Responsible public speech is part of a cohesive society: Edwin Tong

Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 27 Jun 2025
Author: Chin Soo Fang

Be especially mindful about hateful speech as conflict can be set off by words: Minister.

In a cohesive society, people understand the impact of their words and take responsibility for what they say publicly, including in online spaces, Mr Edwin Tong said on June 26.

“Sometimes, this will mean sacrificing our own desire to be able to say what we want about anything we want, wherever we want, in favour of being more caring about the impact they have on the person next to us,” he added.

Mr Tong, who is Law Minister, noted that people should be especially mindful about hateful speech, as conflict can be triggered by words.

“If we are more mindful, we will have more open, honest, public discourse, based on facts and not hate and disinformation,” he said.

He was speaking at the close of the three-day International Conference on Cohesive Societies held at Raffles City Convention Centre. It was organised by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, of which Mr Tong was formerly minister.

Addressing more than 1,000 people, including thought leaders, policymakers and young leaders from over 50 countries, the minister shared his thoughts on how societies can stay cohesive and multicultural amid challenges, such as conflicts, trade tensions and disinformation.

One way to build cohesion is to remember that multiculturalism is not a natural state but a continuous and intentional work in progress, he said.

“We must always glance behind us, behind our backs, and wonder whether it could be taken away from us,” he said. “We must always have that slight nervousness about it, and then we will seek to jealously guard it and protect it.”

There must also be a combination of good leadership and citizen support.

“Government policies are useful, and they put in place the framework, but it has to be the people who breathe life into these ideals, who practise them every day,” he said.

To this end, some degree of social intervention is needed, he said, citing Singapore’s integrated living spaces, where people of all races and religions live, eat and grow up together.

The responsibility to shape and nurture this cohesive society will increasingly fall on young people, he added.

More than 200 young leaders attended the conference – nearly double the number compared with the last conference in 2022.

This group plays a big role in intergenerational bonding, Mr Tong said. “It is one thing to connect with people of your own generation, but it is much harder to do so across generations.”

Everyone must have an open heart to see across differences, foster shared ideas and build hopes with people who are different, he added.

“We should never weaponise race and religion,” he said. “It is so easy to do, but its impact is so long-lasting, and it breaks the trust that we all seek to foster.”

Other speakers at the conference included President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Sultan Nazrin Shah, Sultan of Perak and Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.

The conference was first held in 2019 to provide an international platform for interfaith and multicultural dialogue, where participants could exchange ideas and develop solutions to create cohesive and resilient multicultural societies.

This year’s conference coincides with Singapore’s diamond jubilee, Mr Tong noted.

The Republic consciously adopted multiculturalism as a core value, and built a national identity while keeping the individual qualities of different communities, he said.

He added: “I believe that multiculturalism lies at the heart of the Singapore story. Sixty years ago, as a newly independent nation with a highly diverse population, we were very conscious of our differences, but we decided to form the country that embraced the differences, not in spite of but because of the differences, to make ourselves stronger.”

Chin Soo Fang is senior correspondent at The Straits Times covering topics such as community, politics, social issues, consumer, culture and heritage.