In the wake of the killing of American right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam cautioned that while Singapore has largely defied identity politics, there remain worrying trends which he hopes Singaporeans will continue to eschew.
Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, was speaking to the media at Laguna National Golf Resort Club before a charity event on Friday (Sept 12), where he was asked about the murder of the divisive political figure.
One worrying trend, said Shanmugam, is that some politicians here are “playing identity politics” based on race and religion, without identifying the politicians.
He said: “In every country there is political profit in doing that. If we go down that route, well, ultimately Singapore will suffer.”
He noted, however, that Singapore has largely avoided identity politics, and the Government tries to keep it that way.
Shanmugam added that what happened to Kirk was “horrific” though not surprising given the political divisions in the US, noting “harsh, toxic language used against political opponents, persons with opposing views”.
He also pointed to the deteriorating crime and drug situation in the country, and the availability of high-grade weapons as factors behind a general worsening of life in the US.
Law and order, policies to safeguard space for discourse
Shanmugam said that a key purpose of democracy is to “manage differences” and “identify a way forward that benefits the broadest section of society”.
“Some compromises are necessary, and that’s what politics should be about,” said Shanmugam, adding that Singapore has structured its society differently – with law and order so people can “feel safe”.
“Our politics has largely operated within that framework where we discuss our differences in a mostly civilised way,” Shanmugam added.
He explained that the situation in Singapore is different because of its laws and social policies as well as its tough stance against drugs and on the death penalty.
Shanmugam also said that Singapore has to be tough on abuse against minorities – be it based on race, religion or sexual orientation.
“So we have [framed] it, we have explained it to the population, and we get the buy-in,” explained Shanmugam, adding that policies are still needed to bring people together.
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editor@asiaone.com
