SINGAPORE — Law-abiding migrant workers need not worry about their future in Singapore, said Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam during a visit to a foreign workers’ dormitory in Kranji last night. He added that the Government’s position is very clear and that, if an offence is committed, firm action would be taken.

“We are extremely strict. No compromise on that (breaking the law), zero tolerance. Subject to that, if they (the workers) didn’t do anything, there is no reason to fear,” he said.

The minister’s visit last night to Kranji Lodge was his first to a dormitory since Sunday’s riot in Little India, after 33-year-old Indian worker Sakthivel Kumaravelu was hit by a bus at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road. He was there to assure workers that they would not be deported or have problems getting their contracts renewed in the future if they did not do anything wrong. Some workers had expressed concerns that they may be sent home after their work permits expire.

Mr Shanmugam also chaired a 30-minute dialogue with 40 Indian nationals living at the dormitory, where he asked the group about their views on Sunday’s riot which they unanimously disapproved.

Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC Vikram Nair and Nominated MP R Dhinakaran, who were present at the dialogue, urged the workers to remember the reason they came to Singapore, which was to work and earn a living so they can send money back to their families. They should not waste money on alcohol and, if they had problems with their employers, they could approach the Ministry of Manpower, they said.

Indian national Ramadas Kuberan, who has worked in the construction sector in Singapore for a decade, said people here should not “generalise” them and look at them “differently”, in the wake of Sunday’s riot. To date, 27 men — all Indian nationals aged between 22 and 40 — have been charged with rioting.

Responding in Tamil, Mr Shanmugam said that such a perception has been formed, and while it is difficult to change it now, it can be corrected with time.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Shanmugam pointed out that the number of foreigners who commit crimes are very small. “To put into context, if you look at the statistics, the foreigners who commit crimes are actually very small, because most of them are here to earn a living. They know that if they commit an offence ... they’ll be sent back. So they really stay within (the law),” he said. “So what happened on Sunday is an aberration, it’s a minority. Firm action will be taken.”