Foreigners must not influence GE2025, says MHA
As campaigning for the 2025 General Election is in full swing, three foreigners have been attempting to exert influence over the proceedings.
Thus, Facebook has been directed to block posts made by these individuals in Singapore.
(From left) Iskandar Abdul Samad, Zulfikar bin Mohamad Shariff and Mohamed Sukri Omar. Source: Iskandar Abdul Samad on Facebook, Facebook and Mohamed Sukri Omar on Facebook
Foreigners attemping to influence GE2025 include 2 Malaysian politicians
In a joint statement on Friday (25 April) night, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Elections Department (ELD) identified the three men as:
- Mr Iskandar Abdul Samad, national treasurer of Malaysian political party Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS)
- Facebook user “Zai Nal”, who has been identified as Zulfikar bin Mohamad Shariff
- Mr Mohamed Sukri Omar, PAS Selangor Youth Chief
PAS treasurer expressed support for GE2025 candidate
Mr Iskandar had expressed support in his post for a GE2025 candidate, MHA and ELD said.
Source: Iskandar Abdul Samad on Facebook
Several recent posts and reposts on his profile were about GE2025, including one on Thursday (24 April) saying he would be sad if Workers’ Party (WP) candidate Faisal Manap — an MP for Aljunied GRC since 2011 — lost the election. Mr Faisal is leading the WP team contesting Tampines GRC for the upcoming election.
Mr Iskandar also posted about several other candidates.
Ex-Singaporean was detained under ISA in 2016
Zulfikar, a former Singaporean, was previously detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 2016.
He was accused of promoting terrorism and glorifying the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) online.
Source: Facebook
He had called on Muslims to reject the constitutional, secular, democratic state in favour of an Islamic state, believing violence should be used to achieve this goal if necessary, MHA and ELD said.
This contributed to the radicalisation of at least two other Singaporeans.
Zulfikar renounced his Singapore citizenship in 2020. He is currently an Australian.
PAS Selangor Youth Chief reposted Zulfikar’s post
In his post, Zulfikar accused several Malay-Muslim Members of Parliament of failing to represent the interests of the Muslim community.
He also said that the local Muslim community did not need another Malay MP who did not represent their views, according to MHA and ELD.
Mr Sukri had then reposted this post.
Mohamed Sukri Omar on Facebook
Foreigners trying to influence S’poreans on how to vote during GE2025: Authorities
These posts were targeted at Singaporeans, MHA and ELD said, adding:
They interfere with our domestic politics, which are reserved for our citizens. They also urge Singaporeans to vote on racial and religious lines, and have led to more social media postings of a similar nature.
“Foreigners must not direct, fund or in any way influence Singapore’s elections”, they also said, adding that Singapore’s politics must be for Singaporeans alone to decide.
They noted that it is an offence under the Parliamentary Elections Act for foreigners to participate in election activity or publish online election advertising (OEA).
Source: Elections Department Singapore – ELD on Facebook
Singapore is a secular state, must not mix religion & politics: Authorities
The posts also have the potential to fracture Singapore’s multiracial and multireligious harmony, the authorities said, adding:
We must not mix religion and politics. Singapore is a secular state. Our institutions serve all Singaporeans equally. Bringing religion into politics will undermine social cohesion and harmony, as we have seen in other countries with race- or religion-based politics.
While public policy may sometimes involve matters of religious concern, the Government recognises this and will “continue to engage widely”, including with religious groups, to ensure their views are taken into account, read the statement.
Posts must be disabled during election period
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), acting as the Assistant Returning Officer for GE2025, has issued Corrective Directions to Meta, which owns Facebook.
The company must disable access in Singapore to the offending posts during the election period.
MHA and ELD urged political parties and their candidates to do their part to safeguard Singapore’s “precious harmony”, and this goes for religious organisations, leaders and members of the public too.
WP says it doesn’t have control over foreign parties who express support
In social media posts on Saturday (26 April) morning, the Workers’ Party stated that its candidates seek the support of Singaporeans in the wards they are contesting.
However, the party stated that it “does not have control over foreign parties who express support” for their candidates.
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Featured image adapted from Iskandar Abdul Samad on Facebook, Facebook and Mohamed Sukri Omar on Facebook.
