Singaporeans need to understand that such things have been happening, and they need to realise the dangers of such developments, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: Singaporeans need to stand up and reject racial and religious identity politics forcefully and affirm their unity, regardless of race, language or religion, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Speaking at a PAP rally in Fern Green Primary School on Sunday (April 27), SM Lee said political posts linked to race and religion have been circulating online recently, in which MPs and candidates were being attacked for not championing the causes of their own racial or religious group stridently enough.
Also, a foreign political party had asked Singaporeans to vote for this or that Malay/Muslim candidate on the basis of how staunch a Muslim he or she might be, he added.
Singaporeans, SM Lee said, need to understand that such things have been happening, and they need to realise the dangers of such developments.
Now, the other political parties have declared that they agree with the stance taken against identity politics, but only after the PAP government took action.
SM Lee said: “The Government came out very strongly on this. It’s a very sensitive matter. This is the middle of a very hot election campaign, but the matter came up, we had to raise it, we could not wait.
“Because foreigners have no business interfering in Singapore politics, and whether foreigner or Singaporean, race and religion have to be kept separate from politics.”
On April 26, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong reiterated the need to keep race and religion out of politics. A day earlier, the authorities blocked Facebook posts by two Malaysian politicians and a former Internal Security Act detainee who were attempting to influence the election.
Speaking in Mandarin earlier, SM Lee touched on how the Government took action to block foreign interference because Singapore politics is for Singaporeans alone to decide, and foreigners have no right to interfere.
There are many Singaporeans who are convinced that values like multiracialism, give-and-take, and meritocracy are the right ways for the country, from even before Singapore gained its independence, he added.
Said SM Lee: “Because there were people like this, we got kicked out of Malaysia and because the people were like this after we were kicked out from Malaysia, we stood and we built today’s Singapore.
“And even today, I make this appeal to Singaporeans of all races and all religions, stand with that ideal. It serves us well. It’s good for the minority communities, it is good for the majority community, too.”
Lee also talked about Tang Liang Hong, a 1997 general election candidate “who stirred Chinese chauvinism sentiments” before the government took a decisive stance and fought hard against him.
Tang contested Cheng San GRC with the WP in 1997 losing to his PAP opponents, after garnering 45.18 per cent of the vote. During the hustings, the PAP accused Tang of being an anti-Christian Chinese chauvinist and later filed multiple defamation lawsuits against him.
Tang eventually left the country and was found liable for defamation by the courts.
In his Malay speech, SM Lee said he had served as prime minister for two decades, and in that time, he appreciated working closely with the Malay/Muslim community to achieve its aspirations. This has continued under the leadership of Wong, he said.
Singapore, he added, must remain a nation where all communities practise give-and take and mutual accommodation, instead of each one pushing and fighting for its own interests over national interests or at the expense of others.
This is how Singapore and its multiracial policies have enabled all communities to progress together all these years.
He said: “I am especially grateful that the Malay Muslim community has supported this multiracial approach and the Government’s multiracial policies.
“This has allowed the Malay/Muslim community to make progress and achieve success – not just in the secular aspects like education, jobs, and income, but also in terms of the space that you have to practice your faith.” - The Straits Times/ANN
