If passed, the proposed legislation would result in the designation of more than 300 entities in Singapore.- ST
SINGAPORE: A new Bill that seeks to consolidate and strengthen the Government’s powers to maintain racial harmony in Singapore was introduced in Parliament on Tueday (Jan 7).
Under the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill, clan and business associations linked to the Chinese, Malay and Indian races would be designated as “race-based entities” and subject to measures to curb foreign influence, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
If passed, the proposed legislation would result in the designation of more than 300 such entities in Singapore, according to MHA’s preliminary estimation.
Race-based entities would have to disclose their foreign affiliations, foreign and anonymous donations, and leadership composition.
These organisations would also have to ensure more than half of the members of their governing body are Singapore citizens, and that their responsible officers are either citizens or permanent residents.
The Bill also proposed empowering the Minister for Home Affairs to make restraining orders against people involved in communicating, producing or distributing content prejudicial to racial harmony in Singapore.
This is similar to restraining orders against content that will harm religious harmony under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA). The orders can be used against those that cause feelings of enmity, hatred, ill-will or hostility between different religious groups, promote a political cause or carry out subversive activities, among other things.
However, the authorities have never resorted to issuing a restraining order – a lever that can be invoked without having to establish that a person or entity is engaging in criminal conduct – since the MRHA was enacted in 1990.
A restraining order against harmful racial content could be used to stop a person from addressing an audience on a specified subject; communicating or distributing certain information or material; printing, editing, assisting or contributing to a publication; or holding office at a publication.
It takes immediate effect once issued. Those who violate the order could be jailed for up to two years, and/or fined up to $10,000.
The racial harmony Bill has been in the works for more than three years. Then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong first announced it in his 2021 National Day Rally speech.
Then, he said legislation would be introduced to consolidate the Government’s existing powers to deal with racial issues, signal that racial harmony and religious harmony are equally important, and strengthen the country’s ability to deal with threats to racial harmony.
MHA said the drafted laws closely referenced existing legislation. Many aspects of the proposed provisions are also found in the MRHA, such as the new laws applying even if the conduct occurred overseas, as long as the offence was directed towards a person or group in Singapore.
While it may be difficult to enforce offences extra-territorially, this “signals our commitment to protect our racial harmony, even when the threat originates from overseas, via social media, for example”, the ministry said.
MHA said a government online poll of 1,051 Singapore residents in August 2024 found that 61 per cent of respondents agreed that the Government should do more to protect racial harmony.
In that poll, 49 per cent of respondents agreed that Singapore’s laws and policies adequately protect racial harmony in Singapore, versus 6 per cent who disagreed. Meanwhile, 53 per cent agreed that existing criminal laws adequately deter racially offensive conduct, versus 7 per cent who disagreed.
More than half – 55 per cent – also backed the proposal for community remedial activities in place of prosecution for less serious race-related offences. This is compared with 18 per cent who felt that all offenders should be prosecuted in court.
The Bill includes a community remedial regime, under which the Home Affairs Minister may, in less egregious cases, establish programmes for offending parties to make amends for their racist conduct.
MHA said the Public Prosecutor would take a person’s satisfactory completion of a community remedial programme into account in deciding whether to prosecute a race-related offence under the Bill.
The proposed law also ports over all race-related Penal Code offences, with updates.
The term “wound racial feelings” would be replaced with “insults, vilifies, denigrates, threatens or abuses on the basis of race”. MHA said the change “provides clarity and does not substantively expand the scope of conduct that would make out an offence today”.
To better align penalties with similar offences already found in the MRHA, the maximum jail term for such offences would be raised from three years to five years, MHA said.
The proposed racial harmony laws mainly deviate from the MRHA in terms of the related entities that would be subject to safeguards against foreign influence.
The MRHA covers all religious groups, while the racial harmony Bill stipulates that only designated race-based organisations would have to comply with the measures.
MHA said this is because organisations considered race-based are a much larger and more diverse group.
“It is neither necessary nor desirable at this juncture for such safeguards to apply to all race-based organisations,” the ministry added.
Asked why races classified as “Others” under Singapore’s race framework are excluded, MHA said it decided to start with designating only entities that represent the major racial groups and have a higher potential of being vectors of malicious foreign influence.
This was done as “a matter of practicality and to take a more calibrated approach”, it added.
MHA noted, however, that this does not preclude it from designating entities of other races, as well as those other than clan or business associations in the future.
The proposed law states that an entity may be designated based on its involvement in representing or promoting the interests of any race, or discussing any issue relating to any race.
A group may also be made a race-based entity if its designation is deemed necessary or expedient to pre-empt, prevent or reduce any foreign influence that may undermine racial harmony in Singapore, MHA said.
MHA added that such entities would be notified in advance, and allowed to make representations on why they need not be designated before a final decision is made.
Other than being subjected to disclosure and leadership composition rules, race-based entities could also be issued restraining orders to prevent or reduce any foreign influence on them under the proposed law.
MHA said this would allow the Home Affairs Minister to prohibit an entity from accepting any foreign or anonymous donation; forming or maintaining an affiliation with a foreign principal; or from appointing or retaining any individual as a member of its governing body.
One concern raised during public consultation was that the Bill could create a chilling effect on race-related discourse.
MHA said the issuance of restraining orders will be subject to safeguards, like those in the MRHA, which have to be reviewed by a council that is independent of Government and subject to the President’s confirmation.
The proposed legislation would create a new council - the Presidential Council for Racial and Religious Harmony - to replace the existing Presidential Council for Religious Harmony.
The ministry said the new council would consist of a chairperson and at least 10 but not more than 20 other members who are to be appointed by the President, with advice from the Presidential Council for Minority Rights.
This is to ensure the council comprises representatives from Singapore’s major racial and religious communities and people who have distinguished themselves in public service or community relations here, MHA said.
The Bill also provides for the defence of private communication, which grants people a safe space to freely discuss race in a private setting, and the defence of pointing out matters in good faith, which lets people call out perceived racism.
MHA stressed that the Bill “strikes a balance” between keeping public discourse free from hateful speech, while allowing space for legitimate discourse.
It also complements other policies and efforts by the Government and community to promote racial harmony, the ministry added.
“The Government will continue to encourage, facilitate and maintain space for responsible and well-intentioned discussions and activities about race. However, speech and conduct that threaten our racial harmony will not be tolerated,” MHA said. - The Straits Times/ANN
