By DARYLL NANAYAKARA

EARLIER this year, I got into a heated debate with a friend of mine.

This friend - let's call him "M" - was born in India but raised and educated here.

He went on Facebook and wrote a note about his thoughts on the war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan army.

Among other things, he likened the situation on the island to the Holocaust, alleging that the Tamil community there was being "slaughtered" by the "inhumane" Sri Lankan army, which comprises mostly ethnic Sinhalese.

He completely missed out on the allegations that the rebels themselves were killing the Tamils. Being part-Sinhalese myself, I took offence at what he had written.

Based on what I understood about the conflict, I commented on his note, informing him that his text had contained numerous factual errors and, thus, had portrayed the Sinhalese in an unjust manner.

To cut a long story short, a virtual free-for-all ensued, as other readers weighed in on the issue with their two cents' worth.

The discussion eventually got out of control and bordered on near-racist exchanges as we took the chance to attack each other's race.

M decided enough was enough and stopped any further comments on his note.

Four months since that heated exchange, I have come to realise just how easy it would be for the peace and harmony we have here to be broken.

M used the Internet to air his views on racial issues and, in the process, he unwittingly created a stir among a group of readers from various races, who held strong opinions which they defended fiercely.

Had M not decided to halt the comments, the matter could have escalated into something bigger and clashes between Sinhalese and Tamils here who were pro-Tigers - similar to those in New Zealand, Australia and London, to name a few - could very well have broken out here.

The multiracial and multi-religious environment in Singapore is unique. It was built on many years of tolerance and understanding between the various races but it can be easily destroyed.

All it would take is for an individual to incite hatred or anger against a particular ethnic or religious group.

That's how fragile it is. Race is a sensitive topic and just because racial tolerance and harmony are being propagated through the education system, many take it for granted that ethnic clashes will never happen here.

As a student, textbooks told me about racial clashes and civil strife that took place around the world and, in some cases, still continue today. Yet, I never saw them as a possibility in Singapore.

Complacency? Perhaps.

But all that has since changed following that episode with M.

I come from a mixed heritage and I prided myself on being tolerant of every race. Yet, when I read M's commentary, I was so ready to attack someone over something I had interpreted as being racist to me and my race.

If you ask me, I honestly feel a tinge of regret and shame over my willingness to return what I naively saw as racism with the like.

I hate to admit it, but I gained an invaluable lesson on the importance of social harmony that day - something Social Studies lessons in school failed to provide me. All it took was a simple Facebook note, from a highly-opinionated friend.

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