The issue of race and religion is a sensitive one, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday as he called for caution in such discussions.
They need to be done carefully and between the younger and older generations to achieve a meeting of minds, he said at an online rally when wrapping up the People's Action Party's election campaign.
Younger people, he noted, have different perspectives on the issue, and these are valid and need to be taken into account as they will one day inherit Singapore.
But at the same time, such sensitive matters can cause "great umbrage", and so must be handled delicately, he said.
"In fact, now we discuss things about race and religion, (such as) whether there is a trade-off between one's racial or religious identity with a national one - things which 20 years ago would have been very uncomfortable to talk about. As we go forward, more of these conversations can be held," he added.
PM Lee was responding to a question on Ms Raeesah Khan, 26, the Workers' Party's candidate for Sengkang GRC.
Two reports were made at the weekend against her, police had said on Sunday afternoon.
They were in relation to comments she had made on social media, which allegedly promoted "enmity between different groups on grounds of religion or race".
Investigations are ongoing.
Ms Raeesah later on Sunday said she regretted making "insensitive" remarks, and apologised to those who may have been hurt by them.
Also present at the online rally yesterday were National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister of State Janil Puthucheary, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling and Ang Mo Kio GRC candidate Nadia Samdin.
Ms Nadia, 30, is the youngest PAP candidate in this election. She pointed out that young Singaporeans have different life experiences and points of reference, and are further removed from seminal events in the nation's history like the race riots in the 1960s.
"Youth today want to go beyond this concept of tolerance or racial harmony - they are willing to have uncomfortable conversations or conversations that may make some segments of the population uncomfortable," she said.
"They are brave enough to do so, and I think it is good that this kind of new norm is being forged."
At the same time, she noted, as the younger generation has grown up on the Internet, it is understandable that some Western ideals will enter Singapore culture. "The question is, how do we relate this back to our Singapore core and remember what really holds us together?"
Expanding on her point, PM Lee said that because of the Internet age, some things that were never sensitive in Singapore have become so because they are now sensitive in other countries.
"It is 'we cannot do this, it is offensive; we cannot do that, that is cultural appropriation' - these are all angst and anxieties from other societies imported to us," he said. "Some of it is valid, but not all."
It would not be realistic to treat one another in a completely colour-blind way, PM Lee said.
"So, that is a view which we have proceeded on - tolerance and harmony. Not quite everything which young people aspire to, but a considerable achievement. And if we want to go beyond that and do better, I think we should.
"But we should do it carefully, and we should discuss between the young ones and the older ones so that we gradually get a meeting of minds... and go forward together."
