PUBLISHED ONApril 25, 2025 2:20 PMByHoon Jeng JeeFacebook posts by three foreigners were blocked after they were found to be influencing the upcoming election, the Elections Department (ELD) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a joint statement on Friday (April 25).
According to the statement, the Infocomm Media Development Authority has issued corrective directions to disable Singapore users’ access to several Facebook posts by foreigners during the election period.
Under the Parliamentary Elections Act (PEA), it is an offence for foreigners to participate in election activity or publish online election advertising (OEA).
Singapore’s politics must be for Singaporeans alone to decide, the joint statement said.
Three men were identified as the source of the posts.
They are:
In his now-removed post, Zulfikar accused several Malay-Muslim Members of Parliament of failing to represent the interests of the Muslim community and said that the local Muslim community did not need another Malay MP who did not represent their views.
Zulfikar was previously detained under the Internal Security Act in 2016 for his active promotion of terrorism and glorification of the terrorist group ISIS online, which contributed to the radicalisation of at least two other Singaporeans, the joint statement said.
He had also called on Muslims to reject the constitutional, secular, democratic state in favour of an Islamic state governed by Syariah law.
He believed that violence should be used to achieve this goal if necessary, the statement added.
Sukri, who reposted Zulfikar’s post, is the third man identified in the statement.
It said that these posts have been targeted at Singaporeans and they interfere with domestic politics, which are reserved for citizens.
They also urged Singaporeans to vote on racial and religious lines, and have led to more social media postings of a similar nature.
"All this has the potential to fracture the multi-racial and multi-religious harmony that is the bedrock of our nation.
"We must not mix religion and politics. Singapore is a secular state. Our institutions serve all Singaporeans equally. Bringing religion into politics will undermine social cohesion and harmony, as we have seen in other countries with race- or religion-based politics.
"We recognise that public policy may sometimes involve matters of religious concern. The Government will continue to engage widely, including with religious groups, to hear their views and ensure that they are taken into account.
"We urge all political parties and their candidates, as well as religious organisations, leaders and members of the public to do our part to safeguard the precious harmony we have in Singapore today," the statement said.
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