SINGAPORE, Sept. 13 -- Economic challenges can deepen social and racial divisions, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned on Saturday, pointing to recent racist comments made online.

Wong was weighing in on the "shameful" racist and xenophobic comments about Singapore Airlines' investment in Air India, as well as the Nepal-Tibet disaster, news outlet CNA reported.

"These challenges are real," he was quoted as saying.

He said global societies were becoming more fragmented and polarised, partly driven by economic pressures, as people who feel left behind grow frustrated - a dynamic that becomes more dangerous once it feeds into questions of identity and belonging.

"That is when divisions really start to become more entrenched, and people s...