[Draft 2] Essay

Racist commentary about the minority groups on the social media is no longer rare in Singapore because internet users take their internet freedom for granted and the consequences of their irresponsible use of the social media are not being heavily monitored by the law. The Ministry of Education in Singapore can also urge schools or academic institutions to stress on educating students about online racism.

Racism is the idea or belief that characteristic and abilities are attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others (Shah, 2010). The increase in the number of racist commentaries on the minority races in Singapore is worrying as this will threaten the racial harmony and social cohesion that Singapore have preserved. The internet provides prevalence for people to voice out their opinions without revealing their true identity. They feel “empowered to be far more insulting when communicating through a modem than in real life” (Younge, 2012)

 

This leads us to a familiar issue back in 2012 when Ms Amy Cheong posted her profanity-laced remark on her Facebook account slamming Malay void deck weddings and also mocking the divorce rates of the Malay community (Tan, 2012). This resulted in anger among Singaporeans especially the Malay community in Singapore who retaliated using the social media to the offensive remark made by Amy Cheong. These are the consequences of online racism in Singapore.

According to chapter 290 of the Sedition Act 1964 (SIN) anyone who publish remarks or comments that “promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore…shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for a first offence to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both”. For the racist remarks she posted, Cheong was given a warning from the police and was also fired from her job Assistant Director of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

The punishments she received from the authorities was deemed not enough to compensate for her irresponsible actions which had threatened the social cohesion and racial harmony in Singapore. There were also not much follow-ups on the consequences she faced which might give people the impression that posting racist commentaries online is acceptable. The internet regulation in Singapore have also been regarded as a myth instead (Yip, 2013). There were various others such as “Heather Chua” who boldly criticized the Malays and Indians (In brief, 2014). The actions taken against these irresponsible internet users needs to be more firm in order to prevent it from happening again. The law can only monitor a few out of the 5.47 million people in Singapore. Singaporeans cannot just depend on the law to prevent such occurrences but instead they can cooperate with the law by being more conscious of what the consequences if they post racist commentaries and social media users can also prevent this by flagging or reporting any racist comments they encounter online to stop it from spreading around.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) should continue to urge schools to stress on educating students about the responsible use of internet focusing towards online racism in social media. During the Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) 2014 Conference, Ms Ho Peng, Director-General of Education addressed the potential risks of Internet despite its opportunities for learning especially for students who are active participants of the cyber space. She also emphasized on to the importance of peer education to raise “understanding of various cyber wellness issues such as cyber bullying and Internet safety” (Ministry of Education, 2014). This initiative should be carried on as it is easier and will be more effective to approach students via their peers who belong to the same age group (Briggs, 2013). Schools can also design talks or quizzes to get an idea of how much do the students know about online racism on social media.

This approach is meant for early prevention. It is imperative to start educating people on internet ethics when they are of a young age as they have the ability to remember and apply it for the rest of their lives (Garrett, 2003). There have been cases of online racism such as the case on two 17 year old youths who were arrested for posting racist remarks on their respective Facebook and Twitter accounts (Public Affairs Department, 2012). Schools can use real life cases to illustrate the impact of online racism on the society as well as the consequences of the irresponsible use of social media. When students start engaging in the use of social media, they will be conscious of what they can or cannot post on their social media accounts and they will also know how to react to racist commentaries they encounter on the internet in the future.

In conclusion, early prevention provides a better solution to the responsible use of internet which affects online racism. Although the law is one way to curb online racism from occurring, it is still insufficient to compensate for the damage online racism may potentially cause. It is then necessary to inculcate the impact and consequences of online racism onto young minds to prevent Singaporeans from posting online commentaries on the social media in the future.

(883 words)

 

References

Briggs, S. (2013, June 7). How peer teaching improves student learning and 10 ways to encourage it. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/peer-teaching/

In brief. (2014, January 11). Man under investigations for posting racist remarks as ‘Heather Chua’. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/man-under-investigation-posting-racist-remarks-heather-chua

Ministry of Education. (2014, February 12). Cyber Wellness Student Ambassador Programme (CWSAP) 2014 Conference. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2014/02/12/speech-by-ms-ho-peng-at-the-cyber-wellness-student-ambassador-programme-2014-conference.php

Parrett, W.G. (2003, May 2). The importance of teaching ethics at an early age. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-05-02/news/0305020217_1_business-leaders-ethics-business-decisions

Public Affairs Department. (2012, July 1). Police arrest two for racist remarks online. Singapore Police Force. Retrieved from http://www.spf.gov.sg/mic/2012/07/20120701_online_racist_G.html

Sedition Act 1964 s. 290 (SIN.). Retrieved from http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=DocId%3A%221f6d9e4b-1cf1-4575-9480-da4bdeff9ef4%22%20Status%3Apublished%20Depth%3A0;rec=0

Shah, A. (2010, August 8). Racism. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism

Tan, J. (2012, October 8). NTUC fires Assistant Director for racist comments. [Web log post] Retrieved from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ntuc-assistant-director-says-sorry-for-racist-post.html

Yip, Y.H.J. (2013, November 30). Internet regulation – a myth in Singapore. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.singaporelawreview.org/2013/11/internet-regulation-a-myth-in-singapore/

Younge, G. (2012, July 12). Who thinks about the consequences of online racism. [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jul/12/consequences-of-online-racism