Religious teacher says he had talks with WP, urged party to prioritise rights of Malay/Muslim community
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Mr Noor Deros claimed he had spoken to all the Malay candidates from the Workers' Party.
PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN FILE
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SINGAPORE - A Singaporean self-styled religious teacher based in Malaysia has said that he has spoken with WP candidates contesting the upcoming election and urged the opposition party to prioritise the rights and concerns of the Malay/Muslim community in Singapore.
Malay-language newspaper Berita Harian reported on April 26 that in a series of Facebook posts, Mr Noor Deros claimed he had spoken to all the Malay candidates from the WP.
He also claimed that the party had agreed to take up the concerns raised by the asatizah, or religious teachers, regarding the Malay/Muslim community in Singapore.
According to the BH report, he said the WP had taken seriously his call for the party to raise in Parliament issues surrounding the control and regulation of Islam’s practice in Singapore, citing the Administration of Muslim Law Act and institutions such as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore.
Mr Noor also claimed that he had urged WP and other election candidates to reject the normalisation of LGBTQ+ issues, take a strong stance against Israel, and recognise the state of Palestine.
In another post, Mr Noor criticised Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli, accusing him of failing to defend the rights and aspirations of the Malay/Muslim community.
He compared Mr Masagos with WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap, pointing to Mr Faisal’s efforts in raising the tudung (headscarf) issue in Parliament – referring to how in 2021, the Government lifted former restrictions on the headgear for Muslim staff in healthcare settings
Mr Noor called on his followers, particularly those in Tampines GRC, to vote for Mr Faisal, who is contesting the constituency,
Mr Noor’s posts are among a number of online messages by Singaporeans that have surfaced during the election period, which the authorities said contained racial and religious undertones.
On April 25, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Elections Department issued a statement
The statement said: “Singapore’s politics must be for Singaporeans alone to decide.”
This was after three foreigners, including a former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee, were found to be attempting to interfere in the election.
One of them is a Facebook user under the name of “Zai Nal”. He had shared Mr Noor’s posts and accused Malay/Muslim MPs of failing to represent the interests of the Muslim community. He said the community did not need “another Malay MP who does not represent their views”.
The user was identified as Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff, an Australian citizen who renounced his Singapore citizenship in 2020. He was previously detained under the ISA in 2016 for promoting terrorism and praising militant group ISIS online.
He had also posted criticisms of Malay/Muslim MPs regarding the tudung issue. His posts were subsequently reshared by Mr Mohamed Sukri Omar, the Selangor Youth chief of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS).
The other two foreigners identified are Mr Mohamed Sukri Omar and Mr Iskandar Abdul Samad, national treasurer of PAS.
On April 25, the Infocomm Media Development Authority issued a correction direction to Meta, requiring the tech giant to disable access for Singapore users to several of these Facebook posts. The posts have since been blocked.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Asatizah Recognition Board clarified that Mr Noor has never been accredited under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS), which certifies Islamic teachers in Singapore.
This means he is not authorised to preach here.
Mr Noor applied for the ARS in 2017 but was unsuccessful, as he refused to comply with the scheme’s code of ethics, which upholds accountability and integrity among religious teachers and safeguards Singapore’s unity, peace and harmony.
In a statement on April 26,
“At a meeting with other religious leaders where Noor Deros was present, the party confirms there were no promises, commitments or agreements made to any individual, including Noor Deros, in exchange for political support for WP candidates,” said the statement.
WP chief and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh told reporters on April 26 that Mr Noor had turned up at a meeting the party had with Malay/Muslim religious leaders.
There was no prior indication that Mr Noor would be at the meeting, he added.
