SINGAPORE – Being designated a politically significant person (PSP) does not mean someone has committed a crime, but that they have a connection to Singapore politics or a foreign entity, and may be vulnerable to being subverted, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a media interview at the Istana on April 26.

Referring to the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, or Fica, which was passed in Parliament on Oct 4, 2021 after a 10-hour debate, he said it is to deal with foreign hostile influence operations, as well as those that use individuals and organisations here for their purposes.

Under the Act, a person is classified as a PSP if he has a nexus to Singapore politics or some foreign actor. If he is a political actor but does not have a foreign nexus, he is not a threat, but at some point, some foreign actor may decide to make friends with him, and he may become vulnerable and a threat, PM Lee added.

As prime minister, PM Lee said he is a PSP, as are his ministers, opposition MPs, Nominated MPs (NMPs) and political parties, including the People’s Action Party. This means that every MP and minister, and the political parties, would have to declare their links or connections under the law.

“I am a PSP because I am the PM and therefore nexus to Singapore politics. Quite clear. My ministers are PSPs. My MPs are PSPs, the opposition MPs, even the NMPs, automatically. Not designated, but they are also PSPs,” he said.

“The People’s Action Party as a party, that is a PSP too, because the party can be subverted and every year the party has to declare I am not receiving foreign money, I do not have foreign connections. And if you declare falsely, then of course many consequences will follow,” he added.

A PSP has to declare his foreign connections and foreign sources of money annually.

The intention is to make it harder for some foreign actor to influence the PSP since he has to declare any connections, such as being in a distinguished advisory committee. This diminishes his value to the foreign actor, PM Lee said.

If the PSP does not have any connections, he can declare so and say: “I do not have any connections. You can trust me. I am a politically significant person, but I am not doing anything wrong.”

“So being declared a PSP does not mean necessarily that you have done anything wrong. It is just to put everybody on notice, that you have either a foreign nexus or you are politically active,” he said.

Businessman Philip Chan Man Ping, 59, was designated a PSP in February 2024. This made the Hong Kong-born businessman the first person to be dealt with under Fica. As a PSP, Mr Chan has to make annual disclosures to the authorities of political donations of $10,000 or more that he has received and accepted, and declare his foreign affiliations and any migration benefits.

PM Lee said Singapore has known black operations for a long time, since the 1960s and 1970s. Some were operating in newspapers such as Eastern Sun, Singapore Herald and the Chinese-language newspapers.

“But what is new is that they are now on our doorstep and in our bedroom because of the internet, because of social media, because of Singaporeans travelling,” he added.

“And now also because of AI (artificial intelligence), it is so much easier to generate stuff and to persuade people or mislead people.”

Asked if businessmen with dealings with China are in danger of becoming PSPs, PM Lee said it will be a matter of judgment and a decision which the Ministry of Home Affairs would have to make.

“Not everybody who does business in China is of interest. Not everybody who speaks well of a foreign country is necessarily a foreign agent or is likely to be a foreign agent or is likely to have influence,” he said.

“So to be a PSP, you have to cross a certain threshold. You are likely to matter and therefore, we will do something about it.”