Singapore will pass new laws to combat racism, workplace discrimination: PM Lee
- Muslim nurses can now wear headscarves at work, PM Lee said in annual policy address, where he also announced new anti-racism laws incorporating restorative justice
- The government will also boost employment rules amid a ‘growing restlessness’ by middle-income Singaporeans over foreign workers
The measures unveiled in the address represent one of the biggest recent updates to the extensive set of policy levers wielded by the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) to keep a lid on intercommunity tensions in the multiracial nation.
Workplace discrimination and the economic stress faced by low-income workers were also high on Lee’s agenda, as he announced an expansion of the so-called progressive wage model that the country currently uses in place of a universal minimum wage.
While the country presently has various laws – including sedition legislation – to deal with serious racial offences, Lee said a new Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act would be passed to incorporate “softer, gentler” touches focused on restorative justice that “heal hurt instead of leaving resentment”.
The new law is similar to the existing Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act that Lee said had had a “salutary effect” on intolerance and fostering religious harmony, even though the legislation’s punishment has not been invoked in its three-decade existence.
As part of the softer touch in the proposed new law, authorities will have the power to “order someone who has caused offence to stop doing it, and to make amends by learning more about the other race and mending ties with them”, the leader said.
