New Singapore racial harmony law to take effect Sep 15; inaugural presidential council appointed
The new law introduces a restraining order regime for those involved in communicating, producing or distributing content that prejudices the maintenance of racial harmony here.
Pedestrians crossing a street in the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore. (File photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
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SINGAPORE: A new law aimed at strengthening racial harmony in Singapore will take effect on Tuesday (Sep 15), introducing powers to curb content that threatens racial harmony.
Passed by parliament in February last year, the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act 2025 “consolidates and strengthens Singapore’s legal framework to protect racial harmony in a dedicated piece of legislation”, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Monday.
The Act also establishes a new Presidential Council for Racial and Religious Harmony (PCRRH), whose inaugural members will begin their three-year term on Tuesday.
The PCRRH will replace the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony, said MHA.
The council will consider and advise the president on restraining orders made under the new law or the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act 1990 (MRHA).
The council may also consider matters affecting racial or religious harmony referred to it by the home affairs minister or parliament before reporting its views to them.
Members are expected to exercise independent judgement and work collectively in advising on matters affecting racial and religious harmony, the Istana said in a separate release.
The council will comprise representatives from Singapore’s major racial and religious communities, as well as individuals who have distinguished themselves in public service or community relations, it said.
“This ensures that the council benefits from diverse perspectives and experiences.”
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President Tharman Shanmugaratnam has appointed former Supreme Court judge Choo Han Teck as the council’s chairman.
Its other members are:
- Singapore Buddhist Federation president Seck Kwang Phing
- Hindu Advisory Board chairman and InterReligious Organisation president K Sengkuttuvan
- Mufti of Singapore Nazirudin Mohd Nasir
- National Council of Churches of Singapore president Philip Lim
- Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Singapore William Goh
- ST Engineering defence aerospace president Sarbjit Singh
- Taoist Federation and Taoist Mission academic adviser Lee Cheuk Yin
- Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations president Thomas Chua
- Singapore Non-Resident High Commissioner to Pakistan Ishak Ismail
- Former Hindu Endowments Board deputy chairman Bala Reddy
- Former Eurasian Association president Sandra Theseira
Corresponding constitutional amendments will come into effect on Tuesday alongside the council’s establishment and the new law's commencement.
The amendments also “confer on the president the discretion to refuse to make an appointment to the PCRRH if the president does not concur with the Presidential Council for Minority Rights’ advice”, said MHA.
RESTRAINING ORDER REGIME
The Act empowers the home affairs minister to make restraining orders against those involved in communicating, producing or distributing content that prejudices the maintenance of racial harmony in Singapore, said MHA.
Similar powers already exist under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act.
The restraining orders take immediate effect once served, and failure to comply is an offence.
MHA said the powers allow the government to take swift and pre-emptive action against offensive content that can spread rapidly and may cause irreparable harm to social cohesion.
The constitutional amendments will allow the president to confirm, cancel or vary a restraining order if the PCRRH's recommendation and the Cabinet's advice differ, it added.
UPDATES TO RACE-RELATED LAWS
Under the Act, some existing race-related offences will also be ported over or updated.
Sections 298 and 298A of the Penal Code 1871 on offences relating to race will be repealed, said MHA.
These offences will be superseded, with updates, by sections 39 and 40 of the new law, to cover conduct that:
- Incite feelings of enmity, hatred, ill-will or hostility against, or contempt for or ridicule of, a racial group
- Insult, vilify, denigrate, threaten or abuse another person on the basis of race
- Urge violence on the basis of race, or against a racial group
The Act introduces defences for these offences that are already present in the MRHA.
“These include defences for private or domestic conduct, as well as for pointing out matters in good faith for the purpose of bringing about a removal of those matters,” said MHA.
COMMUNITY REMEDIAL INITIATIVE
The new law also introduces the Community Remedial Initiative, a programme that allows individuals to take remedial action after engaging in conduct affecting Singapore’s racial harmony.
In deciding whether to institute proceedings against a person for certain race-related offences, public prosecutors may consider whether the person has satisfactorily completed the programme.
“This gives an alleged offender the opportunity to learn from and make amends for his racist conduct, thereby soothing communal tensions and repairing ties between the communities,” said MHA.
The programme will not be offered for egregious cases, such as those involving incitement of violence or conduct that severely undermines social cohesion.
“These cases will continue to be considered for criminal prosecution. This sends the right signal that such conduct will not be tolerated,” said the ministry.
SAFEGUARDS AGAINST FOREIGN INFLUENCE
The Act will set safeguards against foreign influence for designated race-based entities, similar to those currently applied to religious groups under the MRHA.
Designated race-based entities must disclose foreign and anonymous donations, foreign affiliations and leadership composition, and comply with leadership restrictions.
MHA said it would engage race-based entities before designating them and guide designated entities on the reporting requirements ahead of their first reporting obligation in April 2028.
The home affairs minister will also be able to impose stepped-up measures against specific race-based entities by issuing foreign influence restraining orders.
This is to “pre-empt, prevent, or reduce foreign influence that may undermine racial harmony and present a threat to public peace and public order in Singapore”, said MHA.
Foreign influence restraining orders are subject to the same safeguards as racial content ones, it said.
The Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill was passed unanimously by parliament in February 2025. Several Workers' Party MPs, however, voted against the accompanying constitutional amendment that updated the president's powers. WP chair Sylvia Lim argued that the responsibility of maintaining racial harmony, law and order, should lie with the government and not the president
The new law strengthens Singapore's ability to preserve racial harmony, respond effectively to emerging threats and safeguard its multicultural society against malicious foreign influence, said MHA.
“Together with ongoing efforts to promote mutual understanding and trust among communities, the Act will help ensure that Singapore remains a cohesive and harmonious multiracial society.”
