Women who disrupted Shanmugam at MPS felt “humiliated and vulnerable”
The two women who confronted Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam at a Meet-the-People Session (MPS) on 12 March have spoken out about their experience, claiming they were intimidated and misrepresented in the minister’s account of the incident.
The statement — titled “The Parts He Left Out” — was published in a five-page document online.
Source: Screenshot from “The Parts He Left Out” Google document
It was released in response to Mr Shanmugam’s Facebook post on 13 March about his encounter with the two sisters — which he described as “deliberate rowdyism” and “rudeness”.
In their statement, the women reiterated that they had visited the MPS at Nee Soon to raise concerns about the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).
They said they had informed multiple volunteers of their intentions and were prepared to wait until all residents had been seen.
However, according to the duo, the “situation escalated” when they mentioned POFMA to the law and and home affairs minister.
Women came ‘in good faith’, but felt intimidated at MPS
The sisters described feeling “shocked and unsettled” when they realised the minister was wearing a microphone.
His demeanour had also changed as he lowered his voice and stood close to them.
At the same time, they alleged that security personnel and volunteers surrounded them and began filming.
“Anyone would have felt disturbed to be surrounded and filmed by multiple people, but we felt especially vulnerable as women,” they said, adding that their requests for the recordings to stop were ignored.
According to the statement, Mr Shanmugam defended his team, stating that they could do so as it was a public space.
“We really are just two regular citizens”, women say
The sisters said they felt “humiliated, vulnerable and outraged” at being filmed despite their repeated requests for privacy.
“Please understand that we were scared, being surrounded like this,” they wrote.
They also insisted they had not intended to cause a disruption, but reacted in frustration when their concerns were dismissed.
The sisters acknowledged that they were angry and reacted in a genuine way, which resulted in the footage of one of them displaying a rude gesture to the camera.
Addressing the backlash against them they added: “People have been sneering, judging and saying unkind things about us… but at the end of the day, we really are just two regular citizens.”
Women invite Shanmugam to release unedited videos
According to the two sisters, they sat down with Mr Shanmugam for a meeting in the MPS office later that evening.
However, they claimed the conversation was “almost completely one-sided”.
They said they were not given space to raise their concerns about free speech, alleging that Mr Shanmugam “bulldozed over” their attempts to speak.
The sisters summarised the entire experience as “hostile, frustrating, and disempowering”, ending their statement by challenging the minister to release the full, unedited recordings of their interaction and stating they have “a clear conscience”.
They also expressed disappointment at what they saw as an unnecessary escalation of events.
“Why are we stopped from bringing political issues to our political leaders?” they asked.
“How wasteful, that we gave up a proper dinner during Ramadan… just for a chance to try and talk with someone who had already decided to vilify us.”
Also read: 2 women ask Shanmugam about POFMA during Nee Soon Meet-The-People session, cause commotion
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Featured image adapted from K Shanmugam Sc on Facebook.
