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SINGAPORE: Singapore must never allow prejudice against any community to become accepted or normalised, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Sunday (Sep 6).<\/span><\/p>\n “We can and should have robust debates. But we should never use seemingly legitimate arguments as a cover to fuel prejudice against any community or hostility towards foreigners,” he added.<\/span><\/p>\n His remarks came a day after Senior Minister K Shanmugam condemned what he described as <\/span>“shameful” racist and xenophobic online comments about the Nepal-Tibet disaster and\u00a0the investment by Singapore Airlines (SIA) in Air India.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In a Facebook post, Mr Wong said that “an uglier side” had emerged in online discussions on the two matters.<\/p>\n Racist comments surfaced online targeting some of the nine Singaporeans missing in the Nepal-Tibet disaster, while questions about SIA’s investment in Air India were “accompanied by anti-Indian abuse”, he said.<\/p>\n While such views do not represent Singapore, they should not be dismissed as “harmless online chatter”, he said.<\/p>\n “If such behaviour goes unchecked, it can become normalised, deepen mistrust between communities, and pull us apart,” Mr Wong said, adding that he had discussed the developments with his Cabinet colleagues and that this was why Mr Shanmugam had spoken about it.<\/span><\/p>\n Mr Wong reiterated a point he made during his National Day Rally speech about what it means to be Singaporean, saying that the country’s identity must remain \u201copen and inclusive\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n “Whatever our background, if we embrace our values and way of life, we are part of this nation,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n “This is what our National Pledge stands for, and I believe the vast majority of Singaporeans share this view.”<\/span><\/p>\n Mr Wong said that Singapore had encountered similar tensions before, pointing to how anti-foreigner and racial sentiments were stirred up during the COVID-19 pandemic and surfaced during debates over the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, or CECA.<\/span><\/p>\n Such sentiments were also seen during the 2025 General Election, when he spoke out against attempts to bring race and religion into politics.<\/span><\/p>\n “There will always be people who seek to exploit our differences,” Mr Wong said.<\/span><\/p>\n While it is impossible to prevent every hateful comment from appearing online, Singaporeans could choose how they respond to them.<\/span><\/p>\n “We can reject such views, and refuse to give them more space or legitimacy,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n“OPEN AND INCLUSIVE”<\/span><\/h2>\n