Singapore ‘increasingly’ seeing people from ‘different parts of Malaysian society’ wanting to intervene in its politics, policies: Shanmugam

In the final year of her candidature, she was awarded a teaching fellowship by the College of Humanities and Sciences, NUS.

“The only plausible explanation for these acts of repression is that I, as a scholar of Southeast Asian Studies whose work examines the intellectual history of decolonisation and anti-imperialism in Malaya/Malaysia, Singapore, and the broader region, am being targeted for my role and responsibility as a scholar,” she stated.

MALAYSIAN PARTY IN SPOTLIGHT PREVIOUSLY

In a speech on the politicisation of race and religion in Parliament last October, Mr Shanmugam said Malaysian politicians from the Islamist Parti Islam Se-Malaysia’s (PAS) had urged Singaporeans to vote along racial and religious lines in the country’s general election last May.

In the lead-up to the May 3 polls, MHA and the Elections Department said the authorities had identified a number of foreigners trying to influence the election, and blocked access to several Facebook posts.

The posts were by PAS national treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad and its Selangor Youth chief Mohamed Sukri Omar, Mr Shanmugam said.

The posts had expressed support for Singapore’s Workers’ Party candidate Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, who contested in Tampines group representation constituency, and claimed the ruling People’s Action Party’s Malay-Muslim Members of Parliament could not be trusted.

In response to Mr Shanmugam’s remarks, PAS rejected what it called an attempt to cast it as “a convenient bogeyman to advance domestic political agendas in Singapore”.

“Do not manufacture enemies where none exist,” said PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan in a statement on Oct 15.

The next day, MHA quoted extracts of Mr Iskandar’s comments and noted Mr Mohamed Sukri had re-posted a social media post which stated that PAP’s Malay-Muslim Members of Parliament could not be trusted.

“This was a serious interference in Singapore’s elections,” MHA said. 

“We recognise that foreigners may have views and are entitled to comment on Singapore’s policies and politics. The foreign media do so regularly,” it said. 

“But the Singapore Government will not stand by if a foreign actor attempts to influence Singaporeans for its own purposes, especially by rousing racial and religious sentiments and during elections.”