GE2025: Race, religion should not be mixed with politics in S’pore, says SM Lee at Tampines GRC visit
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Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the PAP Aljunied GRC team interacting with residents during a walkabout at Bedok Reservoir Road Market and Food Centre on April 29.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
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SINGAPORE – Although race and religion have been mixed with politics recently, this is not the way in Singapore, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Referring to social media posts that had called for voters to select candidates along racial and religious lines, the 73-year-old stressed that political parties here are not structured along such lines, unlike the case in Malaysia.
It was for this reason that SM Lee said he had gone to Tampines on April 29, after a walkabout at 630 Bedok Reservoir Road Market and Food Centre with the PAP’s Aljunied GRC candidates – to show support for Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli.
Mr Masagos is leading the PAP team in Tampines GRC, with the incumbents going up against the WP, National Solidarity Party and People’s Power Party in a rare four-cornered fight.
Speaking to the media outside a supermarket in Tampines Street 81, SM Lee said that despite Mr Masagos being the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, he represents residents of all races and religions in the constituency while also “looking after the interests of all Singaporeans” as a Cabinet member.
“Singaporeans have to understand that and... the games which are being played online,” he said, citing the Facebook posts made by foreigners that attempted to interfere in Singapore’s May 3 general election.
On April 25, the authorities said they had directed Meta to block access to posts
PAS national treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad had expressed support for WP vice-chairman and Tampines GRC candidate Faisal Manap, and also shared several posts showing support for other opposition politicians from the Malay/Muslim community.
Mr Noor Deros, a Singaporean self-styled religious teacher living in Malaysia, had also singled out Mr Faisal as the candidate to vote for. Mr Noor is not authorised to teach in Singapore.
Meanwhile, former ISA detainee Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff, an Australian citizen, had accused several Malay/Muslim MPs here of failing to represent the interests of the Muslim community. He said the local Muslim community does not need another Malay MP who does not reflect its concerns.
Speaking to reporters in Malay, SM Lee said: “We are one people, one united nation, and we are not divided along racial or religious lines. I hope we can continue working like that for the good of our nation and for a brighter future for everyone in Singapore.”
He added that the Government has been working hard for the Malay/Muslim community here, citing the construction of new mosques, like the one in Tampines North, and the introduction of an Islamic College that will hopefully begin operating in a few years.
Speaking at the same doorstop interview, Mr Masagos said that while divisive discourse along racial or religious lines has ceased at the rallies, it continues to be circulated across the internet and this is “concerning”. He said: “It just shows that when you start a poison going, it just spreads.”
When asked about the sentiments of residents, Mr Masagos said several had expressed worry when he met them during home visits.
“Especially those who are seniors, they went through racial riots. Some of them actually cried and said they couldn’t sleep,” he said.
Reiterating that peace and harmony should never be taken for granted, he warned of the risks of divisive discourse. “It’s like a peat fire, right underground. It spreads and then turns up somewhere else,” he said.
He added: “It’s very hard to pin (down), and I know this because I used to take care of the haze. The fire cannot be seen... and we will suffer for this.”
Besides race and religion, SM Lee also criticised comments made by WP candidates at the party’s rally on April 28
While SM Lee declined to go into specifics, saying Prime Minister Lawrence Wong would probably have something to say about this later, he said it was “regrettable” and “deplorable” that the opposition had made personal attacks on individuals.
Rather than tackling issues or delving into the interests of Singaporeans, he said the opposition was merely trying to go after people from the ruling party.
“I hope Singaporeans can see through this and will vote for the parties which will represent their interests and which will also be able to take them forward.
“And this way of personal attacks is not the way forward.”
SM Lee also hit back at WP’s explanation on why it had abstained from voting on a Bill to amend a law that would allow the Government to block the proposed sale of NTUC’s Income Insurance to German insurer Allianz.
On April 28, WP chairwoman Sylvia Lim told reporters in Tampines that the party had abstained because suddenly changing the law to affect a live transaction would not be good for Singapore in terms of business certainty.
She added that to pass a law that would affect parties in a live transaction, the logical and right thing to do would be to let it go to a parliamentary select committee, to understand how the law might jeopardise or undermine affected parties.
Describing the explanation as “excuses”, SM Lee said: “You are presented with this decision. You have to make a choice. Do you act and do the right thing, or do you wring your hands, make general, complicated explanations and let it through, and then say, ‘Sorry, it can’t be helped’?”
