Racist online remarks about Indians reinforced Former Senior Minister S Jayakumar’s view that Singapore should keep its Group Representation Constituency system, he said in an interview reported by CNA.
CNA reported that Jayakumar referred to comments connected with the Nepal floods and Singapore Airlines’ investment in Air India. He said the system should remain while race, language and religion continued to raise concerns in public life.
The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 1988 inserted Article 39A, which authorizes legislation establishing GRCs to support representation in Parliament for Malay, Indian and other minority communities. Singapore’s Elections Department says GRC teams have three to six candidates, with at least one candidate from the minority community designated for that GRC. Parliament’s glossary notes that the system does not apply to every constituency.
Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said Sept. 5 that he had asked police to look into racist online comments connected with the Nepal floods and the Singapore Airlines–Air India relationship. He called the comments “shameful, nasty and totally unacceptable” and said he did not know whether all had been posted by Singaporeans.
