This page is an attempt to collect all of the news articles and significant blogposts relating to racism in Singapore.

Not all of these posts are describing racist incidents – some are noteworthy discussions about racism.

I’ve been pretty busy in 2021 so I haven’t been keeping up with the news as much since.

If you found this useful, I would appreciate it if you bought me a coffee!

1992

• “One evening, I drove to Little India and it was pitch dark but not because there was no light, but because there were too many Indians around.” — Former PAP MP Mr Choo Wee Khiang, in a speech in Parliament in 1992
  • Turns out, in 1990, Mr. Choo issued a a false invoice claiming to have sold equipment worth over a million dollars to his brother-in-law. He resigned as an MP before pleading guilty in court. He was sentenced to two weeks in jail and fined $10,000.
  • 15 years later, Mr. Choo was President of the Singapore Table Tennis Association – he charged over $10,000 of personal expenses to STTA, and accepted gifts and bribes from Chinese players.
  • (Trivia: His nephew Desmond Choo is currently in the PAP as an MP for Tampines GRC.)

2005

• Two men arrested under the Sedition Act for posting comments against Muslims and Malays on Internet blogs
• PSC scholar Chua Cheng Zhan: 1, 2

2011

• YPAP member Jason Neo calls Malay schoolchildren “young terrorist trainees”

2012

• Shimun Lai: Fucking indians […] trains need to have separate cabins for humans and fkn dogs
• “I fail to comprehend why a local, say, Chinese woman would want a Bangladeshi toy boy. To get ridiculed by friends and family?”
• Justin Wee: “My racist jokes damn awesome right?”, followed by ““I wish to clarify that I did not mean any of the profanities and racist jokes I had said in the video for I was drunk and did not have a clue about what I was doing or what was going on around me.”
• NTUC Asst. Director Amy Cheong sacked for racist remarks
• Campus Crusade for Christ: “Much of the population is M”
• Chinese UOB employees paint their faces black at Bollywood-themed party
  • New Nation says it’s not racist
  • Blogger says it’s not racist; Indians are the real racists
• Seker SB: Advantage of growing up a minority in Singapore is that you adapt

2013

• I’m a brown person and I live in a racist country – [mirror]
• Little India riot: Netizens combat racism on social media

2014

• Outside the Margins: Chinese Privilege in Singapore
• Civil society groups ‘alarmed’ by surge of racism and xenophobia
• Is Singapore a racist country?
• Alfian: Racism vs Ethnocentrism
• To My Dear Fellow Singapore Chinese: Shut Up When a Minority is Talking about Race.

2015

• Sharon Au mocks Indian girl’s accent at SEA games
• Chinese Privilege, Gender and Intersectionality in Singapore: A Conversation between Adeline Koh and Sangeetha Thanapal
• /r/singapore – What’s one question you’ve been dying to ask another race but never do because you’re afraid of the impending “THAT’S RACIST!” aftermath?
• Ban of musical instruments in Thaipusam
• “I don’t want sit beside malay people”
• “You can’t take pork right???” – “Erm because often we would be going out for company events and all. So it would be inconvenient if one of our staff can’t take that meat.”
• Priscilla Poh Beng Hoon: “The Malay language makes me vomit. Only very stupid people call for use of this low-class language.”

2016

• “WTF Singapore one so ugly!!” – when a brown girl represents Singapore
• Prima Deli: “”From what I see, and the way you look, and not trying to be racist ah, but you Malay, I think you cannot la”
  • PrimaDeli apologises, sacks staff for making racist remarks to job interviewee
• Tampines 1: “Our target audience is mainly Chinese” [alt]
• Singaporeans Try: Indian Snacks
• Toggle does Blackface
• MP Denise Phua calls Indians “walking time-bombs”
• Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen: No space for halal kitchens on Navy ships
• Confronting ‘Chinese privilege’ in Singapore
• Iwani Mawocha: Is Singapore a racist country? – A black woman’s experience in Singapore
• SMRT gives racist cabbie stern warning
• /r/singapore – [Serious] Singapore locals who have experienced racism, what is your story?
• /r/singapore – Saw this defence/alternative view of The SmartLocal’s video controversy on my FB feed
• Zulfikar Shariff – Racism in Singapore is not new

2017

• NOC: “She look like she’s attending Deepavali” / “One little two little three little Indian”
• What Privilege Looks Like in Singapore
• Even in weak market, racial bias trumps profit for many Singapore landlords
• The racist reality of house-hunting in Singapore: “Sorry, your wife is Indian”
• Radio play with ‘ludicrous accents’ being re-recorded following online protests
• “This is Singapore. You Filipinos. Go back to the Philippines. This is Singapore.”
• What it feels like to be an Indian girl in NUS Business School [TOC]
• /r/singapore – What’s the most racist thing you’ve heard in Singapore?
• “We r not discriminating u, just that many malay guys sex abuse”
• When the teacher saw the girl’s package, she said, “What’s that? So dirty!”
• ABTM 4: Casting director asks actor to be “full blown Indian man”
  • Actor questioned by police
• Defining Malay (context: Elected Presidency)
• Gushcloud influencer disliked food at Ramadan Bazaar
  • my video response
• The Hard Truth about Racism in Singaporean Media
• No by-election if minority MP leaves GRC, says Chun Sing
• “Fucking Bangla”, (also see: Mothership comments section)
• “You think you are more equal than Chinese? Singapore majority Chinese ok!”

