
GE2025: Seven opposition parties deliver campaign messages in final political broadcast
Seven opposition parties have delivered their final political broadcasts, ahead of Polling Day on Saturday. They said more diversity is needed and appealed to Singaporeans to ensure that their interests are represented in Parliament. They added that if more opposition voices are voted in, the ruling People's Action Party's mandate will not be weakened. Rebecca Metteo reports.

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Online Citizen
7 hours ago
- Online Citizen
First session of Singapore's 15th Parliament to open on 5 September
Singapore's 15th Parliament will convene for its first session on 5 September at 5 pm, announced Leader of the House Indranee Rajah on 13 June. This follows the general election held on 3 May which brought in the new government. The session will begin with the election of the Speaker of Parliament, followed by the swearing-in of new Members of Parliament. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will deliver the opening address, outlining the government's priorities, policies and programmes. Indranee Rajah stated this address is vital to define strategies and key policies as Singapore navigates a challenging geopolitical climate and economic uncertainties. She emphasised it will help secure a brighter future for Singaporeans and the nation. Debates on the President's Address will take place from 22 to 26 September. During this period, ministries will release their addenda to detail how they will contribute to the national agenda. In a Facebook post, Indranee Rajah noted that while MPs are active in constituency work, parliamentary business formally begins after the official opening. She added that her role includes coordinating with Parliament on these arrangements.


Singapore Law Watch
2 days ago
- Singapore Law Watch
Second round of Pofma sanctions for owner of The Online Citizen's website, social media accounts
Second round of Pofma sanctions for owner of The Online Citizen's website, social media accounts Source: Straits Times Article Date: 12 Jun 2025 Author: Aqil Hamzah This is the second time that The Online Citizen has been slapped with the declaration, with its first due to expire in July 2025. The people behind The Online Citizen's (TOC) website and Facebook, Instagram and X pages will continue to be barred from deriving any financial benefits from the running of its platforms till 2027. In a statement on June 11, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said TOC's website and social media pages – which were labelled as Declared Online Locations (DOLs) – had been declared as such in July 2023, and the designation was due to expire on July 21, 2025. DOLs have to comply with actions under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) that would prevent their operator from financially benefiting during the period they are listed as one. However, said MDDI, TOC 'continued to communicate falsehoods through its online platforms over the past two years'. Between July 2023 and June 2025, it received eight correction directions under the fake news law. These included one on Feb 25, after TOC published an article about modification works at the Ridout Road colonial bungalow leased by Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam's wife. In its article, it said the Singapore Land Authority had given Mr Shanmugam assurances of a lease extension beyond its 2027 expiry, and that public funds were used to pay for the earthworks carried out at the bungalow since 2024, among other claims. These are falsehoods, said MDDI. As a result of the eight correction directions, TOC's website and social media pages have again been labelled DOLs, a move necessary 'to ensure Singaporeans continue to be alerted to TOC's record of communicating falsehoods', said the ministry. The new declaration comes into effect immediately after the current direction expires and will remain till July 21, 2027 at 12pm. TOC will be able to continue its operations, but will have to carry a notice on its online platforms to notify its audience that it has been declared a DOL. The notice will also have to state that it had 'communicated multiple falsehoods' and that its viewers should exercise caution when accessing it for information. MDDI added that service providers, including digital advertising agencies, will have to take steps to ensure that their paid content on TOC's platforms is not made available in Singapore. 'Individuals and companies must also not provide financial support to TOC's DOLs to avoid promoting the communication of falsehoods in Singapore on these platforms,' it added. There are three other outlets currently listed as DOLs. They are Transformative Justice Collective's website and social media pages, and Gutzy Asia's website and social media pages, as well as opposition politician Kenneth Jeyaretnam's website and social media pages. A provision under Pofma allows the Government to order an internet intermediary to disable access to a DOL if the owner of the DOL does not comply with the declaration and paid content on the site continues to be displayed to users here. If an internet intermediary fails to comply and is convicted, it can be fined up to $20,000 for each day that the government order is not fully complied with, up to a total of $500,000. The owner or operator of a DOL can however apply to the Minister for Digital Development and Information to suspend, vary or cancel the declaration. If the minister rejects the application, an appeal can be made to the High Court. Aqil Hamzah is a journalist covering breaking news at The Straits Times, with interests in crime and technology. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print

Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Second round of Pofma sanctions for owner of The Online Citizen's website, social media accounts
This is the second time that The Online Citizen has been slapped with the declaration, with its first due to expire in July 2025. PHOTO: THE ONLINE CITIZEN/FACEBOOK Second round of Pofma sanctions for owner of The Online Citizen's website, social media accounts SINGAPORE – The people running The Online Citizen's (TOC) website, Facebook, Instagram, and X pages will continue to be barred from deriving any financial benefits from the running of its platforms till 2027. In a statement on June 11 , the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said TOC's website and social media pages – which were labelled as Declared Online Locations (DOLs) – had first been declared as such in July 2023, and were due to expire on July 21, 2025. DOLs have to comply with actions under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) that would prevent their operator from financially benefiting during the period they are listed as one. However, said MDDI, TOC 'continued to communicate falsehoods through its online platforms over the past two years'. Between July 2023 and June 2025 , it received eigh t correction directions under the fake news law . These included one in Feb 25, after TOC published an article about modification works at the Ridout Road colonial bungalow leased by Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam's wife. In its article, it said the Singapore Land Authorit y had given Mr Shanmugam assurances of a lease extension beyond its 2027 expiry, and that public funds were used to pay for the earthworks carried out at the bungalow since 2024, among other claims. These are falsehoods, said MDDI. As a result, TOC's website and social media pages have again been labelled DOLs, a move necessary 'to ensure Singaporeans continue to be alerted to TOC's record of communicating falsehoods', said the ministry. The new declaration comes into effect immediately after the current direction expires and will remain till July 21, 2027 at 12p m. TOC will be able to continue its operations, but will have to carry a notice on its online platforms to notify its audience that it has been declared a DOL. The notice will also have to state that it had 'communicated multiple falsehoods' and that its viewers should exercise caution when accessing it for information. MDDI added that service providers, including digital advertising agencies, will have to take steps to ensure that their paid content on TOC's platforms are not made available in Singapore. 'Individuals and companies must also not provide financial support to TOC's DOLs to avoid promoting the communication of falsehoods in Singapore on these platforms,' it added. At present, there are three other outlets currently listed as DOLs. They are Transformative Justice Collective's website and social media pages, Gutzy Asia's website and social media pages, as well as opposition politician Kenneth Jeyaretnam's website and social media pages. A provision under Pofma allows the Government to order an internet intermediary to disable access to a DOL if the owner of the DOL does not comply with the declaration and paid content on the site continues to be displayed to users here. If an internet intermediary fails to comply and is convicted, it can be fined up to $20,000 for each day that the government order is not fully complied with, up to a total o f $500,000 . The owner or operator of a DOL can however apply to the Minister for Digital Development and Information to suspend, vary, or cancel the declaration. If the minister refuses the application, an appeal can be made to the High Court. Aqil Hamzah is a journalist covering breaking news at The Straits Times, with interests in crime and technology. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.