PUBLISHED ONMarch 14, 2025 3:48 AMByChing Shi JieA group of people have been going to different People's Action Party (PAP) Meet-the-People Sessions to be "deliberately confrontational, create incidents, try and provoke," said Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam on Thursday (March 13).
"They then put out a version of what happened, to put the MP and his team in as negative light as possible," he said in a Facebook post.
The PAP identified the group as activists from Monday of Palestine Solidarity.
Shanmugam said that two sisters, who are part of this group, came to his ward in Chong Pang on March 12.
After learning that they live in Punggol and were at his Meet-the-People Session (MPS) to talk to him about the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma), Shanmugam, who is Nee Soon GRC MP, told them that he had to prioritise his residents.
A seven-minute video on Shanmugam’s Facebook post showed the minister speaking with the activists, who were wearing face masks and shirts with the word "press", at his ward in Chong Pang.
The conversation later turned confrontational, with one of the sisters showing the middle finger to a person who was recording the incident.
The activists, which included a third member, shouted "coward" at Shanmugam as he was heading back to his office.
He then returned to tell them off for being disruptive when several residents were at the Meet-the-People Session to seek help for "real issues".
"Please don't shout here, and behave with respect," said Shanmugam to the group, who were seen talking over him.
"Wait out there if you want to see me, I will decide," he added, before walking back to his office.
The minister said that the pair then accused him of lying after suggesting that other MPs had seen people who are not residents of that area.
"Their accusation, that I was lying, was typical of the way the engagement proceeded, through the night," said Shanmugam.
"The antagonistic way in which they spoke, behaved, interrupted, threw accusations of lying, suggested that they wanted to make a scene, get some material to put out, rather than engage in a genuine discussion.
"I was quite unhappy with the disruption they were causing. I pointed to them to behave. I also pointed out to them that they were disrupting the MPS," he said.
"They can't, as non-residents, come to MPS and insist that their political discussion take priority over the needs of the waiting residents."
Shanmugam said that the commotion from the activists' "rowdy behaviour" caused concern and shock among the residents.
"I understand that people may feel strongly about some issues. But MPS is not a protest venue," he said.
"It is where residents go to their MPs to seek help. Many have acute concerns — housing, jobs, medical needs, family issues, and would wait patiently, often for hours, to speak with their MP. Hijacking these sessions is unfair to residents."
Shanmugam said that he eventually spent 30 to 45 minutes to speak with the group to "find some common ground".
The PAP said on its Petir website that the group had disrupted more than 10 MPS with the "same tactics", including National Development Minister Desmond Lee’s in West Coast GRC and Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo’s in Jalan Besar GRC.
AsiaOne has contacted Monday of Palestine Solidarity for comment.
Several leaders from religious organisations have since criticised the activists' behaviour.
Muhammed Azri Azman, President of Muhammadiyah Association, said on Facebook that their actions are "such a low".
"The cause is pure, but the act is not," he added.
Ustaz Muhammad Tarmizi Wahid, president of the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association, a non-governmental organisation, said that the group "creating a ruckus in public" are actions that are "despised by our faith".
"Sometimes amidst our frustrations, our emotions may get the better of us, and in the end, what we had hoped to be a step forward, becomes counterproductive, not just for ourselves, but for others too," he wrote in a Facebook post.
"I believe that the weight of our words should be measured in kindness, not in harshness. And beyond words, let our actions and character reflect the teachings of our beautiful faith. We can be better."
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