Singapore Police Investigate Racist Online Comments Following Nepal Disaster and Air India Investment

Singapore police are investigating racist and xenophobic online comments related to a disaster in Nepal and Singapore Airlines' (SIA) investment in Air India, Senior Minister K. Shanmugam announced on September 5. The Coordinating Minister for National Security described the comments as shameful, nasty, and totally unacceptable. He stated that the Ministry of Digital Development and Information will request social media platforms to remove content that breaches guidelines.

The investigation follows a wave of online abuse targeting Indians. Some comments regarding missing Singaporeans in the Nepal floods, which killed over 1,200 people, suggested that the victims were not our own. Other remarks used derogatory terms such as ABNN and CECA faces, or relied on stereotypes involving curry and black magic. Mr. Shanmugam emphasized that these views are held by a minority, noting that the Singapore Red Cross raised over 3 million Singapore dollars for Nepal relief efforts.

Additional backlash emerged after reports that Air India sought approximately 1.5 billion US dollars in fresh equity from shareholders, including SIA. This triggered attacks against Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, with some online users claiming his Indian ethnicity influenced the investment. Mr. Shanmugam called these claims nasty and libellous, asserting that such behavior must be called out to prevent it from becoming normalized.

Workers' Party MP Kenneth Tiong responded to the situation by condemning racism while maintaining that his own criticisms of the Air India investment were purely commercial. Mr. Tiong questioned the financial sustainability of the deal following record annual losses at Air India. In response, Mr. Shanmugam stated that while Mr. Tiong is entitled to his views, political opinions should not substitute for the commercial judgment of SIA's management and board of directors.

Media organizations have also responded to the incident. CNA blocked users who posted hate speech and turned off comments on several posts. SPH Media stated it would work with authorities to ensure regulatory compliance and denounced inflammatory remarks.