GE2025: 'Vicious' conversations sparked by online posts mixing religion and politics have not disappeared, says SM Lee
SINGAPORE: The 'very vicious' set of conversations sparked by recent foreign posts calling Singaporeans to vote along religious lines 'has not disappeared away', said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (Apr 29).
Cautioning Singaporeans to 'understand the games being played online', Mr Lee reiterated that Singapore does not conduct its politics along racial or religious lines.
Mr Lee said this to the media on the sidelines of his visit to Tampines GRC, where a PAP slate led by Mr Masagos Zulkilfi is facing a four-cornered fight with teams from the Workers' Party (WP), National Solidarity Party (NSP) and People's Power Party (PPP).
Mr Masagos is the Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health, and also Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs.
Asked by the media on Tuesday about his visit to the constituency, Mr Lee said that he came to Tampines because 'the issue of race and religion getting mixed up with politics' came up last week.
On Friday, the authorities directed Meta to block Singapore users' access to several instances of online election advertising posted on Facebook by two Malaysian politicians and a former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee who is now an Australian citizen.
Among other things, they criticised the Singapore government's handling of sensitive religious issues, and urged Singaporeans to vote along religious lines.
'There have been very extreme posts which have been propounding such a view and propounding that people should vote for candidates which will most champion their religious interests,' said Mr Lee on Tuesday.
'And particularly the Malay MPs, please, the Malay candidates, please assess them to see who is the most zealous in advancing this Malay or Muslim interest, and vote for them and judge them on that basis.'
That is not how politics is conducted in Singapore, Mr Lee said.
While Malay candidates will 'naturally have an affinity and an interest in the well-being of' their own community, they also look after all residents regardless of race, language and religion.
Political parties in Singapore are also not organised along racial or religious lines, Mr Lee added.
'And I think it was very important for me to come and show support from Mr Masagos and explain that he looks after the Malay community – of course, he is also minister for Muslim affairs – but at the same time, he's representing residents of all races and religions in Tampines and in Cabinet, he is looking after the interests of all Singaporeans as a member of the Cabinet.'
Mr Lee stressed the importance of Singaporeans to understand this and 'understand the games being played online', adding that the foreign posts have sparked off a 'very vicious' set of conversations.
"And it has not just disappeared away."
POISON ONCE STARTED, WILL JUST SPREAD: MASAGOS
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Saturday that foreigners urging Singaporeans to vote along religious lines have " crossed the line", stressing that external actors must not be allowed to exploit divisions within the country.
He also welcomed statements made separately by leaders of opposition parties rejecting such interferences.
On Tuesday, Mr Masagos echoed the message by Mr Lee.
'I know that right now, even after it has stopped in the rallies, it has continued in the internet, in cyberspace, and this is concerning,' said Mr Masagos.
'It just shows that when you start a poison going, it just spreads, and that's why we should never even start in the first place.'
Mr Masagos said that after the online posts were put up, some residents he visited 'actually cried and said they couldn't sleep'.
This was especially so among older residents who experienced the racial riots in Singapore's early years, adding that residents across all races expressed similar concerns.
Mr Masagos reiterated the importance of protecting Singapore's multi-racial and multi-religious way of life.
'Even as we advance the interests or listen to the concerns of our own community, we articulate it in a way that does not hurt others, does not divide the society, and move forward together,' he said.
'And this is something very unique in Singapore, and that's why we have had peace and harmony all these years, so let's preserve that.'
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