Singapore has moved to block access for users here to several Facebook posts by several foreigners, for attempting to interfere in the ongoing general election.
Acting as Assistant Returning Officer, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has directed Meta, which owns Facebook, to take action - just over a week before Singaporeans head to the polls on May 3.
A joint statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Elections Department (ELD) on April 25 said that the Government has identified a number of foreigners attempting to influence this general election.
Under the Parliamentary Elections Act (PEA), it is an offence for foreigners to participate in elections activity or publish online election advertising.
The posts belong to Mr Iskandar Abdul Samad, the national treasurer of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), and the Islamist party's Selangor Youth chief Mohamed Sukri Omar.
The third person identified is Facebook user "Zai Nal", identified as Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff, an Australian citizen who renounced his Singapore citizenship in 2020.
"Foreigners must not direct, fund or in any way influence Singapore's elections," ELD and MHA warned.
The statement added: "Singapore's politics must be for Singaporeans alone to decide."
MHA and ELD said that in his post, Zulfikar had accused several Malay-Muslim MPs of failing to represent the interests of the Muslim community, and asserted that the local Muslim community did not need another Malay MP who did not reflect their concerns.
Checks by The Straits Times found that on April 24, he had posted about the tudung issue, referring to how in 2021, the Government lifted former restrictions on the headgear for Muslim staff in healthcare settings.
Among other things, Zulfikar alleged that Malay-Muslim MPs had been silent on the matter and had not pushed for change.
Zulfikar was previously detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 2016 for promoting terrorism and glorifying terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). His actions had contributed to the radicalisation of at least two other Singaporeans.
The authorities noted how Zulfikar had also called on Muslims to reject the constitutional, secular, democratic state in favour of an Islamic state governed by syariah law.
He also believed that violence should be used to achieve this goal if necessary.
In the case of Mr Sukri, the authorities said that he had reposted Zulfikar's post.
As for Mr Iskandar, the authorities said that he had expressed support for a candidate in GE2025.
ST checks also found that Mr Iskandar has been posting about Singapore politics. On April 24, he uploaded a post saying that he would be sad if a candidate did not win the election.
He said in the post: "Sad if Faisal lose after all the good work since 2011. Raised many issues especially the tudung issue and have the courage to explain to Parliament that in Islam religion must not be separated from politics. Hope he will be successful once again though tough."
He had also shared several other posts still online showing support for WP members such as its vice-chair Mr Faisal Manap, election candidates Ms Alia Mattar, Mr Sufyan Mikhail Putra and Mr Abdul Muhaimin, as well as Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) candidate Damanhuri Abas and Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) candidate Abu Mohamed.
The posts subjected to the order have been targeted at Singaporeans and they interfere with Singapore's domestic politics, which are reserved for its citizens, said the authorities.
"They also urge Singaporeans to vote on racial and religious lines, and have led to more social media postings of a similar nature."
The two agencies also warned that the posts have the potential to fracture the multiracial and multi-religious harmony that is the bedrock of Singapore.
The agencies also underscored that Singapore is a secular state, and that all public institutions are designed to serve Singaporeans equally, regardless of race or religion.
"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," the statement said.
At the same time, the Government acknowledged that public policy may sometimes involve matters of religious concern.
It stressed that it would continue to engage a broad range of stakeholders, including religious groups, to ensure their views are heard and considered in policymaking.
"We urge all political parties and their candidates, as well as religious organisations, leaders and members of the public to do our part to safeguard the precious harmony we have in Singapore today," the authorities said.
