Religious teacher apologises after Shanmugam condemns his 'racist' coronavirus-related post
SINGAPORE — A religious teacher censured by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam for making xenophobic remarks by describing the coronavirus as “retribution” on the Chinese apologised on Friday (7 February), adding that his post was never meant to be public.
Abdul Halim Abdul Karim claimed that his private Facebook post on 29 January had been misread and was not meant to be racist.
In his original Facebook post, Abdul Halim had said the coronavirus was retribution to the Chinese for their “oppressive treatment of the Muslim Uighurs”. The post has since been taken down.
Responding in a Facebook post on Friday, Shanmugam said that Abdul Halim had stated that the Chinese “do not wash properly after defecating and were not hygienic as Muslims” and had suggested that this was the cause of the virus’s spread.
“Such comments are quite unacceptable from anyone, let alone someone who is supposed to be a religious teacher. I believe that society has to take a clear stand against such comments,” said Shanmugam, adding that he had asked his ministry to look into the remarks.
The minister also cited past examples of others who have been dealt with for making racist comments against other races, including two pastors who were “taken to task” in recent years.
In his apology, made an hour after Shanmugam’s censure, Abdul Halim noted the minister’s comments, replying, “I would like to assure Minister Mr Shanmugam, I understand his concerns and also share his appreciation for the need for religious harmony in Singapore. it is with this realisation that I am making a public statement here.”
Said Abdul Halim, “The fact is that there is nothing in my post, written in Malay, that is intended to be racist. I am merely referring to the fact about those who do not use soap and water to clean themselves... after doing their business.”
“This is in light of reports about the spread of the virus through contamination with human faeces. It is in the context of this worrying development that I made my post.”
He added that his comments were not directed at a specific race, but were about hygiene and health across all races and ethnicities.
The man also claimed that his original post was private and was made public by someone in his friend list who had “ill intentions” against him.
“It is very very unfortunate that people like to turn the said post which is not made public into a public circus by giving a twisted commentary of what I stated,” he said.
Yahoo News Singapore has reached out to Abdul Halim for comment.
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