Singapore has introduced a new law aimed at protecting racial harmony, incorporating measures such as restraining orders and community initiatives. The Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill, inspired by existing legislation like the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, seeks to address threats to racial cohesion and designates race-based entities for protection against foreign influence.
Singapore on Tuesday (Jan 7) formally proposed a law to safeguard racial harmony , comprising a suite of measures including restraining orders and community remedial initiatives. Race-based entities here could also be designated under the new legislation, to protect against malicious foreign influence, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a press release on Tuesday.
The Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill was earlier introduced in parliament by Minister of State for Home Affairs and for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling.during his National Day Rally, who said then that the government would introduce specific legislation to consolidate its existing powers to deal with racial issues while strengthening its ability to deal with threats to racial harmony. It would also signal that racial harmony is equally important to Singapore society as religious harmony, which has had a dedicated piece of legislation since 1990 with the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA). While Tuesday’s tabled legislation is new, it “takes close reference from existing legislation' in the form of the MRHA and Penal Code, said MHA.will remain substantively the same as today.' MHA said it had engaged the public on the Bill, including through an online consultation on the Ministry of Digital Development and Information’s REACH website, which received over 100 pieces of feedback. It also organised 17 in-person sessions, engaging with around 300 community leaders, representatives of race-based entities and members of the public. An online poll was also conducted in August last year to gather public sentiments towards racial harmony in Singapore and the proposed Bill. This involved 1,051 Singapore residents aged 15 years and older, cutting across gender, age and racial group
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