Controversial rap video would cause more racism, not less: Shanmugam
Law and Home Affairs Minister says siblings who criticised 'brownface' ad had right to raise issue but did it the wrong way
There is racism in every multiracial society, including Singapore, and there is always a need to frankly discuss issues like casual racism and how to deal with it, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday.
And while YouTuber Preeti Nair and her brother, rapper Subhas Nair, had every right to raise the issue, the way they did it was not right, he added.
Mr Shanmugam was speaking to reporters a day after the siblings issued a second "unconditional" apology for a controversial rap video, which the minister deemed to have crossed the line by attacking Chinese Singaporeans with vulgarities.
The police are investigating the video after a report was made, and are taking advice from the Attorney-General's Chambers.
"If everyone starts discussing race and religion in the way they did, then you will in fact get more racism, not less," Mr Shanmugam said on the sidelines of an event at Sri Siva-Krishna Temple in Marsiling.
"They have used the language of resistance in America, but we thankfully are in a very different situation...
"We have progressed by having clear government policies and Singaporeans generally accepting multiracial values," he said.
The video by Ms Nair - also known as Preetipls - and her brother took aim at an e-payment advertisement which featured Mediacorp actor and DJ Dennis Chew wearing a tudung and darkening his skin to portray characters of other races.
The Nairs wrote on Saturday: "If we could do it over again, we would change the manner in which we approached this issue, and would have worded our thoughts better...
"We only wanted to spark a conversation and get corporations to stop painting people brown to portray a minority and instead simply hire a brown person because brownface is extremely offensive."
The statement followed an earlier one by the siblings on Friday, which the Home Affairs Ministry (MHA) called insincere and a "pretence of an apology" as it mimicked the wording of a statement by Havas Worldwide, the creative agency behind the ad, and The Celebrity Agency, Mediacorp's celebrity management arm.
POOR TASTE
Yesterday, Mr Shanmugam reiterated that the ad was in poor taste.
"Many disapprove of it and the people behind the ad, and others need to learn from that - be much more sensitive."
But he was also keen to emphasise the work Singapore has done to counter racism.
Citing the surveys conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies and the regular conferences, symposiums and dialogues that are held, Mr Shanmugam said the issue is openly discussed and studied here.
"Racism is a key concern for MHA, and other ministries. We want to build a cohesive society, but racism corrodes and deepens the fault lines," he said, noting that the situation has improved over the years.
"There are areas where the Government can do things, there are aspects where people have to become more aware, and more sensitive."
Pointing to headlines yesterday about protests and unrest in Hong Kong, Kashmir and Russia, and the mass shootings in the US, Mr Shanmugam said: "We in Singapore can be thankful that we have avoided headlines like these."
He added: "We must see how we can progress further, because as many of us recognise, there continue to be racial fault lines and religious fault lines. It is always work in progress."
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