SINGAPORE — The powers that could be temporarily granted to the police in Little India — under a Bill introduced in Parliament on Monday — would allow the men in blue to pre-empt actions that could create nuisance, Law Minister K Shanmugam said yesterday.

Mr Shanmugam, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a visit to a foreign workers’ dormitory, reiterated that the Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Bill will enable the police to deal with issues in Little India without invoking the Public Order (Preservation) Act (POPA).

“Today, we have power under the POPA legislation — extensive powers which are usable anywhere in Singapore. In a way, because the Government did not want to invoke such a strong measure, we put in place a temporary legislation for one year,” he said, in response to concerns that the powers granted under the Bill were excessive and discriminatory against a specific ethnic group.

He pointed out that the new law has an automatic expiry, unless it is extended. “It requires us to go back to Parliament and explain why you want it extended,” he said.

The Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Bill proposes to empower police and auxiliary police officers to ask those in the area or who are about to enter it to state their names and addresses and why they are there, to order them to empty their bags and pockets and to strip-search them. They may use force to remove someone from the zone.

The authorities will also be equipped with powers to suspend businesses if they flout alcohol sale restrictions, and alcohol merchants who break the rules can be fined up to S$5,000, with repeat offenders facing harsher penalties.

In comparison, the POPA grants wide-ranging powers to the police. Under the POPA, the minister charged with responsibility for internal security can proclaim a “state of danger to public order” in a particular area, if he sees that public order in the area is seriously disturbed or threatened, and considers it necessary to maintain or restore public order.

Mr Shanmugam noted that unlike the POPA, the temporary laws are restricted to Little India. The law is needed as the number of foreign workers who are there on weekends is not seen in other places in Singapore, he said.

He noted Moulmein-Kallang GRC Member of Parliament Denise Phua’s comments in Parliament that more than 80 per cent of the residents living above a row of liquor stores whom she visited had supported the alcohol ban in Little India. “You have a situation where you have a large congregation of workers coming together on Sundays. You have had one incident. It has not happened before,” Mr Shanmugam said. “Describing it as an isolated incident is correct. But the Government also has a duty to make sure that it does whatever it can to prevent it (from happening again).”

During his visit to Terusan Lodge, Mr Shanmugam met about 300 foreign workers. The workers said they wanted cheaper and a wider range of groceries to be sold in the vicinity of the dormitory. They also sought better street lighting in the area.