'Singapore will fail if racism becomes prevalant': Shanmugam slams attack on Indian woman

After an Indian-origin woman was assaulted and racially abused in Singapore for not wearing her face mask properly, Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam addressed the Singapore Parliament where he strongly condemned the incident. The Senior Minister warned that Singapore would fail if it allowed racism and xenophobia to become prevalent, adding that racist behaviour could not be justified by the pandemic or isolated cases of Indians behaving badly.

"Singapore is 725 sq km of rock. We have to make a living by being open to the world. We will fail if we allow racism and xenophobia to become prevalent, and it's contrary to everything that has made us successful and proud to be Singaporean," K Shanmugam said.  

The Minister for Law and Home Affairs stated that some parties were "deliberately stoking the fears, encouraging racism and xenophobia, and dog-whistling" warning the dangers that this could lead to for the country and its rich Indian community. "First, it will be the expat Indians. Then, it will come to Singaporean Indians," he said. 

"The lady who was attacked has been a citizen for 25 years. If we go down this route, eventually all Indians can be a target of hate. The majority of Singaporeans are decent and not racist, but if we continue to fan the flames of racism, we will get to a more uncomfortable position," he added.

K Shanmugam also pointed out the use of certain slurs against the Indian community prevalent on online websites, sharing how these were deliberately fomenting racism describing Indians as "cockroaches" and "rapists". "We should be ashamed that in the name of free speech, we allow such comments. This bad behaviour and open expression of racism—I invite all here to condemn," he said.

Indian-origin woman racially assaulted in Singapore

The Minister's strong words of criticism came after a 55-year-old Singaporean citizen of Indian origin was attacked by a Chinese man who intercepted her when she was brisk walking and told her to wear her mask properly. After a few exchange of words between the two, the Chinese man uttered an offensive racial remark and kicked her in the chest, causing her to fall to the ground. 

The Singapore police have already arrested the 30-year-old Chinese man who could be jailed for up to three months, fined up to USD 1,509, or both. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has also come down heavily on the incident saying that the COVID-19 pandemic does not “justify racist attitudes and actions”.