People's Power Party urges public to 'maintain basic decorum' following racist comments against new member

The People's Power Party (PPP) has urged the public to "maintain basic decorum" as the "election fever" heats up.

This statement comes after racist remarks were made against the party's new member Vere Nathan, who is Chinese-Indian.

In a Facebook post on Monday (March 17), PPP Secretary General Goh Meng Seng said that the party had been alerted to derogatory racist remarks against Nathan.

These remarks were made by a commenter by the name of Steven Lim under a video posted to 8World's Facebook page, which showed PPP members visiting Chong Pang estate in Nee Soon GRC.

In the video, the 27-year-old, who is an operations executive in a landscaping company, spoke about his reason for joining politics.

"Especially (after) what happened during the pandemic, I became more concerned about politics... so I thought it was necessary to get involved and see what I can do as an individual to help my country," he said.

Nathan added, while speaking in a mix of Chinese and English, that he hoped to help everyone and improve their standard of living.

The derogatory comment referenced by Goh highlighted the colour of Nathan's skin and his age, asking: "Is his hair all grown yet?"

Goh reminded the commenter that although most of the disparaging racist remarks have been removed, they are not taken lightly, adding that the netizen might have breached the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act.

"We understand the elections fever is heating up but regardless of which party we support, we should also maintain basic decorum in our expression of views and support for the respective political parties," Goh wrote.

"Indulging in racist slurs and remarks are totally unnecessary and not our Singapore way of expression.

"We have decided not to take actions against Steven Lim's trespasses now, but we will reserve our full rights in pursuing the matter if he persists in making unwarranted racist remarks against our members."

Goh also took the opportunity to remind PPP's supporters to express their support in a measured and socially responsible way in the digital world.

"We love Singapore, and we don't want to create unnecessary irreparable social cracks in our nation," he added.

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com

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