Citing GE2025, Shanmugam urges WP to reject racial politics, foreign influence clearly and without delay
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Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam said he hoped political parties will immediately reject attempts to interfere in Singapore’s political process.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – Political parties must come out quickly and clearly to reject the mixing of religion and politics, and rebuff attempts by foreigners to interfere in Singapore’s political process, said Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam.
Citing the response by the Workers’ Party to such attempts to influence the Singapore electorate in its favour at the 2025 General Election, Mr Shanmugam told Parliament that any delay and ambiguity could give rise to questions and confusion, especially during a critical time like the campaign period.
In a ministerial statement to Parliament on Oct 14, Mr Shanmugam took issue with the timing and substance of the WP’s response when a self-styled preacher called on Singaporeans to vote along racial and religious lines in the election.
He also questioned the WP’s response when some Malaysian politicians openly endorsed the party’s candidate on social media, and sought agreement on how politicians and political parties here will conduct themselves in future should these issues arise again.
Mr Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Home Affairs, noted that the WP had fielded party vice-chairman Faisal Manap to lead its Tampines team to contest against the PAP team led by Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli at GE2025.
“That the Malay/Muslim vote in particular was being targeted was obvious – not just to Singaporeans, but pertinently also obvious to Malaysian observers,” he said.
On April 23, Singaporean Islamic preacher Noor Deros put up two Facebook posts
A day later, Mr Noor made further public statements that reiterated his call to Tampines voters. He said he had spoken to all of the WP’s Malay candidates, and that he would rally votes for any political party that agreed with his demands, which were along racial and religious lines.
On April 25, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Elections Department (ELD) put out a statement to highlight the dangers of mixing religion and politics, and urged all political parties and their candidates to do their part to safeguard Singapore’s harmony.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong then called a press conference on April 26, where he called on Singaporeans to reject efforts to bring race and religion into politics
On the same day, the WP released its own statement,
Mr Shanmugam said that given the fundamentals of the Republic’s multiracial and multi-religious approach to nation-building, the WP should have said more, and should have said it immediately after Mr Noor’s posts.
Its statement on April 26 came more than two days after Mr Noor made public his meetings with the WP, and came after the statement by ELD and MHA.
“This was during the campaign period, when every day made a huge difference,” said the minister. “This delay, on such an important matter, begs many questions.”
For instance, sections of voters might be misled into thinking, during those two days, that the WP was possibly considering Mr Noor’s demands.
The party’s statement also did not categorically reject Mr Noor’s call for Muslims in Singapore to vote along racial and religious lines, nor did it reject his support for Mr Faisal, its anchor candidate in Tampines, said Mr Shanmugam.
“If we accept that identity politics has no place in Singapore, then a clearer and more immediate response was called for... without letting the matter drag,” he said.
Mr Shanmugam noted that WP chief Pritam Singh had said in follow-up interviews on April 26 and 27 that Mr Noor’s endorsement did not mean the party would carry forward his policies, but he hoped that political parties would put out “a more immediate, forthright and unequivocal response” if such incidents occur again.
Reject foreign interference ‘clearly and unequivocally’
Malaysian politicians from Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) saw the WP’s fielding of Mr Faisal in Tampines as an opening, and urged Singaporeans to vote along racial and religious lines, said Mr Shanmugam.
On April 25, MHA and ELD said the authorities had identified a number of foreigners attempting to influence Singapore’s general election, and moved to block access to several Facebook posts.
The posts were by PAS national treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad and the Islamist party’s Selangor Youth chief Mohamed Sukri Omar. Among other things, the posts had expressed support for Mr Faisal and stated that PAP’s Malay/Muslim MPs could not be trusted.
The WP’s statement on the matter, issued on April 26, said it does not have control over foreign parties who express support for its candidates.
Mr Shanmugam said the WP should have put out its statement immediately after the posts surfaced, rather than wait till after MHA and ELD had issued the Government’s statement.
The WP statement also did not clearly reject foreign influence or the foreign endorsement of its candidates, he added.
Mr Shanmugam acknowledged that Mr Singh subsequently clarified the WP’s position in his comments to the media on April 26. In a rally speech that evening, the WP chief also categorically rejected the involvement of foreign elements in Singapore’s politics, and said the party does not need the support of foreigners.
“It would have been better if the WP had said this right from the start – responding directly and promptly to what the PAS leaders had said,” said Mr Shanmugam, noting that the WP did so after PM Wong had called on all political parties to make their stance on foreign influence clear.
Mr Shanmugam said he hoped that in future, political parties will immediately reject any attempts to interfere in Singapore’s political process.
“If this is not done immediately, clearly and unequivocally, it will give rise to questions and confusion,” he said.
