SINGAPORE - External parties are trying to influence Singapore to suit their own agendas, and its people should be on guard against such attempts, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Friday (Aug 26).
The minister called on Singaporeans to avoid being gullible and turn to credible sources of information, so as to immunise themselves from being misled by others.
In a video interview with The Straits Times on Friday following the National Day Rally, Dr Balakrishnan was asked by ST assistant video editor Lynlee Foo if there really were people looking to sway the minds of Singaporeans for ulterior motives.
"The answer to the question very clearly is: Yes. Precisely because we are small, but credible and relevant and independent, what Singaporeans think and say, and what the Government expresses on behalf of Singaporeans, matter," he said.
In his National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singaporeans should be vigilant about messages that are shared on social media and actively guard against hostile foreign influence, regardless of where they originate from. He also warned that while information shared on social media and messaging platforms may be perceived as true and credible, some of these messages have an ulterior aim of persuading Singaporeans to take sides, or to erode their trust in the Government.
Dr Balakrishnan said Singaporeans are exposed to a wide variety of messages in the "whole tsunami" of social media and private messaging. A significant number of these messages originate from outside of Singapore, and their intentions might not be in the long-term interests of the Republic, but instead, to further their own objectives.
"So it requires a certain scepticism, a certain openness to facts, but not being gullible," he said.
PM Lee had in his speech cited how there were messages floating around in Singapore in Chinese and English related to the Ukraine war that tried to stir up strong anti-American sentiments. There were also others that aimed to discredit Russia and China, and sought to persuade people to side with the West.
There is a need for Singaporeans to check the information they receive with credible sources of information like the mainstream media, said Dr Balakrishnan. He also underscored how important it was that Singapore has a population that is well informed and able to think critically.
In response to a question on social media and how dangerous it can be in relation to hostile foreign influence, Dr Balakrishnan gave two reasons for why the misuse of these platforms presents a clear and current threat.
First, social media platforms are optimised for revenue maximisation and not for the propagation of facts or reasonable, rational discourse.
"What has wings on social media, and you just go by the algorithms, anything that incites, anything that makes people angry, anything that is scandalous or raises emotional temperatures, those are the messages that thrive...
"By its very nature, social media is optimised sometimes for the more base nature of humanity and it's related to profit maximisation," he said.
Second, it has been made clear that in the last few years, state and non-state actors have also latched on to social media to push their views with the aim of dividing and eroding trust and cohesion within the target society.
As a multilingual, multiracial and open society, Singapore is all the more exposed to the dangers of hostile information campaigns, warned Dr Balakrishnan.
But this does not mean that the nation and its people are powerless against this threat, the minister added.
"I still believe that Singaporeans are also sensible, pragmatic people, we are not just going to swallow everything hook, line and sinker," he said.
