Singapore Blocks Social Media Posts Attacking Indian Community

Seventy-five percent of Singapore’s more than six million population are of Chinese descent, 15 percent are Malay, and seven to nine percent are of Indian descent. The rest are from other international origins.

The order said platforms must “take all reasonable steps to prevent Singapore users from accessing these posts.”

Second Minister for Internal Affairs Edwin Tong told reporters at a community event on Saturday that “as far as we know so far, the content is coming from abroad.”

Investigations into the problematic content in these posts revealed that these posts likely originated from a China-based platform and were later shared by other platforms and websites, according to Channel News Asia’s report on Saturday.

“These videos attack our multi-racial society and try to divide people based on race. But that is not who we are. Every community here in Singapore is valued and everyone has an equal place,” Tong said, as quoted by the channel. he said.

“These videos strike at the core of what makes Singapore home for all of us and undermine the foundations of our society,” said Tong, who is also Law Minister.

Tong said the government does not tolerate any narratives aimed at undermining Singapore’s racial harmony “especially when propagandized by foreigners”.

MHA said in a statement that Singapore is firmly against “nativism and xenophobia”.

“Any attempt to pit one community against another here must be firmly rejected,” the MHA said. “These attacks coming from a foreign source are completely unacceptable.”

Tong said there is currently no evidence that this was a coordinated campaign by any government. He added that investigations showed that the content was likely created organically by various foreign netizens.

“I would say that any country trying to preserve its social integrity would agree with us that such content is unacceptable and would take a similar stance to protect their own society,” the minister was quoted as saying by Channel. he said.

His social media posts, including videos, reflect various claims that he is concerned about Singapore’s cultural identity and ethnic politics. MHA said such narratives began circulating online in the Chinese information space in May.

“Soon after, online content emerged containing provocative narratives about Singapore’s cultural diversity and suggesting that Singapore was being invaded by Indians,” the ministry said.

The ministry said the problematic content likely violated Section 298A of the Criminal Code for deliberately promoting feelings of hostility, hatred or ill-will between different groups on the basis of race, or for engaging in an act that would be detrimental to the maintenance of harmony between different racial groups in Singapore.

The penalty for the crime is imprisonment for up to three years and a fine.

It was stated that the Singapore government seriously considers threats to the social harmony and racial harmony of the country, including from external actors, and will act decisively against them.

Tong said the government would continue to monitor the facilities “very closely” and would not hesitate to take further action “if we think it is in Singapore’s interests”.

“More importantly, I think Singaporeans need to be discerning and careful about what they consume online and question the source or purpose of such videos. Also, do not spread them if they could harm our social fabric or social cohesion,” Tong said.