SINGAPORE — Racism is “beyond basic comprehension” and should not be allowed to take root in our society, said Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Zainal Sapari yesterday (Nov 4) following comments made by a member of the public against the Malay language.

“It stems from a satanic mindset of one’s superiority over others,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

A Facebook user by the name of Priscilla Poh Beng Hoon had yesterday posted comments against the Malay language, and said that Singapore would do well to detach itself from ASEAN.

Her comments were in response to a Malay Mail news report about a Malaysian minister calling for Malay to be used as the language of communication in ASEAN. Ms Poh’s comments have since drawn backlash from many others, such as Facebook user Jamilah Lim, who said the comments were “bigotry”.

“Unfortunately, racism cannot be eradicated,” said Mr Zainal, whose post has garnered more than 260 likes as of 7pm today. “It is up to us to prepare our loved ones for what they will face, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.”