Singapore tables bill for maintaining racial harmony

SINGAPORE -- Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs introduced the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill, first mooted by then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2021, for its first reading during Tuesday's parliamentary sitting.

Key proposals in the bill include the introduction of a "Restraining Order" regime, a community-based approach to addressing racial incidents, and safeguards to prevent race-based entities from being used as vectors of foreign influence, the ministry said in a press release.

Under the bill, the home affairs minister will have the authority to issue Restraining Orders against individuals involved in "the communication, production, or distribution of content" that undermines racial harmony in Singapore.

Individuals subjected to such orders would face restrictions on various activities, including disseminating specified information or materials, addressing specific audiences on specified topics, and contributing to or editing specified publications.

The ministry said that the orders would take immediate effect upon issuance, noting that "offensive content can go viral very quickly and may cause widespread and irreparable harm to social cohesion", and that "the government must have the levers to deal with such egregious content swiftly and pre-emptively".

The bill also introduced a Community Remedial Initiative, as "criminal prosecution alone will not be able to repair community ties", the ministry said.

Following Tuesday's first reading, the bill will proceed to its second and third readings. Once passed by the parliament, it will also require the president's assent to become law.

In his 2021 National Day Rally speech, Lee announced that the government would introduce specific legislation on racial harmony to consolidate existing government powers to deal with racial issues, enhance Singapore's ability to address threats to racial harmony, and signal the equal importance of racial harmony alongside religious harmony in society.

Singapore is home to a diverse population comprising various ethnic groups. According to the latest census published in 2020, the city-state's resident population includes 74.3 percent Chinese, 13.5 percent Malays and 9.0 percent Indians.