‘Please stop.’ Ex-NMP calls out anti-Indian sentiments in connection to Air India, Nepal flood

SINGAPORE: In an Aug 30 (Sunday) Facebook post, the former Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng drew attention to racism against Indian nationals in Singapore, which he said he was witnessing again in online spaces related to two specific situations.

The first is the news that Air India was asking Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA), which own the carrier, for an additional US$1.5 billion (S$1.9 billion) amid substantial losses. 

“There are financial arguments for investing / not investing in Air India.  But I think most of the anti-Air India crowd are financially illiterate racists who are opposing it cos it’s India,” wrote Mr Cheng.

SIA became the owner of about 25.1% of Air India in November 2024. In May, SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong described Air India’s transformation as a long game with no shortcuts, though he affirmed SIA’s commitment to supporting Air India amid mounting losses and operational challenges. 

As for the second event, in which Mr Cheng said he saw “anti-Indian-nationals racism/xenophobia”, it was the devastating flooding in Nepal.

On Aug 26, a series of flash floods struck dozens of settlements along a 72-kilometre area of Nepal’s Trishuli River, killing at least 900 people. Thousands of others are still missing.

Among the missing are nine Singaporeans, according to reporting from CNA.

Instead of expressing kindness or sympathy, however, there have been some commenters online who have seen the names of the Singaporeans who are missing and have expressed doubt concerning their citizenship.

Mr Cheng continued, “There are some new Singaporean citizens who were caught in the Nepal/Tibet disaster. Racists / xenophobes are gloating and saying they are ceca.”

CECA, or the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, was signed in 2005, and was intended to boost trade, jobs, and investments between the two countries. Since then, however, the term has at times been used derogatorily against Indian nationals in the city-state.

“It’s reprehensible behaviour. Please stop,” the former NMP added.

His post appears to have struck a chord with a number of Singaporeans, who had many things to say.

“I think we should start doing real name verification for social media accounts. People tend to behave more civilly when their jobs, families and social status are on the line,” wrote a commenter.

“1st one Air India – it’s more like a bad decision financially, or so it looks like at the moment. 2nd one, I agree, please stop. Irrespective of new or old citizens, let’s have empathy

It doesn’t matter where one comes from; it’s a disaster, and lives have been lost. We have Tibetan lives, Chinese and so many other foreigners who have lost their lives. It’s not a nationality thing. It’s about basic humanity,” added another.

In a Facebook post on Monday morning (Aug 31), Member of Parliament Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee) expressed similar sentiments as Mr Cheng regarding online comments on the missing Singaporeans in the aftermath of the deadly floods.

“People are missing. Their families are waiting, hoping, praying. And somehow, for some people, this becomes an opportunity to decide who is Singaporean enough?

What have we become if, in the face of possible death and grieving children, our first instinct is to check someone’s race, birthplace, accent or how long they have held a pink IC?” he wrote. /TISG

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