‘Small minority’ of Singapore residents sowing racism against local, expat Indians: minister
- Singapore’s law and home affairs minister K Shanmugam was among senior officials who condemned an alleged attack on a woman of Indian descent
- He said the conduct of the attacker, a Chinese man, was ‘consistent’ with the uptick of racism during Covid-19, including towards Chinese people in the US
Police said on Tuesday that a 30-year-old man had been arrested in relation to the incident for being a public nuisance, “uttering words with intent to wound the racial feeling of others” and voluntarily causing hurt.
Acts of violence linked to racism are rare in the multi-ethnic country, which for decades has wielded tough laws to keep the social peace following bloody racial riots in the 1960s.
Antipathy towards Indian nationals, however, has been on an uptick, particularly due to a perception that the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), a free-trade agreement between the republic and the South Asian nation, was fuelling an influx of new arrivals who are stealing locals’ jobs.
The government has repeatedly denied this was the case.
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
Shanmugam told lawmakers that while investigations are ongoing over the incident involving 55-year-old Hindocha Nita Vishnubhai, her account suggested the conduct of the attacker – a Chinese man – was “consistent” with the uptick of racism around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic.