Shanmugam: Avoid identity politics, protect Singapore’s secular system
Coordinating Minister for National Security Minister K. Shanmugam said that public political debate must be conducted and decided on a secular basis. (PHOTO: EDGAR SU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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Coordinating Minister for National Security
K Shanmugam has urged politicians to avoid exploiting race and religion for political gain, warning that such tactics pose a serious threat to Singapore’s
social harmony. Speaking in Parliament on 14 Oct, he cautioned against the rise of identity politics and called on all parties to uphold responsible conduct during election campaigns.
In his hour-long address, delivered in response to "troubling incidents" during the May general election, Shanmugam outlined the key principles guiding Singapore’s approach to sensitive issues of race and religion, as well as how politicians here should respond to future attempts to provoke such issues.
The minister, who is also the Home Affairs Minister, reiterated that Singapore’s public political discourse must remain secular, even as citizens freely practise their faiths. This separation, he said, is central to Singapore’s existence as an independent nation.
Shanmugam singled out the Workers’ Party for its response to comments made during the election campaign by self-proclaimed religious teacher Noor Deros and members of Malaysia’s Islamist party PAS, saying the party should have reacted more swiftly and taken a clearer stance. He also warned that identity politics has deeply divided nations such as the United States, cautioning Parliament that once such divisions take root, they are difficult to control and nearly impossible to undo.