[Final] Essay

Online Racism towards the minority races in Singapore

With the widespread use of social media, people are increasingly expressing their opinions publicly online. Some of these opinions lack respect and sensitivity, especially when they become racist. Racist commentary about minority groups on the social media is no longer rare in Singapore because users take their internet freedom for granted and the consequences of their irresponsible use of social media are not being heavily monitored by the Media Development Authority (MDA). Racism is the idea or belief that characteristics and abilities are attributed to people 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 the Singaporean government wants to preserve. The internet provides a platform 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 problem may be tackled if MDA can collaborate with social media agencies like SMC4 to automatically remove racist comments or block users who use the social media irresponsibly. The Ministry of Education in Singapore can also urge schools or academic institutions to stress on educating students about online racism.  

An example of an irresponsible use of social media is when Ms Amy Cheong posted a profanity-laced remark on her Facebook account slamming Malay void deck weddings and also mocking the divorce rates of the Malay community (Tan, 2012). For the racist remarks she posted, Cheong was given a warning from the police and was also fired from her job as Assistant Director of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). For racism in Singapore, a law was introduced by the Singapore Legislative Council. According to Chapter 290 of the Sedition Act 1964 (SIN), anyone 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”. The punishment Cheong received from the police and law was deemed insufficient to compensate for her irresponsible actions, which had threatened the social cohesion and racial harmony in Singapore. There were also not many follow-ups on the consequences she faced, which might have given people the impression that posting racist commentaries online is acceptable. As a result, the internet regulations addressing racism in Singapore have also been regarded as a myth (Yip, 2013). MDA can only monitor a few out of the 5.47 million people in Singapore. In order to tackle this issue, MDA can work with social media agencies such as Facebook as well as SMC4 that provides protection against social media abuse and brand damage. SMC4 instantly removes inappropriate online commentaries, including profanity, racism and sexist posted on social media platforms (SMC4, 2015). SMC4’s protection may help to reduce the increasing number of racist commentaries in Singapore. Singaporeans or Media Development Authority need not have to go through the hassle of filtering the internet or reporting any irresponsible users as the racist comments will be removed immediately. If malicious users persistently attempt to post racist commentaries, Facebook has the authority to remove them (Facebook, 2015).

Since the law has been insufficient to curb the problem of online racism in Singapore, another possible solution is that 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 continued with the importance of peer education to raise “understanding of various cyber wellness issues such as cyber bullying and Internet safety” (Cyber wellness, 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 an 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 (Singapore Police Force, 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. Schools can also work together with parents to educate their children about online racism at home as some students might prefer listening to their parents instead. When students start engaging in the use of social media, they might become more conscious of what they can or cannot post on their social media accounts, and they might 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. 

[983 words]

References

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

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