Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam spoke in Parliament about the Gaza conflict and the possible effect of self-radicalisation in Singapore. In my opinion, there is a silver lining.

While Singapore has, at the United Nations General Assembly, been voting mostly for the Palestinians, not enough effort was made previously to communicate this to the masses here.

With advanced communications technology, there is now acknowledgement that reactions here to occurrences as far away as Palestine are inevitable.

Mr Shanmugam said also that there are limits to what the United Nations can do in Palestine and little that Singapore can do. (“Israel, Hamas must take concrete steps to end conflict: Shanmugam”; Aug 6)

Still, the Foreign Affairs Ministry has issued a few statements to condemn the killing of Palestinian civilians and children. Expressing empathy with fellow humans, regardless of whether they are Israeli or Palestinians, shows the Republic’s soul to the world.

I believe that the ministry’s recent endeavours, even if it considers them little, will go a long way towards correcting the misunderstanding some Muslim Singaporeans may have of the Government’s views on Israel-Palestinian issues.