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🇸🇬 Singapore /Culture & Society

Racism Has No Place in Singapore, MP Says, as He Defends SIA-Air India Concerns

From CNA · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Workers’ Party MP Kenneth Tiong said racism has no place in Singapore and rejected attacks based on ethnicity.
  • Tiong defended his concerns about Singapore Airlines’ investment in Air India as commercial, after Senior Minister K Shanmugam condemned racist online comments surrounding the deal and the Nepal-Tibet disaster.
  • Shanmugam said investment decisions belonged to SIA’s management and board, warning that political direction could undermine commercial discipline.

Kenneth Tiong tried to draw a clear line between his criticism of Singapore Airlines’ investment in Air India and the racist abuse that has become entangled with the debate. The Workers’ Party MP said there was “no place for racism in our society” and that attacks on people because of their ethnicity should be condemned.

Tiong was responding to comments from Senior Minister K Shanmugam, who earlier on Saturday denounced what he called “shameful” racist and xenophobic online remarks about the Nepal-Tibet disaster and SIA’s investment in Air India. Shanmugam said Tiong was entitled to his views, but those views should not replace the commercial judgment of SIA’s management and board.

There is no place for racism in our society.

· Kenneth TiongThe Workers’ Party MP condemned racist attacks linked to the debate over SIA’s investment in Air India.

“My concerns were, and are, purely commercial,” Tiong wrote in a Facebook post. He again questioned how many more times Air India might seek additional funding from its shareholders, and who would pay if SIA could no longer do so.

My concerns were, and are, purely commercial.

· Kenneth TiongTiong defended his criticism of Singapore Airlines’ investment in Air India.

The dispute followed a Reuters report that Air India had sought a further US$1.5 billion in support from owners Tata Sons and SIA, only months after reporting a record annual loss. Shanmugam said reports of a fresh equity request had triggered a new wave of “anti-Indian, racist ranting” online. He also said Temasek chief executive Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara had been targeted because of his ethnicity.

Shanmugam said SIA must assess its Air India investment against the resources available for its long-term growth and profitability. Temasek, as an SIA shareholder, would expect the airline to make investment decisions responsibly, he said. But he added that Temasek was not accountable for individual decisions by companies in its portfolio, warning that political direction of such choices could make them political rather than commercial.

Once governments or politicians start directing individual investment decisions, commercial discipline will be compromised.

· K ShanmugamThe senior minister argued that political direction could undermine commercial decision-making.
About this summary

Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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