Singapore Police Probe Racist, Xenophobic Comments Targeting Indians

According to a story in The Straits Times, Senior Minister K Shanmugam stated on Saturday that police in Singapore are investigating a wave of racist and xenophobic remarks made against people of Indian descent.

The comments were made online following the August 26 flash floods in Nepal, where nine Singaporeans are among those missing. They also targeted Singapore Airlines' investment in Air India.

Shanmugam condemns racist comments targeting missing Singaporeans

More than 1,200 people have died in Nepal as a result of floods triggered by a glacier collapse in the Himalayas. Shanmugam criticised posts that said the missing Singaporeans were "not our own" and one that used the word "ABNN", a derogatory term for Indians. He questioned what kind of person would make such comments about missing people.

Later, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs shared 20 examples of racist remarks it had encountered, most of which came from the social media comment sections of local news organisations. One of the derogatory terms used was "CECA faces", referring to the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, a free trade agreement between Singapore and India signed in June 2005. The agreement has long been a focus of controversy in Singapore over foreign labour.

Shanmugam also reported online attacks on Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara and the senior management of the state investor, including allegations that he would support Air India because of his Indian ethnicity. The minister described the claims as ugly and libellous and referred to the accusations as "vile". Temasek is a shareholder in Singapore Airlines.