The Infocomm Media Development Authority ( IMDA ) has directed Meta to censor the access to several instances of foreigners posting online election ads ( OEA ) on Facebook.  ,
The Ministry of Home Affairs ( MHA ) and Elections Department Singapore ( ELD ) stated in a statement on Friday ( Apr 25 ) that they had identified a “number of foreigners” attempting to influence this General Election, which will see Singaporeans going to the polls on May 3.  ,
” Religion and politics must not be combined.” Singapore is a liberal nation, the joint statement continued.
As we have seen in other nations with culture- or religion-based politics, “incorporating religion will undermine social cohesion and tranquility.”
Foreigners taking part in or publishing OEAs is a crime under the Parliamentary Elections Act ( PEA ), they added.  ,
Any website content that can “reasonably” be interpreted as intended to advance or undercut a democratic party’s or candidate’s chances of winning the election is referred to as OEA in accordance with the PEA.
Europeans are prohibited from influencing Singapore’s elections in any way, according to the speech.  ,
Singapore must be the ones to decide Singapore’s elections.
The government claimed in its assertion that the OEA it had directed Meta to stop had been posted by:
- Iskandar Abdul Samad, the national treasurer of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia ( PAS ),
- Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff, a Facebook user, was referred to as” Zai Nal.”
- Mohamed Sukri Omar, children leader of PAS Selangor, reposted Mr. Zulfikar’s article.
People in Singapore can no longer access the posts, which criticized choices made by the ruling authorities and expressed support for some candidates running in GE2025.  ,
MHA and ELD also referred to two reports that appeared in the PAS email, one of which named a number of Malay criticism candidates running for GE2025 and outlined their educational and professional background. The other criticized Singapore’s cover policies, citing immigration as a cause.
According to the government, Mr. Zulfikar is an American national who renounced his citizenship in Singapore in 2020.  ,
According to the statement, Mr. Zulfikar had been detained in 2016 under the Internal Security Act for his online “promotion of terrorism” and the glory of the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ( ISIS), adding that his behavior” contributed to the radicalization of at least two other Singapore.”  ,
Mr. Zulfikar had urged Muslims to “reject the legal, liberal, democratic state in favor of an Islamic state governed by Syariah rules” and use force as necessary to accomplish this goal, according to the statement.  ,
Mr. Zulfikar alleged that some Malay-Muslim MPs had failed to reflect the community’s interests in the problem and that the local Muslim neighborhood did not require another Malay MP who did not represent their sights.  ,
” These articles are intended for Singaporeans. They interfere with our nation’s private affairs, which are reserved for the citizens of that country. They have resulted in more social media postings of a similar nature, the government continued, and they also urge Singaporeans to cast ballots along racial and religious lines.  ,
Numerous posts on Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and Strands that mixed politics and religion have recently made the rounds electronically.
For instance, Noor Deros, an Islamist spiritual teacher, posted a list of requirements for democratic parties in Singapore in a Facebook post. He claimed that only the Workers ‘ Party ( WP ) responded to him.  ,  ,
He later stated in a later article that if the WP “does not listen to the common demands of the Muslim community to accept the normalization of LGBTQ and target other big concerns, then I urge that we vote for the candidate, not the party.”
He claimed in another post that Masagos Zulkifli, the minister in charge of Arab affairs, had failed to defend the rights and interests of the Malay-Muslim population.
Additionally, a netizen named “queenkard” started a Reddit thread where they posted a Twitter post that urged Tampines residents to “fight for a strong Islamic society” and was written by another person.
The government will continue to “engage widely,” MHA and ELD added, though common plan may occasionally require “matters of spiritual problem.”
According to MHA and ELD, all organizations serve all Singaporeans likewise.
We urge all political parties, their individuals, religious organizations, leaders, and public figures to do their part to preserve the priceless cooperation that exists today in Singapore.