Singapore has asked Facebook’s parent company, Meta, to block Singaporeans from seeing posts made by foreigners. This comes just before the country’s national election on May 3, and follows new social media rules set in 2023.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) made the request after some posts by foreigners were found to either support or hurt certain political parties or candidates. The Elections Department and Ministry of Home Affairs said this in a statement on Friday.
Singapore’s ruling party, the People’s Action Party (PAP), which has won every election since 1965, is expected to dominate again. According to the rules, foreigners are not allowed to publish online materials that could influence the election.
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The authorities named three foreigners involved:
- Iskandar Abdul Samad, from Malaysia’s Islamist party PAS, who supported the opposition Workers’ Party candidate Faisal Manap.
- Mohamed Sukri Omar, a youth leader from PAS in Selangor, Malaysia, who shared a post by another foreigner.
- Zulfikar bin Mohamad Shariff, an Australian who gave up his Singapore citizenship in 2020, who criticized Malay-Muslim Members of Parliament, saying they did not properly represent Muslim views.
Officials said these posts could encourage people to vote based on race and religion, which they want to avoid.
After the government ordered his posts removed, Zulfikar responded on Facebook, saying the ruling PAP and its supporters were “scared” and acting out of “desperation.” He also said he would start a WhatsApp channel and a new website to continue sharing his views.
The Workers’ Party said it does not control what foreign individuals post online and added that its candidate Faisal believes religion should be kept separate from politics.
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The ruling PAP has not yet commented. Meta, Iskandar, Sukri, and PAS also have not responded to requests for comment.
