GE2025: Opposition parties reject foreign interference, say Singaporeans can represent themselves
Several foreigners have on social media criticised the Singapore government's handling of religious issues and urged Singaporeans to vote along religious lines.
Voters at a polling station in Singapore. (File photo: CNA/Xabryna Kek)
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SINGAPORE: Opposition party leaders have spoken out against foreign interference in the upcoming General Election, following online activity by foreigners attempting to sway voter sentiment.
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) secretary-general Chee Soon Juan told reporters on Saturday (Apr 26) that he "completely agrees with the PAP" on this issue.
"Stay out. We're not interested in people coming in here and making endorsements. We'll fight our own battle," Dr Chee said during a walkabout at Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre in Woodlands.
"Every country, every sovereignty, every citizenry must have an exclusive right to elect their own leaders."
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on Friday directed Meta to block Singapore users’ access to several Facebook posts by foreigners.
These posts, made by two Malaysian politicians and a former Internal Security Act detainee who is now an Australian citizen, criticised the Singapore government's handling of sensitive religious issues and urged voters to cast ballots along religious lines.
The posts were made by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia’s (PAS) national treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad, Facebook user “Zai Nal”, identified as Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff, and PAS Selangor youth chief Mohamed Sukri Omar, who reposted Mr Zulfikar’s post.
SDP chairman Paul Tambyah similarly emphasised that Singapore's politics should be determined by Singaporeans alone.
"Foreigners have no place in trying to hijack worthy causes of Singaporeans who believe in Singapore, Singaporeans who are trying to work for a better Singapore,” he said during a walkabout at Teban Gardens Food Centre with Progress Singapore Party (PSP) candidates, in celebration of PSP founder Tan Cheng Bock’s 85th birthday.
Dr Tambyah, who is contesting in Bukit Panjang SMC, also noted that the foreign posts appear to originate from a "very fringe group" and likely have low viewership among Singaporeans.
Dr Tan echoed the sentiment: “We don’t want foreigners to interfere. We are our own strength, we should have our own capabilities to present ourselves well.”
He added that Singaporeans are “not so stupid”.
“They want to see value, and the value has to be presented by us, they are from the outside, and don’t know what’s happening here,” said Dr Tan, who is contesting in West Coast-Jurong West GRC.
Meanwhile, at Sembawang GRC, National Solidarity Party (NSP) secretary-general Spencer Ng said his party takes "a very serious stance" on foreign attempts to influence the election.
Mr Ng warned that Singapore’s "very delicate ecosystem" – where people of different races and religions live harmoniously – must not be interfered with by foreign elements.
Red Dot United chief Ravi Philemon confirmed that the party has not received offers of support from foreign organisations and would not accept them even if it did.
“It is important to listen to all voices. We should not become an echo chamber, that is very, very important,” Mr Philemon told CNA at Chong Pang Market.
“But at the end of the day, we must always think what’s good for Singapore, what’s important for Singapore and we must be one united people. That’s the most important thing.”
POSTS MAKING THEIR ROUNDS
Several social media posts mixing religious issues with political discourse have circulated in recent days.
One Facebook post by Islamic religious teacher Noor Deros made a list of demands for political parties. He claimed that only the Workers' Party (WP) responded. In a subsequent post, he urged voters to prioritise candidates who addressed concerns such as the normalisation of LGBTQ+ issues, regardless of party affiliation.
WP on Saturday said it has no control over foreigners supporting its candidates. It also stated that while a meeting involving some of its Malay-Muslim candidates and Mr Noor took place, no promises were made in exchange for political support.
In another post, Mr Noor criticised Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli for allegedly failing to safeguard the interests of the Malay-Muslim community.
Separately, a Reddit thread shared a Facebook post urging Tampines GRC voters to support WP’s Faisal Manap "to fight for a strong Islamic community".
Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamad on Saturday expressed concern over the mixing of race, religion and politics during the election period.
“So when you have a party like PAS, for example, espousing certain views, asking Singaporeans to vote along religious and racial lines, I think that's very dangerous,” he said.
“That's the kind of politics perhaps you can see in Malaysia, where you have different parties representing different faiths or different races, whether it’s UMNO, PAS, DAP and MIC, and you can see how the parties are organised.”
Additional reporting by Louisa Tang and Ang Hwee Min
