Mr. Leong Mun Wai, a non-constituency member of the Progress Singapore Party, inquired as to whether it was also appropriate to refer to the Israeli-Palestine conflict as a “family dispute,” a term that Dr. Balakrishnan himself used before.
The secretary responded by pointing out that Muslims in Singapore have a strong stance on the situation of the Arab people.  ,
He continued,” They were even horrified by the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023.”  ,
” We express our condolences to the sufferers of both sides ‘ civilians, and we will provide humanitarian aid.” But we must not allow issues somewhere widen fault lines in our society”, he continued.  ,
And neither of us should attempt to do that or profit from it to advance our social goals.
Dr. Balakrishnan even urged Singaporeans to avoid visiting Lebanon and another hotspots, as requested by his government.
One Singaporean who is already registered in Lebanon, he said, has resisted getting their getaway to Lebanon.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( MFA ) has issued travel advisories against travel to Lebanon, in particular the Israel-Lebanon border as well as the Israel-Syria border, he said. Visitors to the Middle East may  , e-register with MFA and taking steps for personal security.  ,
Dr. Balakrishnan urged Singaporeans to avoid locations where safety will be a concern or where additional local discord is a real and imminent risk.  ,
” If that happens and you get into trouble, of course we wo n’t leave you behind, but you are actually generating enormous work and concern, sometimes even risks to the officers in MFA”, he continued, adding that there are officers on the frontlines in the Middle East.  ,
” Again I make this appeal, unless there’s really, really no choice, please do n’t go, and please do n’t give us unnecessary extra work” . ,