GE2025
All of Singapore's main political parties have rejected foreign interference in Singapore's politics.
Tan Min-Wei
April 28, 2025, 10:19 AM
Senior Minister (SM) Lee Hsien Loong warned of the dangers of mixing race and religion with politics at the People's Action Party's (PAP) Apr. 27 Jalan Kayu Rally.
He urged voters to "vote for the candidates which uphold multiracialism" and said that the government had to raise the issue despite being in the middle of a "very hot election campaign".
Hot election campaign
SM Lee said that the government had "come out very strongly" as it was a "very sensitive matter".
He acknowledged that Singapore was in "the middle of a very hot election campaign, but the matter came up" and that the government "had to raise it".
"We could not wait, because foreigners have no business to interfere in Singapore politics, and whether foreigner or Singaporean race and religion have to be kept separate from politics."
The topic had come up as some MPs and candidates were being attacked for not "championing the causes of their own racial or religious groups" and not being "fierce" enough.
He also noted that there was a "foreign political party" which had asked Singaporeans to vote for particular candidates on the basis of how staunchly adherent they were to their religion.
"What business of it theirs? And even if it is their business, is that the way to do it?"
Singaporeans, he said, had to understand what was happening, realise the dangers, reject it "forcefully", and "affirm we are one people, regardless of race, language, or religion".
Feigning ignorance
SM Lee said the situation had been "going on for some time".
The PAP government had "stood up and put its position out clearly", and within days so had all of Singapore's political parties.
But he questioned why the other parties had taken as long as they did, saying "Day before yesterday, where were you? You didn't notice?"
Then, invoking the Malay term for feigning ignorance, he asked: "You didn't know, or buat bohdoh?"
Feigning ignorance
Speaking in Mandarin, SM Lee urged the voters to vote for a political party that supports a multi-racial and multi-religious society - the PAP.
He also noted that the opposition parties only spoke out after the PAP government took firm action.
SM Lee also spoke about Tang Liang Hong, a 1997 General Election candidate "who stirred Chinese chauvinism sentiments" before the Government took a stance on the matter and fought hard against him.
SM Lee urged all voters to support the foundational principles of multi-racialism and equal treatment for all communities, to "protect our country" and to "protect our future".
Rejection
SM Lee's comments came as the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Elections Department Singapore (ELD) had moved to block several Facebook accounts that had been accused of attempting to influence Singaporeans.
Workers' Party leader Pritam Singh disavowed an endorsement on Apr. 26 by controversial Malaysia-based Singaporean Muslim preacher Noor Deros.
Singh said that if Deros "thinks that his advocacy will lead to the issues being brought up by the Workers' Party, I think he is sadly mistaken".
Singh was one of several opposition party leaders who rejected foreign interference in Singapore's elections, including the Singapore Democratic Party's Paul Tambyah and Chee Soon Juan, and the Progress Singapore Party's Tan Cheng Bock.
Top image via Mothership
