AdvertisementAdvertisementSingaporeThe Ministry of Home Affairs headquarters in Singapore. (File photo: TODAY)New: You can now listen to articles. This audio is generated by an AI tool.16 Oct 2025 10:58PM (Updated: 16 Oct 2025 11:00PM) Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInRead a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST SINGAPORE: It is not for foreign entities or individuals to tell Singaporeans how to vote, least of all along racial and religious lines, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said on Thursday (Oct 16) in response to a statement issued by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS).“That is divisive and unacceptable. It may be how politics and political parties are organised in other countries. But it is not how politics and political parties are organised in multi-racial, multi-religious Singapore,” said the ministry after Malaysia’s Islamist party on Wednesday released a statement in response to Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam’s ministerial statement on race and religion.MHA said PAS’ latest statement contradicted its earlier position in April and laid out a timeline of facts.During Singapore’s General Election this year, PAS National Treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad on Apr 24 publicly expressed support for the Workers’ Party’s candidate Mr Faisal Manap.“He praised Mr Manap for having ‘the courage to explain to parliament that in Islam religion must not be separated from politics’, and said he hoped that Mr Manap ‘will be successful once again’,” said MHA.On the same day, PAS Selangor Youth Chief Mohamed Sukri Omar reposted a social media post which stated that PAP’s Malay-Muslim Members of Parliament cannot be trusted.“This was a serious interference in Singapore’s elections,” said MHA.MHA and the Elections Department Singapore (ELD) issued a joint statement on Apr 25, highlighting the dangers of foreigners attempting to influence Singapore’s elections, and of mixing religion and politics.The joint statement said the government had blocked access to posts by foreigners who sought to influence the General Election, including the posts by Iskandar Abdul Samad and Mohamed Sukri Omar.PAS issued a statement distancing itself from its members’ actions on Apr 28. The statement said that the posts made by the two PAS leaders “represent their personal views and in no way reflect PAS’s official policy or stance as a political party”.It also said that as “a sovereign nation”, Singapore had “every right under the law to take any appropriate and reasonable measures to protect and safeguard their legitimate interests”, noted MHA.The ministry said the PAS’ most recent statement on Wednesday contradicted its earlier position, with PAS now characterising the Apr 24 comments by its members as expressions of PAS’ official view.It described them as “ordinary cross-border commentary”, and took issue with Singapore’s response to such “legitimate speech”, said MHA.The ministry added that PAS further claims to be entitled to freely express its views on Singapore politics, so long as this is not accompanied by “funding, actions, coordination or directives”.“What is PAS’s true position?” said MHA.“As a Malaysian Islamist political party, PAS cannot have Singapore’s best interests at heart. As Minister Shanmugam stated in parliament: Does anyone seriously believe that PAS is supporting the Workers’ Party’s Malay-Muslim candidates in Singapore, because PAS cares for Singaporeans? Or that PAS subscribes to Singapore’s model of multi-racial, multi-religious equality and meritocracy?”The ministry added that PAS now also claims that its earlier comments on Apr 24 were unlikely to influence Singaporeans.“If that were true, why make these comments at all? Their clear intent was to influence Singaporean voters. That is unacceptable.”MHA said it recognises that foreigners may have views and are entitled to comment on Singapore’s policies and politics.“The foreign media do so regularly. But the Singapore government will not stand by if a foreign actor attempts to influence Singaporeans for its own purposes, especially by rousing racial and religious sentiments and during elections.“The recent ministerial statement sets out the reasons for this stance, and the importance of rejecting all such attempts immediately, clearly, and unequivocally.”Shanmugam urges opposition parties to 'immediately, clearly' reject foreign interference and identity politicsMalaysia's Islamist party PAS rejects 'attempt' to cast it as 'bogeyman' in Singapore politicsPritam Singh accepts WP statement on Noor Deros could have been clearer; says didn't want to draw attention to a 'nobody'Source: CNA/fh/zlSign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...Expand to read the full storyGet bite-sized news via a newcards interface. 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