tolerate this. This is not who we are as Singaporeans.” |
Date: September 5th, 2026 7:27 AM Author: AZNgirl stopping WhiteLady killing HandsomeBaby Calling someone INDIAN is nasty and libelous!
Shanmugam said the attacks were “vile”, and included comments that said the Temasek CEO would favour Air India because he is of Indian ethnicity.
“That is nasty and libellous,” he said. |
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Date: September 5th, 2026 7:27 AM Author: AZNgirl stopping WhiteLady killing HandsomeBaby Birdshits are veddy ugly!
“What kind of people are these, who will come out and say these things about missing persons?” he asked.
“It really requires a type of person (who is) very ugly. And I think we need to call it out.” |