Aside from propaganda, hate speech, unusual disturbance, as well as underlying socio-economic problems such as employment and housing are different factors that have contributed to the demonstrations in the United Kingdom, said Mr Shanmugam.
The minister continued,” We do n’t allow this in Singapore,” noting that the nation makes efforts to “prevent such a situation from arising by having a carefully designed legal framework and also carefully designed set of policies that give priority to law and order.”
First, Singapore has a number of laws in place to address these possible problems.
The Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act ( MRHA ), which protects against the incitement of racial and religious hatred, includes a strict policy toward hate speech, in addition to the regulations imposed by the Public Order Act.
” Because when people are constantly exposed to hate talk … the hidden prejudices, biases may earn and finally, violence. That is evident everywhere in the universe. So we do n’t even allow it to start and we take action”, said Mr Shanmugam.
Since the MRHA was passed in the 1990s and afterward amended in 2019, government “haven’t had to get serious motion”, he said. He continued, adding that there have been “very few” situations involving race and religion that have been reported over the past five years.
His administration will also be introducing the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill, which, among other things, aims to strengthen existing laws that deal with cultural problems.
Separately, Singapore also has laws to deal with falsehoods and foreign interference, namely through the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act ( POFMA ) and Foreign Interference ( Countermeasures ) Act ( FICA ) respectively.
Collectively, this legal foundation forms a” helmet” that protects Singaporeans from the violence seen in other areas.  ,
Residents are not normally distinct or have always existed. But our model acts as a weapon”, said Mr Shanmugam.
Beyond that, we have empowered law enforcement to prevent it from becoming a mob or into anything more critical, including the few who make it through. So the result is no riots, racist attacks, violence- the kind of thing that you saw” . ,