Singapore Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, K Shanmugam said on Sep. 12 that Charlie Kirk's fatal shooting was"horrifying".

He attributed the incident to the worsening divisions between groups of people in the U.S., as well as the worsening crime situation.

Speaking to the media before attending a charity event, he added that Singapore is"different" and a "calmer situation", pointing to our zero tolerance approach to gun violence, drug trafficking, and hate speech.

"What happened is horrific"

When asked about his response to Charlie Kirk's death and what Singapore can take away from the incident, Shanmugam said that the incident was"horrifying".

At the time of Shanmugam's statement, no confirmation on the shooter's motives had yet been publicly released.

He said that for"some time now", political divisions within the country have been getting worse.

He also highlighted"culture wars" between all parties in politics.

"You have seen Democrats being attacked shot dead too.

You have seen Republicans and those on the right being attacked.

Charlie Kirk is a victim of this."

He added that having a "democratic process and structure" means people will have differences within society.

Shanmugam also said that Singapore should"try and manage the differences" and "identify a way forward that benefits the broadest section of society".

"Some compromises are necessary, and that's what politics is about," he added.

"Singapore is different"

Despite some "worrying signs", he said Singapore has a"calmer situation", pointing to our zero tolerance approach to gun violence, drug trafficking, and hate speech.

He highlighted that Singapore has to have"law and order" before proper democratic discourse.

"If you encourage violence against any racial or religious group or any group of persons, you will face punishment.

If you go on the street and rant and rave against a racial group or try and burn a holy book in the name of free speech – in the US you can because of free speech, in Singapore you will go to jail."

Shanmugam said that those who violate the law will "likely be punished" and that it won't "take very long".

"While we are tough on crime, we are also focused quite extensively on rehabilitation, so that once you serve your sentence, you have a good chance of staying away from crime."

On those who responded with hate online regarding Kirk's death, Shanmugam said that it's"despicable" that some people are reacting to someone getting killed.

He said while people can have different viewpoints, to say that"a person ought to be killed" shows a "very sorry state of affairs and coarsening of public discourse".

Singapore's laws and social policies make the difference

He reiterated Singapore's zero tolerance for crime.

Shanmugam said that the situation in Singapore is"different" not because we are "inherently different" from the Americans or other countries, but because of the country's laws and social policies.

When asked about his views on whether Singapore's political discourse will"go down the same path as the U.S.", he said that"identity politics" or asking people to vote on the basis of a specific identity, is the"basic fundamental of politics".

"We in Singapore have defied that largely, and gone on a different route," he added.

He said that the government has tried to"as inclusive as possible", with some compromises.

He also said that people in Singapore can have their opinions and viewpoints, while managing them in a civilised way.

Singaporeans should also"trust the institutions", such as the parliament, judiciary and other government bodies.

"And Singapore so far, is a high trust society," he said.

What can Singapore society do?

Shanmugam was also asked on what the Singapore society can do to ensure that heated discussions do not turn into violence.

He said:"I think the starting point is we have to understand what has largely gone right in Singapore, why we are different, and whether that is worth preserving."

He added that despite the fact that Singapore has "largely kept away from identity politics", he has seen some"worrying signs".

"I hope Singaporeans will continue to eschew identity politics.

The moment we go down the route and we encourage politicians who play identity politics, then that's highly corrosive for society."