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In Parliament: Shanmugam to make ministerial statement on hate speech

SINGAPORE — Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam will be addressing hate speech through a ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday (April 1), in light of recent events here and abroad that stirred Islamophobia and anti-Christian sentiments.

A remembrance service for victims of the mosque attacks in Christchurch.

A remembrance service for victims of the mosque attacks in Christchurch.

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SINGAPORE — Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam will be addressing hate speech through a ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday (April 1), in light of recent events here and abroad that stirred Islamophobia and anti-Christian sentiments.

Mr Shanmugam will be speaking on the Government’s approach in restricting hate speech — or forms of expression which spread and incite racial hatred, xenophobia and other forms of intolerant views — so as to maintain racial and religious harmony here.

Islamophobia reared its ugly head on March 15 when a gunman shot dead 50 people in a rampage at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

Earlier this month, Swedish black metal band Watain had its gig in Singapore cancelled at the eleventh hour following concerns over the band’s history of denigrating religions and promoting violence.

Across the Causeway, a neo-Nazi band festival in Ipoh was also cancelled after it drew protests.

At a Religious Rehabilitation Group event last Tuesday, Mr Shanmugam had said that Singapore makes “no apologies” for its tough stance on hate speech although some may criticise it, as he stressed that hate speech cannot be allowed to “normalise”.

An example of hate speech he had used then was Australian senator Fraser Anning’s comments on how the real cause of the Christchurch bloodshed was New Zealand’s decision to let “Muslim fanatics” into the country, saying that it reflected the “growing fear” of Muslim immigration.

Apart from the ministerial statement, three bills will be introduced when Parliament convenes on Monday, the most anticipated of which will be the laws targeting the rise of fake news.

Named the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill, it will detail how the Government intends to hold online news sources and platform accountable.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during a speech at Channel NewsAsia’s 20th anniversary celebrations on Friday that content providers will likely be required to show corrections or display warnings about online falsehoods, and — in extreme and urgent cases — take down an errant article.

Apart from these, the House will also discuss the data breach involving the personal information of more than 800,000 blood donors that was announced earlier this month, with nine Members of Parliament (MPs) fielding questions.

MPs wanted to know if the Health Sciences Authority, which collected the data, was aware of any unauthorised access to the database during the nine weeks it was left exposed on the Internet.

They also wanted to know if such an incident would constitute a breach of any law, and what the Government will be doing to strengthen its security framework with service providers and vendors.

On the agenda is also an update to the air quality situation Singapore is facing as a result of developments in Johor, Malaysia, as identified hotspots there and the chemical waste dumping incident at Pasir Gudang concerned residents here.

Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (GRC) MP Lee Bee Wah asked whether Singapore had received updates on the Johor authorities’ efforts to manage their hotspots, and how residents here can be safeguarded against long-term exposure to pollutants.

Meanwhile, Non-Constituency MP Daniel Goh asked what sensors are in place in Punggol to measure the level of volatile organic compounds in the air, and whether there has been an increase in the measured levels since the Pasir Gudang incident that affected more than 3,000 living in that area.

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