Singapore legislation

Clause 8

Racial content restraining orders

(1)

The Minister may make a racial content restraining order against a person (X) if the Minister is satisfied that X has committed, is committing, is likely to commit or has attempted or is attempting to commit —

(a)

an act that causes feelings of enmity, hatred, ill‑will or hostility between different races in Singapore; or

(b)

an act that incites, instigates or encourages a person to commit an act mentioned in paragraph (a).

(2)

A racial content restraining order against X may —

(a)

prohibit X from addressing orally or in writing the general public in Singapore, or any specified person or class of persons, on any specified subject, topic or theme;

(b)

prohibit X from communicating or distributing to the general public in Singapore —

(i)

any specified information or material; or

(ii)

any specified description of information or material,immediately or within a specified time;

(c)

require X to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that —

(i)

any specified information or material; or

(ii)

any specified description of information or material,is no longer available to the general public in Singapore;

(d)

prohibit X from printing or editing, or assisting or contributing to, any publication or specified publication or class of publications;

(e)

prohibit X from holding office in an editorial board or committee of any publication; or

(f)

impose any combination of the measures in paragraphs (a) to (e).

(3)

A prohibition under subsection (2)(a), (b) or (d), or a requirement under subsection (2)(c), may be imposed on an individual or any other person.

(4)

A prohibition under subsection (2)(e) may only be imposed on an individual.

(5)

A prohibition under subsection (2)(a), (b), (d) or (e) does not extend to anything done with the prior permission of the Minister.

(6)

A prohibition under subsection (2)(a), (b) or (d) is contravened if —

(a)

a person does an act on behalf of X; and

(b)

that act would, if it were done by X, contravene the prohibition.

(7)

A prohibition under subsection (2)(b) includes a prohibition against —

(a)

placing the specified information or material somewhere where it can be accessed by the general public in Singapore;

(b)

giving the specified information or material to an intermediary to communicate or distribute to the general public in Singapore;

(c)

describing to the general public in Singapore how to obtain access to the specified information or material;

(d)

describing to the general public in Singapore methods that are likely to facilitate access to the specified information or material;

(e)

displaying, screening or playing the specified information or material so that it can be seen or heard in or from a public place in Singapore;

(f)

making the specified information or material available to one or more end‑users in Singapore on or through the Internet; and

(g)

any act mentioned in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) in relation to anything that contains the specified information or material.

(8)

In this section, “information or material” means information or material in any form, including —

(a)

oral, written, electronic or digital form; and

(b)

visual, pictorial or graphic form (such as but not limited to an anthropomorphic or humanlike depiction).

Read in full context — Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill →