“CALMER SITUATION” IN SINGAPORE
Mr Shanmugam said Singapore was in a “calmer situation” compared to other countries where identity politics and polarising political discourse have led to violence.
“In Singapore, our situation is so far we have avoided some of the things that you are seeing in other countries,” he said.
He said the way Singapore society was structured was such that “you have to have law and order before you can have proper democratic discourse”.
“If people are shooting at each other, it’s difficult to have a proper discourse,” he said.
“Law and order means people must feel safe; there must be low crime … you need to create trust in institutions.”
He cited Singapore’s zero-tolerance approach to gun violence, drug trafficking, hate speech and speech inciting violence; and how the country is overall tough on crime.
Discharging a gun or drug trafficking could see offenders face the death penalty, while inciting violence or engaging in hate speech can result in “severe punishments”.
“If you encourage violence against any racial or religious group or any group of persons, you will face punishment,” he said.
“In the US, you can because it’s free speech. In Singapore, you’ll go to jail.”
He added that Singapore was also focused “quite extensively” on rehabilitation, so that once an offender had served his or her sentence, there was a “good chance” they stayed away from crime.
“Our politics is largely operated within the framework where we discuss our differences in a mostly civilised way,” he said.
He said that what had happened in the US with Mr Kirk was horrific, but that “you can’t really be surprised”.
Political divisions have been getting worse in the US, with toxic language used against political opponents, and those with opposing views, he added.
He noted that the US was seeing an “unending” war between the left and the right, with a winner-takes-all mentality; and a general worsening of public life with the easy availability of high-grade weapons, a worsening drug and crime problem, and now the killings of high-profile political activists.
“Charlie Kirk is a victim of this,” he said.
