'Troubling' to see racist comments after Nepal flood tragedy, SIA's Air India investment: SM Lee

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday (Sept 6) weighed in on the racist, anti-Indian sentiments recently seen on social media following the deadly Aug 26 floods at the Nepal-Tibet border and Singapore Airlines' investment in Air India, describing these as "troubling".

SM Lee's comments, posted on his social media, come a day after Senior Minister K Shanmugam said he had asked the police to look into racist and xenophobic online comments about the Nepal-Tibet disaster and Singapore Airlines' (SIA) investment in Air India .

"I will say this — the comments are shameful, nasty, totally unacceptable," said Shanmugam then, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs.

Referring to Shanmugam's statement, SM Lee pointed out that the temptation to stir up racial prejudices and animosities will always exist.

He added that even as Singapore strives for inter-racial tolerance and respect, human beings are by nature not race blind.

"Singapore will always be vulnerable to these visceral and divisive pulls. Race and religion will always be a fault line in our society."

'Leaders must speak up with force'

SM Lee stated that this is why the country must continue to work hard to strengthen its cohesion and protect its racial harmony.

"When incidents like this happen, leaders must speak up with force and conviction, to call out what is happening, condemn the manipulation of base emotions, and call on all Singaporeans to stand together," he said.

Expressing his condolences to those who have lost loved ones, and who are affected by the tragedy, SM Lee said that the response from Singaporeans should be compassion and solidarity.

He added that it is "deeply troubling" to see racist comments and hateful remarks directed at the Indian community in the wake of the tragedy.

He called on Singaporeans to reject hatred and support those who are mourning, and to stand by one another regardless of race, language or religion.

"It is at times like this that we realise the full meaning of the words of the National Pledge, and how important it is for us to make every effort to live up to these ideals," SM Lee said.

On Singapore Airlines' investment decision in Air India, SM Lee said that it is "equally troubling" when legitimate issues for public discussion are distorted or exploited to stir what he described as "vicious racial, anti-Indian sentiment".

Shanmugam on Kenneth Tiong's post

SM Shanmugam was asked about Workers' Party MP Kenneth Tiong's statement on Singapore Airlines' investment on Saturday.

In response, he said the MP is entitled to his views, like any other Singaporean.

"But neither his views, nor that of any minister, or any other MP, should substitute for the commercial judgment of Singapore Airlines' (SIA) management and board of directors — boards which have knowledgeable and independent members, and management which has professionals whose primary responsibility is to consider and make these decisions," said SM Shanmugam.

He was then asked by a reporter whether Tiong's post had crossed the racist or xenophobic lines.

"I think you'd best ask him. You'd have to ask him what he intended and what he meant," Shanmugam replied.

He also said this of Tiong's statement that no one "owes Air India a living": "I think he ought to do his homework and look at SIA's letter and the facts that I put out today, and ask if he is being responsible."

The first-term Aljunied MP has since stated his position , saying he condemns such comments, adding that his concerns were "purely commercial".

9月6日（星期日），高级部长李显龙就尼泊尔-西藏边境8月26日致命洪灾以及新加坡航空公司投资印度航空后，社交媒体上出现的种族主义、反印度情绪发表了看法，称这些情绪“令人不安”。

李显龙在社交媒体上发表的评论，是在高级部长尚穆根表示他已要求警方调查有关尼泊尔-西藏灾难和新加坡航空公司（新航）投资印度航空的种族主义和仇外网络言论的第二天发布的。

“我要说的是——这些言论令人羞耻、卑鄙、完全不可接受，”尚穆根当时说道，他同时也是国家安全统筹部长和内政部长。

针对尚穆根的言论，李显龙指出，煽动种族偏见和敌意的诱惑总是存在的。

他补充说，尽管新加坡努力实现种族间的宽容和尊重，但人类本质上并非种族盲视。

“新加坡始终容易受到这些根深蒂固且具有分裂性的因素的影响。种族和宗教永远是我们社会的一条断层线。”

领导者必须强有力地发声

李显龙总理表示，正因如此，国家必须继续努力加强国家凝聚力，维护种族和谐。

他说：“当此类事件发生时，领导人必须坚定有力地发声，谴责正在发生的事情，谴责对低级情绪的操纵，并呼吁所有新加坡人团结一致。”

李显龙总理向失去亲人和受此悲剧影响的人们表示慰问，并表示新加坡人应该以同情和团结来回应。

他还表示，在悲剧发生后，看到针对印度社区的种族主义言论和仇恨言论“令人深感不安”。

他呼吁新加坡人摒弃仇恨，支持那些正在哀悼的人们，并无论种族、语言或宗教信仰如何，都要互相支持。

“正是在这样的时刻，我们才真正理解了《国民誓词》的全部含义，以及我们尽一切努力践行这些理想是多么重要，”李显龙总理说。

针对新加坡航空公司对印度航空的投资决定，李显龙表示，当一些合法的公共讨论议题被歪曲或利用来煽动他所说的“恶毒的种族主义、反印度情绪”时，同样令人担忧。

Shanmugam 就 Kenneth Tiong 的帖子发表评论

SM Shanmugam被问及工人党议员张建宗周六就新加坡航空公司投资发表的声明。

对此，他表示，这位议员和其他新加坡人一样，有权表达自己的观点。

“但是，无论是他的观点，还是任何部长或任何其他国会议员的观点，都不能取代新加坡航空公司（新航）管理层和董事会的商业判断——董事会成员知识渊博且独立，管理层由专业人士组成，他们的主要职责是考虑和做出这些决定，”SM Shanmugam说道。

随后，一名记者问他，Tiong 的帖子是否越过了种族主义或仇外心理的界限。

“我觉得你最好去问他。你得问问他他的意图和意思是什么，”尚穆根回答道。

他还就张志贤关于“没有人有义务让印度航空养活自己”的言论发表了如下评论：“我认为他应该好好做做功课，看看新加坡航空的信函和我今天公布的事实，然后问问自己是否尽到了责任。”

这位阿裕尼区第一任国会议员随后表明了自己的立场，称他谴责此类言论，并补充说他的担忧“纯粹是出于商业考虑”。