Come down hard on those who stir racial tensions
The police said last Tuesday (July 16) that officers in posts circulating online were talking to two madrasah students about a crime prevention scheme.
It is troubling that race relations have been tossed about insensitively of late.
First, a spat in January between a driver with Gojek, a ride-hailing company, and his passenger led to the passenger asking if she was being racially profiled.
Then, on July 9, a video posted online showed a Malay man talking aggressively to officers from the police’s Public Transport Security Command (TransCom) after he was approached for checks at Bishan MRT Station.
The man said he had seen officers approach many Malays for checks, but not those from other races. The video attracted comments from online users, some of whom said such checks targeted Malays — claims the police rejected as untrue, baseless and irresponsible.
Soon after, there were online posts claiming that TransCom officers carried out checks on students from a madrasah or Islamic school because “they had a quota to hit”. Refuting the allegations as untrue and irresponsible, the police clarified that their officers were talking to the students about a crime prevention scheme.
There have been too many cases like these in recent times. Generations of Singaporeans and the Government have worked hard to ensure that everyone co-exists peacefully regardless of race. We have national policies, initiatives and dialogues to ensure that race relations are handled carefully.
Race should not be frivolously tossed about because it is an emotive issue. Indeed, these incidents are sobering reminders that race remains a potential fault line in society and racial harmony is still a work in progress.
As cliched as this may sound, we should not take the racial harmony we have for granted. I shudder to think what will happen if making racial allegations becomes commonplace.
It takes only a small act to ruin the social fabric and trust we have built painstakingly for years.
The authorities should crack down harshly on those who have no qualms about stirring racial tensions. Perhaps it is time for the authorities to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.
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