The issue of race is never absent from politics and “harmony in Singapore cannot be left to chance or wishful thinking”, said Senior Minister of State for Law and Transport Murali Pillai on Sunday (Nov 2).
He was responding to a video posted by secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Chee Soon Juan on Oct 17.
In his video, Chee alleged that policies made by the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) – indication of race on their National Registration Identity Cards (NRICs); establishment of ethnic-based self-help groups; and creation of the group representation constituency (GRC) – suggest that it was the PAP which has been engaging in race and identity politics.
Chee’s video was posted three days after Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam delivered a ministerial statement on race and religion in parliament.
In his statement, Shanmugam said that multiculturalism has positioned our society ahead of other countries, but ensuring equality for all races is still a “work in progress”.
“I am not suggesting that race, religious harmony is perfect in Singapore, as I said earlier, it’s work in progress. Members of different communities do experience racism and face other issues,” he said, adding that politicians play an important role in maintaining the harmony and integration between different ethnic communities and should not play into identity politics.
The coordinating minister pointed to three incidents which took place during the 2025 General Election as examples: religious preacher Noor Deros who said he would rally votes for any political party that agreed with his demands – along racial, religious lines; the Workers’ Party’s (WP) contest in Tampines; and SDP candidate Damanhuri Abas who said that more opposition Malay members of parliament are needed to raise Malay issues in parliament.
This mention of Damanhuri sparked Chee’s response who went on to challenge the minister to a debate.
Recounting his candidacy in the Bukit Batok single member constituency by-election in 2016 and 2020 General Election (GE2020), Murali said on Facebook on Sunday (Nov 2) that there were attempts, “not necessarily by residents”, to weaponise race for political purposes during GE2020.
“One example is the defacing of my campaign poster in 2020. Someone deliberately drew a beard on me, put a black and red dot on my forehead and defaced my figure to make me look like an unsuitable Indian candidate.
“They also wrote insults to mock my race including writing the character for ‘die’ in Chinese,” said Murali in his Facebook post on Nov 2.
Murali suggested that these actions were done by “a small group” for political purposes.
“It was a sobering reminder to me that race is never absent from politics. And it reaffirmed my belief that harmony in Singapore cannot be left to chance or wishful thinking. It was painful to see. But more than anger, I felt sadness. Because it showed how easily race can be twisted into hate, and how fragile harmony can be if we were to ever take it for granted,” Murali added.
Turning to Chee’s comment that the PAP should stop using the “racial bogey”, Murali countered that ignoring the issue of race does not make divisions disappear.
“He (Chee Soon Juan) has a candidate in his party who referred to a fellow candidate in the same GRC as ‘keling’. Did ignoring race result in SDP [being] free of prejudice?”, Murali asked.
The term “keling” may be considered a pejorative term to the Indian community, even though its original meaning was not meant to be so.
In 2021, Malaysia’s Institute of Language and Literature (DBP) was criticised for using the word on its website and eventually replaced the term with another word.
“Indeed, around the world we see how quickly societies can fracture when racial realities are ignored,” Murali said, adding that the ministerial statement is a “timely reminder” of the shared responsibility that Singaporeans have to reject identity politics “before it takes root”.
Said Murali: “Singapore’s approach is different. We acknowledge our diversity, preserve our unique cultures, and build common ground. Singapore was founded on the belief that every race has a rightful and equal place in society.”
He defended the PAP government’s policies cited by Chee, saying that they exist “not to divide us, but to protect our equality, representation , and harmony”.
Murali did however acknowledge that the policies “are not perfect”, but have still helped make Singapore into the peaceful and stable society it is today.
