Foreign interference, misinformation test Singapore’s unity: Shanmugam

Wars abroad and foreign influence have always had an impact on domestic politics, but a more interconnected world means it has become ever harder to keep a society like Singapore cohesive, said Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam.

While views may differ depending on one’s race or religion, today’s technology can give rise to a multiplicity of viewpoints catering to narrow segments, and a fair bit of misinformation on every conflict, he said.

Foreign governments who want to intervene in another country’s affairs can also target that country’s population and exploit existing fault lines more easily, he added.

Speaking at a dialogue at the Asia Future Summit on Oct 9, Mr Shanmugam raised the examples of how the Gaza conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war have been viewed differently by various communities here.

Surveys have shown that Muslims are more affected than other Singaporeans by the Gaza conflict, while a significant number of Chinese Singaporeans – especially those who are older – hold the view that Ukraine is at fault in the Russia-Ukraine war, he noted.

Having a highly literate and online population in Singapore means people here have access to both information and misinformation, and information wars that do not necessarily target Singapore could risk being played out in the city-state, he added at the dialogue, which was moderated by Straits Times editor Jaime Ho.

The Asia Future Summit was jointly presented by SPH Media flagship titles The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao and The Business Times, with OCBC Bank as the presenting sponsor.

While Singaporeans’ positions on these conflicts abroad are partly based on the information they consume from sources, racial and religious ties are also a factor, said Mr Shanmugam.

“These are deep-seated human emotions,” he said. “They are not going to be diluted significantly by 60 years of nation building.”

But there are “antidotes” to these threats, which include continuously building bonds between people; a credible government that delivers; and a trusted mainstream media, said Mr Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Home Affairs.

Cynicism and a willingness to believe in conspiracy theories are closely linked to a lack of trust in one’s government to deliver, he said.

He cited the example of Britain, where the murder of three young children in July 2024 led to widespread anti-immigrant protests owing to misinformation on social media that the attacker was a Muslim and an immigrant.

This occurred partly because Britain’s political system today faces challenges in dealing with basic issues like public safety, the housing shortage and healthcare needs.

It has also been taken over by an ideology that allows for hate speech under the guise of free speech, said Mr Shanmugam.

“You have that as a framework for your government... you get lawlessness, you get riots, you get racial attacks, religious attacks,” he said. “You get cynicism, loss of trust, and this is not just the UK – it’s across Europe and the US.”

It is important to have a mainstream media that is independent, credible and neutral, and which reflects a range of viewpoints that includes the Government’s, the Opposition’s and also what the people are saying, he added.

Singapore’s media has largely achieved this, despite the cynicism exhibited by the Western media towards the Republic, said the minister.

Surveys show that SPH titles and CNA, run by broadcaster Mediacorp, are much better regarded here than Western media titles are by their own people, he noted.

“There are many institutions in Singapore that have been built over the years that we got to make sure remain credible, and those are the antidotes,” he said.

“Without that, we won’t be where we are.”

Laws underpin security

Mr Shanmugam said Singapore has managed to keep ahead of threats to its cohesion through active governance – passing laws ahead of time rather than reactively.

This was the case for the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, passed in 2021, which gives the Government various powers to block and restrict access to online content deemed to be carrying hostile information.

The law has so far been used twice, including in October 2024 to block 10 fake websites that mimicked typical news publications and were linked to foreign actors.

“One of the advantages that I see of such legislation is that when people know you can do these things, they are much more careful,” the minister said.

“The problem is managed even before it becomes a problem.”

He also noted the salutary effect of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma), Singapore’s fake news law.

While many countries are struggling with falsehoods, such as on the effects of vaccines, more than 80 per cent of respondents to a 2023 survey by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said they believed in a Pofma clarification rather than the original post, he said.

Mr Shanmugam said he was the architect of these laws, but the philosophy behind them goes back to governance principles laid down by founding leaders such as Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Dr Goh Keng Swee – get buy-in from the population to pass laws to deal with anticipated threats, and, more importantly, to empower law enforcement agencies to carry them out.

“The results: no riots, no racial attacks, no lawlessness,” he said.

Not choosing sides in foreign policy

Mr Shanmugam was asked by ST’s Mr Ho about Singapore’s stance in the geopolitical struggle between the United States and China.

Both countries have no interest in taking over Singapore, and neither superpower is a threat to the Republic, said the minister.

“Our threats are much nearer, and our guarantee against those threats – our ability to remain sovereign – depends on getting access to the weapon system that the US and the West provide us with.”

Singapore’s value proposition to the US and China is that of an honest broker, he added.

This includes the fact that the Republic’s voice carries weight in Asean, and that it leads the Forum of Small States, a United Nations grouping.

“We have a very activist foreign policy, and when Singapore speaks, despite our size, people don’t necessarily listen, but they pay some regard to what we say,” the minister said.

“Now, if we become a client state of one or the other, of what value is that to them?”

He was asked a further question on what the Government would do in the face of pressure from Singaporeans to swing more towards one power or the other.

In response, Mr Shanmugam said the Government is elected to lead, and democracy does not mean simply repeating back to the people whatever they want to hear.

“Sometimes, you have to say things which they don’t want to hear, but you have got to explain why, and why it is in Singapore’s interests that we have to say these things,” he said.

He added: “If you simply do whatever you think the majority would like, we will go down the way that the West has gone.”

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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