Foreigners who urge Singaporeans to vote along religious lines have “crossed the line”, says Singapore’s prime minister, Lawrence Wong.
Wong welcomed the “clear consensus” from opposition parties rejecting foreign interference in the republic’s election.
Saying the issue was a matter of national interest, he also urged all political leaders to firmly reject endorsements from overseas, CNA reported.
Yesterday, the Singapore home ministry and elections department said in a joint statement that several online posts had urged Singaporeans to vote along racial and religious lines, which in turn sparked more social media content of a similar nature.
They called out PAS leaders and a former detainee, now an Australian citizen, for allegedly trying to influence the general election on May 3 with posts that could harm racial and religious harmony.
The Singapore government ordered Facebook parent Meta to block Singaporeans’ access to the posts made by the foreigners, ahead of the election, under rules restricting their social media posts.
Facebook user “Zai Nal”, identified as Zulfikar Shariff, accused several Malay-Muslim MPs of failing to represent the Muslim community in Singapore, and said the nation does not need another Malay MP who does not reflect their views.
Selangor PAS Youth chief Sukri Omar shared Zulfikar’s post in support, while PAS national treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad also expressed support for a candidate in the Singapore election.
Wong said while Singaporeans may have different views about issues, they cannot allow external actors to exploit their differences to weaken them or to advance personal interests.
“Singapore’s politics must be for Singaporeans alone to decide,” he said.
