Racist, hateful comments toward Indians are deeply troubling; S’poreans must reject hatred: SM Lee

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore must continue to work on cohesion and its racial harmony.

Published Sep 06, 2026, 12:45 PM

Updated Sep 06, 2026, 12:49 PM

SINGAPORE - It is deeply troubling to see racist comments and hateful remarks directed at the Indian community in the wake of the Nepal flood tragedy , said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sept 6 as he called on Singaporeans to “reject hatred”.

At times like this, the response should be compassion and solidarity, he said, adding that Singaporeans should stand by one another regardless of race, language or religion.

In a Facebook post, he said that Singapore will always be vulnerable to visceral and divisive pulls, like the temptation to stir up racial prejudices and animosities.

While the country strives for inter-racial tolerance and respect, human beings are not race blind, and race and religion will always be a fault line in society, he added.

Singapore must then continue to work hard to strengthen its cohesion and protect its racial harmony, said Lee.

“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.

He noted that Senior Minister K. Shanmugam had made a statement on Sept 5 to lay out the issues .

Shanmugam had told media that the police are looking into racist and xenophobic comments relating to the Nepal floods and Singapore Airlines’ investment in Air India.

He said some online comments to these issues have been “shameful, nasty and totally unacceptable”, with references to snakes, curry, prata, black magic and other racist stereotypes.

He said he decided to call out people making such comments so that this behaviour does not become normalised, which then debases public discourse and affects social harmony.

The Ministry of Digital Development and Information will also ask platforms to take such comments down as they are in breach of guidelines, Shanmugam said.

He also noted how Temasek’s chief executive officer, Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, and the investment giant’s senior management were attacked online after it was reported that Air India was seeking about US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) of investment from its shareholders, which include SIA.

Shanmugam said the attacks were vile, and included “nasty and libellous” comments that said the Temasek CEO would favour Air India because he is of Indian ethnicity.

Lee noted that Singapore’s leaders had spoken about similar incidents related to race and religion in recent years.

In his National Day Rally speech in 2021 when he was prime minister, he addressed anti-Indian sentiments linked to the Covid-19 virus.

During the general election in 2025, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had to call out attempts to use religion to work up Muslim voters against the Government, added Lee.

“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,” Lee said.

Syarafana Shafeeq is a social affairs journalist at The Straits Times.

李显龙高级部长表示，新加坡必须继续努力促进社会凝聚力和种族和谐。

发布于 2026 年 9 月 6 日下午 12:45

更新于2026年9月6日下午12:49

新加坡——9月6日，高级部长李显龙表示，尼泊尔洪灾悲剧发生后，看到针对印度社群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“拒绝仇恨”。

他表示，在这样的时刻，我们应该展现同情和团结，并补充说，新加坡人应该不分种族、语言或宗教，互相支持。

他在 Facebook 上发帖称，新加坡总是容易受到本能的、分裂性的拉扯，例如煽动种族偏见和敌意的诱惑。

他补充说，虽然国家努力实现种族间的宽容和尊重，但人类并非对种族视而不见，种族和宗教永远是社会中的一条断层线。

李显龙表示，新加坡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。”

他指出，高级部长尚穆根已于9月5日发表声明，阐述了相关问题。

尚穆根曾告诉媒体，警方正在调查与尼泊尔洪水和新加坡航空公司投资印度航空有关的种族主义和仇外言论。

他表示，一些针对这些问题的网络评论“令人羞耻、恶劣且完全不可接受”，其中提到了蛇、咖喱、印度煎饼、黑魔法和其他种族主义刻板印象。

他说，他决定公开谴责发表此类言论的人，以免这种行为变得正常化，从而降低公共话语的格调，影响社会和谐。

尚穆根表示，数字发展及新闻部也将要求平台删除此类评论，因为它们违反了相关准则。

他还指出，有报道称印度航空正在寻求从包括新加坡航空在内的股东那里获得约 15 亿美元（19 亿新元）的投资后，淡马锡首席执行官迪尔汉·皮莱·桑德拉塞加拉和这家投资巨头的高级管理层在网上遭到攻击。

尚穆根表示，这些攻击卑鄙无耻，其中包括“恶毒诽谤”的言论，称淡马锡首席执行官会偏袒印度航空，因为他是印度裔。

李指出，新加坡领导人近年来也曾谈到过类似的与种族和宗教有关的事件。

2021年，时任总理的他在国庆集会上发表讲话，谈到了与新冠病毒有关的反印情绪。

李补充说，在2025年的大选中，总理黄循财不得不公开谴责有人企图利用宗教煽动穆斯林选民反对政府。

李说：“正是在这样的时刻，我们才真正理解了《国家誓词》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。”

Syarafana Shafeeq 是《海峡时报》的社会事务记者。