Singapore Govt’s Initiative Towards Indians Is Appreciable

The Singapore government has taken serious objection to social media posts targeting the Indian community in the country. Consequently, the government ordered Facebook, X, and YouTube to block access to 14 posts, including videos, reportedly undermining Singapore’s model of multiculturalism.

The Ministry of Home Affairs in Singapore said it firmly opposes nativism and xenophobia. Of the total six million people living in Singapore, 75 per cent are of Chinese origin, 15 per cent Malay, and 7-9 per cent of Indian origin.

Under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA), the police issued disabling directions to block the social media posts, purportedly originating from China, the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The platforms were asked to take necessary steps to disable access by Singapore users to the said posts. “Any attempt to pit one community against another here must be firmly rejected. The attacks coming from a foreign source are doubly unacceptable,” the MHA said.

The social media posts displaying Singapore’s anxiety over its cultural identity and ethnic politics began circulating online in the Chinese domain in May. After sometime, inflammatory narratives suggesting that Singapore was being overrun by Indian began emerging online.

A probe into the controversial content revealed that the posts originated likely from a China-based platform and over time, found way to other websites too. Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong said every community in Singapore is valued and have an equal place. The videos and online content attack our multiracial society, and try to divide people based on race, which is against our policy, he said.

He affirmed that the Singapore government would not tolerate narratives that could weaken the country’s racial harmony.