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SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) on Saturday (Apr 26) said it has no control over foreigners supporting its candidates, while clarifying details about a meeting involving some of its Malay-Muslim candidates and an Islamic religious teacher.
It added no promises were made to the teacher, Noor Deros - or anyone else - in exchange for political support for WP candidates.
The statement came a day after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Elections Department Singapore (ELD) revealed that several online election advertisements had been posted by foreigners - including two Malaysian politicians and a former Singaporean who is now an Australian citizen - urging Singaporeans to vote along religious lines. The authorities said they directed Meta to block access to these posts for users in Singapore.
In a statement issued on Saturday morning, the WP said: "As participants in the General Elections, The Workers’ Party (WP) candidates seek the support of all Singaporeans in the wards they are contesting in. The Workers’ Party does not have control over foreign parties who express support for our candidates. Any imputation of the same is wholly inaccurate."
The WP said: "In the course of our political work, the Workers’ Party meets with various members of our religious communities, regardless of race or religion. Our religious leaders of all faiths share varied views and opinions on public life in Singapore"
The party added that at a meeting with other religious leaders where Noor Deros was present, "no promises, commitments or agreements" were made in exchange for political support.
In a Facebook post at 12.30am on Saturday, Noor Deros said his original post - that the WP was the only one that responded to him - was misintepreted. Writing in Malay, he said the WP did not make any promises to him.
KEEPING RELIGION, POLITICS SEPARATE
"The principle of keeping religion and politics separate is well established," the WP said in Saturday's statement, noting that its Members of Parliament had previously affirmed this principle in parliament.
The party cited comments made during a 2019 debate on amendments to the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, where WP MP Faisal Manap said religion must be kept apart from politics, and party leader Pritam Singh stressed that MPs must represent all communities and avoid introducing religion into politics.
In its statement, WP said it remained committed to policies that benefit Singaporeans of all backgrounds.
"We remain firmly committed to Singapore’s secular, multi-racial, multi-religious society, and to protecting the integrity of our electoral process," said the WP.
COMMUNITY LEADERS RESPOND
Religious and community leaders have also spoken out on the matter, with the Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League saying on Apr 26 that it is concerned about the attempts to exploit racial and religious differences in the upcoming election.
"As institutional member of the Muslim community, we strongly believe that Singaporeans must prioritise racial and religious harmony, and not allow anyone to use these sensitive issues to divide our unity and peace," the organisation said in a Facebook post.
"We urge all Singaporeans to remain vigilant and reject any attempts, whether from domestic or external parties, to exploit racial and religious differences for their own purposes."
Interfaith advocate and director of Dialogue Centre Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib also took to Facebook to express his unease over the issue.
He wrote: "Individuals like Zulfikar Shariff (Zai Nal) and Noor Deros are trying to bring in communal religious politics. We need to be more wary and discerning. Particularly since we live in a multi-religious and multi-cultural society."
Under the Parliamentary Elections Act, it is an offence for foreigners to participate in elections activity or publish online election advertising - defined as any online material that can "reasonably" be regarded as intended to promote or prejudice the electoral success or standing of a political party or candidate.
Singaporeans will head to the polls on May 3.
