UPDATE: Shanmugam no longer filing police report over seditious Facebook post, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
Singapore

UPDATE: Shanmugam no longer filing police report over seditious Facebook post

This article is more than 12 months old

UPDATE:

Law Minister K Shanmugam is dropping his police report against independent scholar  Sangeetha Thanapal.

He said at a doorstop yesterday that he had met with her. 

He said that the police report he intended to make was not to do with the apology or conduct.

"It's really focused on the ill will that can be caused, the problems that can be caused within the races. But I also made a judgment call after listening to her that she perhaps didn't have active intention to cause that outcome and therefore I decided that maybe we draw a line. She perhaps realises that she needs to be more careful when it comes to racial issues, and I decided that I will not file a police report."



Original Report:

Law and Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam intends to file a police report today (Aug 29) about a Facebook post that he said was inaccurate and seditious.

He wrote on Facebook dated Friday that a post by social activist Sangeetha Thanapal had misrepresented remarks he made at a Singapore Press Club event on Aug 27.

“I have been asked about a Facebook post by Ms Thanapal regarding my comments at a Singapore Press Club event...,” he wrote.

“She unfortunately twisted what I had said and suggested that I was an ‘Islamaphobic bigot who thinks Malay-Muslims are a threat’”.

'Inaccurate and seditious'

He added: “What Ms Thanapal wrote is inaccurate and seditious, and attributes to me sentiments that I do not hold and have never held. I intend to file a police report about this tomorrow.”

Mr Shanmugam also reiterated the point he made at the event. When speaking about the education system in Malaysia, he had argued that schools there were become increasingly racially-segregated and this made integration difficult.

“The Chinese leadership in various local areas in Malaysia want to maintain control over the Chinese population. It suits them to have Chinese students go to Chinese schools instead of mainstream Malaysian schools. And the schools are more Chinese (because they are effectively single race),” he wrote.

“At the same time, many mainstream schools in Malaysia are becoming more Malay (because the students are largely Malay) and Islamic (through the way some principals and teachers handle matters) which discourages the Chinese from going into those schools.

“So you end up with having more Malays going to mainstream schools, and more Chinese going to Chinese schools. As a result, the different races are kept apart from a young age.”

SingaporeK ShanmugamUncategorisedsocial media