Singapore condemns racist comments about citizens missing in Nepal
In Singapore, officials condemned racist online comments about nine citizens of the country who went missing after floods in Nepal. Some social media users, according to Channel NewsAsia, analysed their names and photographs, questioned whether they belonged to Singapore and asked why the state should help them.
Minister of State for Manpower and for Culture, Community and Youth Dinesh Vasu Dash said that doubting a person's citizenship because of their name, race or appearance is a manifestation of racism. Member of Parliament Alex Yam also publicly criticised such statements.
Police review
Senior Minister K. Shanmugam on September 5 described some of the posts as shameful, cruel and completely unacceptable, and said that police were reviewing them. He noted that the authors of such comments are a small group that should not undermine inter-community relations in the country.
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Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other politicians also urged Singaporeans to reject such statements so that they do not become commonplace in public and political discourse.
Survey results
The authors of the commentary from the Institute of Policy Studies at the National University of Singapore believe that the racist posts do not reflect the views of the majority of society. In an open-ended question in the 2025 IPS-CNA study on national identity, 24.5% of respondents named pride in the country or a sense of belonging to it as the main feature of Singaporean identity. Another 23.8% mentioned multiculturalism or multiracialism, while 17.2% cited being born and living in Singapore.
In another IPS survey in 2024, nearly three-quarters of respondents said they liked getting to know new migrants, although many also believe that newcomers should integrate more actively. The researchers stressed the difference between discussing migration policy and questioning a specific person's citizenship because of their race or appearance.
