Parliament on Feb 4 passed a new law to consolidate and strengthen the Government's powers to maintain racial harmony in Singapore, following a five-hour debate.
Modelled after the existing Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, the law empowers the authorities to issue restraining orders against persons involved in making content that prejudices Singapore's racial harmony.
MPs also asked about SingaporeUS ties under the Trump administration and unauthorised changes to residential addresses made through an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) eservice.
Here are the key takeaways from the latest sitting:
MAINTENANCE OF RACIAL HARMONY NIE OF RACIA
The racial harmony law will let the Government set up community remedial programmes, which allow persons who have committed less egregious race-related offences the chance to mend community ties as an alternative to prosecution.
The new law also introduced safeguards against foreign interference by designating over 300 clan and business associations linked to the Chinese, Malay and Indian communities here as "race-based entities". They will have to disclose foreign donations and comply with restrictions on leadership by foreigners, among other things.
The Constitution will be amended to establish the Presidential Council for Racial and Religious Harmony, to advise the President on matters related to racial and religious harmony.
This is because the new law provides for a presidential safeguard to the restraining orders the Government can issue to stop the distribution of content that may harm Singapore's racial harmony.
WHY IT MATTERS: The new legislation affirms the importance of racial harmony in Singapore, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam.
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