Forum: Singapore cannot afford to regress on social harmony
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As a Singaporean who has lived through the racial riots in the 1960s, I find it disturbing that an 18-year-old would want to attack Muslims in Singapore to start a “race war” between the Chinese and Malays (S’porean teen influenced by far-right ideas detained, wanted to attack Muslims / Far-right extremism a growing concern: ISD, Feb 11).
Those were dangerous times. I recall being told to hide at home and stay away from the windows to avoid being injured. The irony was that one of my relatives managed to avoid getting hurt by hiding in his Malay neighbour’s home.
Singapore cannot afford to regress to what it was before. It took many years for us to achieve our current level of social harmony. I hope that the 18-year-old can learn about our early struggles so that he can appreciate what we have now.
Our peace cannot be taken for granted, and I agree that it would take all of us in the community to ensure that our youth do not get misled by extremist teachings.
Tan Jun Wei
