PAS' call to vote on racial, religious lines dangerous: S'pore minister

Summary

• A Singaporean minister says PAS’ call for the republic’s citizens to vote along racial and religious lines is dangerous.

• Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad says Singapore’s political scene is unlike Malaysia’s as the island state lacks faith and race-based parties.

PAS’ call for Singaporeans to vote along racial and religious lines is dangerous, the country's Senior Minister of State for Defence and Manpower Zaqy Mohamad said.

He said that the political scene in Singapore is unlike Malaysia’s, where there are parties representing different faiths or races.

Singapore has spent its post-independence nurturing harmony and mutual trust in a multiracial and multi-religious society, he added.

“When you have a party like PAS, for example, espousing certain views, asking Singaporeans to vote along religious and racial lines, I think that’s very dangerous,” he was quoted as saying by Channel News Asia today.

Racial and religious elements are “very easy” to be exploited, he added, saying that this could lead to a lack of trust between different groups of citizens.

“We have foreigners interfering - it’s not just about putting posts, but you’re asking Singaporeans to vote a certain way because of their beliefs overseas or the way of life overseas, then I think it doesn’t suit us,” he said.

Zaqy, who is also the People’s Action Party candidate for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, told reporters this before a walkabout at Fuchun Market.

‘Influencing Singapore’s election’

Earlier today, two PAS leaders denied the Singapore government’s accusation that they tried to influence the republic’s voters ahead of its general polls, scheduled for May 3.

This came after Singapore authorities ordered Meta to block local access to social media posts by three foreigners for allegedly attempting to influence their general election results.

The three are PAS treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad, Selangor PAS Youth chief Sukri Omar, and a Facebook user identified as Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff - a former Singaporean citizen now living in Australia.

“These posts have been targeted at Singaporeans. They interfere with our domestic politics, which are reserved for our citizens. They also urge Singaporeans to vote on racial and religious lines, which has led to more social media posts of a similar nature.

“All this has the potential to fracture the multiracial and multi-religious harmony that is the bedrock of our nation,” said a joint statement from Singapore’s Home Affairs Ministry and Elections Department.

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