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Risk of foreign entities meddling in local politics is ‘quite substantial’

SINGAPORE — With new political agendas emerging and tools such as social media readily available to let any party exert their influence on a sizeable number quickly, the risk of foreign entities attempting to meddle with domestic politics in Singapore is “pretty substantial”, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam speaking at an interview. Photo: Raj Nadarajan/TODAY

Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam speaking at an interview. Photo: Raj Nadarajan/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — With new political agendas emerging and tools such as social media readily available to let any party exert their influence on a sizeable number quickly, the risk of foreign entities attempting to meddle with domestic politics in Singapore is “pretty substantial”, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

“Simply as a matter of common sense, if a country thinks that the outcome of another country can be influenced to its interest, why would it not do so?” he said. “You look around the world today. There are serious allegations of foreign interference in many countries ... So you cannot assume that these things won’t happen (in Singapore). It is happening around the world and you must assume that it can happen here.”

Mr Shanmugam was speaking to TODAY in an exclusive interview last week on the debate on amendments to the Public Order Act passed earlier this month.

The main change to the statute involved mandating organisers of big events to have to abide by police orders for specific security measures where these are deemed to be at high risk of a terror attack or public order incident.

But what drew greater debate in the legislative amendment was the move to give the Commissioner of Police powers to reject applications to hold assemblies and processions, so long as he has “reasonable grounds” to believe that the event is “directed towards a political end”, and involves foreign entities and foreigners.

Refuting views that this change could have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and the growth of civil society, Mr Shanmugam said the legislative amendment merely crystallises Singapore’s long-established position against outsiders interfering in the Republic’s politics.

“The police already takes (these concerns) into account in deciding whether or not to issue a permit. And we are just crystallising it here. So if it is not new, and it is not substantially different from the underlying principles, then what is the controversy?” he said.

He pointed to recent examples in the United States, Italy and elsewhere in Europe, and stressed that the risk of foreign entities meddling with domestic politics here is “pretty substantial”.

International analysts have suggested that Russia-linked entities had meddled with the results of the US presidential elections last November, as well as a referendum over Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s flagship constitutional reform a month later, by injecting bogus news reports through social media sites.

Similar attempts here by foreign entities cannot be ruled out, Mr Shanmugam noted.

Pointing to the Eastern Sun, a local English daily that closed down in 1971 amid Government allegations that it had accepted loans from overseas backers in exchange for a promise to slant news, Mr Shanmugam said: “What has happened in the past can happen (again). And as new causes emerge, it can also happen.”

Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had also struck out at two other newspapers, Nanyang Siang Pau and Singapore Herald, for being “black operations” funded by foreigners.

The bottomline is that Singaporeans must deal with local politics and controversial issues themselves, Mr Shanmugam said, without naming specific examples.

“If it is for us to decide on our own fate then we must make sure others don’t influence us in this way, particularly if it is insidious, hidden, if it is through money ... (If) you ask people, should we make sure that foreigners don’t interfere with out politics, I think the overwhelming majority will agree,” he added.

Contrary to fears that the new provision could curb civil activism, Mr Shanmugam said it could well have the opposite effect, noting how local companies have stepped in to support Pink Dot, an annual rally held in support the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, after the Government said no to foreign sponsors in June last year.

“In a way, isn’t that good for Singapore’s society? We build our own civil society,” he said.

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