GE2025: Singapore authorities identify a number of foreigners attempting to influence election
Singapore authorities have identified a number of foreigners attempting to influence the country's General Election. Corrective directions have been issued by IMDA to social media company Meta to disable access in Singapore to several online election advertising, published on Facebook by foreigners during this election period. The posts that have been blocked include some by a prominent member of an Islamist political party in Malaysia. Jeraldine Yap reports.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
Former senior minister Teo Chee Hean to take over from Lim Boon Heng as Temasek chairman
Former Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean will join Temasek Holdings as its deputy chairman on July 1 and succeed Lim Boon Heng as chairman on Oct 9, the Ministry of Finance and Temasek announced on Friday (June 6). In response to his appointment, Teo said he is looking forward to "build on the achievements of Temasek and chart a path for its continued success in the new global environment". "As a key Singapore institution with a global investment footprint, Temasek understands that its long-term success requires both addressing today's risks and opportunities and anticipating tomorrow's trends," he added. Teo's appointment in Temasek comes after he retired from politics following the General Election in May. Before helming the role of Senior Minister in 2019, Teo served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2009 and Coordinating Minister for National Security from 2011 till his retirement. Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, Temasek Executive Director and CEO, said: "I'm pleased to welcome Mr Teo Chee Hean as our fifth remarkable public service career across multiple domains speaks for itself," adding that Temasek can benefit from Teo's perspectives and extensive experiences. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is the Finance Minister, welcomed Teo as the incoming chairman and said: "I am confident he will build on Temasek's strong foundations, and steer its continued success in an increasingly complex global environment." Lim Boon Heng to step down as chairman Lim will end his 12-year tenure as chairman and step down from the Temasek Board on Oct 9. Since Lim was appointed chairman, Temasek's net portfolio value grew from $223 billion in 2014 to $389 billion in 2024. PM Wong said: "I thank Mr Lim for his dedicated service at Temasek. Under his stewardship, Temasek has expanded its global presence, strengthened its governance processes, and established itself as a leader in sustainable development." As part of its board renewal process, Temasek also announced that deputy chairman Cheng Wai Keung and director Stephen Lee will retire from the board on June 30 after 14 years and eight years of service respectively. Bobby Chin, a director, will also retire on July 31 after serving for 11 years. [[nid:717765]]
AsiaOne
2 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Former senior minister Teo Chee Hean to take over from Lim Boon Heng as Temasek chairman , Singapore News
Former Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean will join Temasek Holdings as its deputy chairman on July 1 and succeed Lim Boon Heng as chairman on Oct 9, the Ministry of Finance and Temasek announced on Friday (June 6). In response to his appointment, Teo said he is looking forward to "build on the achievements of Temasek and chart a path for its continued success in the new global environment". "As a key Singapore institution with a global investment footprint, Temasek understands that its long-term success requires both addressing today's risks and opportunities and anticipating tomorrow's trends," he added. Teo's appointment in Temasek comes after he retired from politics following the General Election in May. Before helming the role of Senior Minister in 2019, Teo served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2009 and Coordinating Minister for National Security from 2011 till his retirement. Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, Temasek Executive Director and CEO, said: "I'm pleased to welcome Mr Teo Chee Hean as our fifth remarkable public service career across multiple domains speaks for itself," adding that Temasek can benefit from Teo's perspectives and extensive experiences. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is the Finance Minister, welcomed Teo as the incoming chairman and said: "I am confident he will build on Temasek's strong foundations, and steer its continued success in an increasingly complex global environment." Lim Boon Heng to step down as chairman Lim will end his 12-year tenure as chairman and step down from the Temasek Board on Oct 9. Since Lim was appointed chairman, Temasek's net portfolio value grew from $223 billion in 2014 to $389 billion in 2024. PM Wong said: "I thank Mr Lim for his dedicated service at Temasek. Under his stewardship, Temasek has expanded its global presence, strengthened its governance processes, and established itself as a leader in sustainable development." As part of its board renewal process, Temasek also announced that deputy chairman Cheng Wai Keung and director Stephen Lee will retire from the board on June 30 after 14 years and eight years of service respectively. Bobby Chin, a director, will also retire on July 31 after serving for 11 years. [[nid:717765]]
Straits Times
14 hours ago
- Straits Times
Dismay and disbelief as Trump bans visitors from a dozen countries
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office on the day he signs an executive order, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File photo Officials and residents in countries whose citizens will soon be banned from visiting the United States expressed dismay and disbelief on Thursday at President Donald Trump's new sweeping travel ban as his administration intensifies its immigration crackdown. Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday barring citizens of 12 countries from entering the U.S. starting on Monday, asserting that the restrictions were necessary to protect against "foreign terrorists." The order was reminiscent of a similar move Trump implemented during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, when he barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations. That directive faced court challenges and went through several iterations before the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ban in 2018. Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Trump, repealed that ban in 2021, calling it "a stain on our national conscience." But the new ban is much more expansive and covers Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Citizens of seven other countries - Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela - will be partially restricted. A senior diplomat with the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, who asked not to be named, said Trump's justification did not stand up to scrutiny. "Sudanese people have never been known to pose a terrorist threat anywhere in the world," the official said. Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he had instructed his government to stop granting visas to U.S. citizens in response to Trump's action. "Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride," he said in a Facebook post, referring to countries such as Qatar, which gifted the U.S. a luxury airplane for Trump's use and promised to invest billions of dollars in the U.S. Afghans who worked for the U.S. or U.S.-funded projects and were hoping to resettle in the U.S. expressed fear that the travel ban would force them to return to their country, where they could face reprisal from the Taliban. Fatima, a 57-year-old Afghan women's rights defender waiting in Pakistan for her U.S. visa to be processed, had her dreams shattered overnight after Trump's order. "Unfortunately, the decisions made by President Trump turned all the hopes and beliefs of us into ashes," she told Reuters, asking that only her first name be published for security reasons. BAN TO TAKE EFFECT MONDAY Trump said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a "large-scale presence of terrorists," fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travelers' identities, as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States. He cited Sunday's incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian national tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs are needed. But Egypt was not part of the travel ban. "Because Egypt has been a country that we deal with very closely. They have things under control," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. When asked why he chose this moment to unveil the ban, he said: "It can't come soon enough." The visa ban takes effect on June 9 at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT). Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said. In total, just under 162,000 immigrant visas and temporary work, study, and travel visas were issued in fiscal year 2023 to nationals of the affected countries in the now banned visa categories, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The ban is likely to face legal challenges. But Stephen Yale-Loehr, a retired professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School, said he expected those lawsuits to face an uphill climb, because the latest ban contains various exemptions and cited specific security concerns with each country. The ban includes exemptions, such as for dual nationals, permanent residents, immigrant visas for immediate family members of U.S. citizens and athletes traveling for major sporting events like the World Cup. "Trump has learned from the mistakes of earlier travel bans," he said. Some foreign officials said they were prepared to work with the U.S. to address Trump's security concerns. "Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised," Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, said in a statement. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
