New Singapore racial harmony law to take effect Sep 15; inaugural presidential council appointed
Singapore is implementing the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act 2025 starting September 15 to regulate content that threatens social cohesion. The law establishes a new Presidential Council for Racial and Religious Harmony to advise on restraining orders and related matters.
Why it matters
This legislation represents a significant shift in how Singapore manages social stability by formalizing legal powers to curb divisive content.
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)
Rachel Lim 14 Sep 2026 05:00PM (Updated: 14 Sep 2026 05:57PM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a new cards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST 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.
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