2018

• [Discussion] Alfian Sa’at writes about his frustrating experience in a taxi.
  • Donovan Choy’s response
• “Fuck Indians” spray-painted on a children’s playground
  • Discussion
• Thaipusam music dispute – contrast with Lion Dance
• Master Chef in Singapore requires Mandarin fluency
• “smelly because of the Indian” – a Singaporean Chinese student’s parent complained to the head of the tuition centre that she did not want her child being taught by an Indian.
• Racist man shouts expletives at foreigner to get out of lift at Changi Airport
• “SHE IS A MALAY”.
• “No mummy. I’m ugly because I’m not light. My friends said that if I’m lighter, then I would be pretty. But now I’m not!!”
• “FAT/MALAY/INDIAN…no!”
• “All of you so black how to recognize?” 
• racist reactions to NTU students brewing beer
• Miss Singapore Universe: “she was here to add the colour aspect” “the sponsors have their subsidiary awards, they will choose the chinese girls”
• Serangoon resident claims to be victim of anti-Hindu vandalism for past few weeks
• “Living abroad as a Chinese Singaporean taught me what racism felt like”
• FEATUREDSportSG apologises for “racist” image; staff identified as Singapore Sports Institute’s chief – “We would like to sincerely apologise if any of this has caused offence to people who have seen the posts on social media without the benefit of understanding the context.” 🙄

2019

• S’porean actress highlights “deeply ingrained” racism in S’pore, was asked if she was “ok” kissing Indian actor
• CNA: Survey finds rise in perception of work-related discrimination among Malays, Indians in Singapore
• Mothership: I witnessed casual racism while buying carrot cake in a hawker centre & didn’t do anything about it
• @H0NEYBIX’s experience
• ‘Brownface’ advertisement sparks anger in Singapore
  • Pritam Singh response
• /r/singapore – how has racism closed doors for you?
• 15% of respondents find Muslims threatening: IPS report (straitstimes.com)
• Law Minister K Shanmugam on Subhas and Preeti (facebook.com)

2020

• Jonathan Yong-Ern Lim calls Priyageetha Dia’s guest a “hypocritical snakewhore” and threatens to “obliterate the minority cult”
  • her response
• TP student arrested for inciting violence and posting religious hateful comments on social media
• Mao Mao book incident
• Parvitar Singh incident [1, 2]
• Racism in Singapore: Time to listen to minorities’ concerns (straitstimes.com)
• Why Singapore needs new ways to tackle racism more effectively (todayonline.com)
• Mother and son investigated by police for allegedly uttering racial slur and vulgarities on social media (todayonline.com)
• ‘Cowardly act of hate’: Ho Ching slams social media doxxing of Temasek Holdings’ Indian employees (todayonline.com)
• Young Singaporeans are ready to talk about race. Are their parents? (scmp.com)

2021

• Racism still exists in Singapore, but identity politics must not take root, says Lawrence Wong (straitstimes.com)
• Singapore teenager inspired by Christchurch massacre arrested for allegedly planning attack on mosques, authorities say (theguardian.com)
• Judged by the colour of my skin’: Tutor disheartened by families checking on his race
• Beow Lim aka Hwa Chong lady [1, 2], police investigating
• Police investigating man accused of using racial slur and kicking 55-year-old woman (straitstimes.com)
• PA apologises for using couple’s wedding photo for Hari Raya decorations without permission (straitstimes.com)
• Police investigating incident in which racist remarks were made to interracial couple 
• Neighbour clangs gong repeatedly as man in S’pore performs prayers outside home

2022

• Rapping for the vulnerable of Singapore (aljazeera.com)
• Rapper Subhas Nair set to plead guilty to attempting to promote ill will over religion, race (channelnewsasia.com)
• Woman who made offensive comments about race given stern warning, charges withdrawn (channelnewsasia.com) – Beow Tan

2023

• Rapper Subhas Nair ‘twisting facts’ to suit own narrative, says prosecutor in racially charged trial (channelnewsasia.com)
• suicide note of Uvaraja s/o Gopal (reddit.com)
  • K Shanmugam’s FB post
  • Fauzella

2024

TBA

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I’m on Twitter.