Prime Minister Lawrence Wong called on political parties to reject foreign influence and identity politics.
"Singapore’s politics must be for Singaporeans alone to decide,” PM Wong said.
He added that mixing politics with religion is unacceptable in Singapore.
"Singapore’s politics must be for Singaporeans alone to decide,” PM Wong said.
He added that mixing politics with religion is unacceptable in Singapore.
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NewsTranscript
00:00I'm calling this press conference, in the middle of the campaign, as Prime Minister,
00:10because it concerns a matter of national interest.
00:14Singapore's greatest strength is our unity across race and religion.
00:20It is a background of our multiracial and multireligious society.
00:25And this is not accidental. It is the result of painstaking hard work and patient efforts by generations of Singaporeans.
00:37In the past few days, we have detected online activity by foreign actors,
00:43urging Singaporeans to vote along religious lines.
00:48They say, vote for so-and-so because he or she will represent a particular race or religion.
00:58These foreigners targeted Singaporeans.
01:01And their social media posts were also widely shared within the Singaporean community.
01:06That crosses the line.
01:08Singaporeans may have different views about issues, but we cannot allow external actors to exploit whatever differences we may have
01:19to weaken us or to advance their own interests.
01:23Singapore's politics must be for Singaporeans alone to decide.
01:29Mixing politics with religion is unacceptable in Singapore.
01:35We have always taken a firm stance against this.
01:40First, it fractures the common space we share as Singaporeans.
01:46Second, once elections become contest of faith, all communities in our society will end up worse off.
01:56Third, external powers will seek to exploit these fault lines to advance their own agendas.
02:04And as we have already seen, these challenges and threats are very real.
02:09Identity politics means candidates and MPs appealing for support on the basis of race or religion
02:18and championing the interests of that particular group over other groups and over everything else.
02:25That's dangerous.
02:26Because when one group jostles aggressively to assert its identity, others will organise and start to jostle back.
02:38And you can see how this plays out in countries everywhere.
02:42You end up fueling our worst tendencies, hostilities and vengefulness across society.
02:49No one wins when this happens.
02:53The minority groups will fail to get what they want because the majority group will push back strongly
02:59and the minorities will find their space constricted.
03:02At the same time, the majority group will also live in a most unhappy society where every issue comes down to race and religion.
03:12So no one is happy, no one wins.
03:14And in the end, we will be more divided than before.
03:19And Singaporeans, all of us, will pay the price.
03:24So I call on all political parties to make their positions clear on this matter.
03:30This is not a partisan or party matter.
03:33This is a matter of national importance.
03:36In particular, I invite the leaders of all political parties to make their stand clear,
03:42not just on foreign interference, but on two fundamental principles.
03:47First, that identity politics has no place in Singapore.
03:52Second, that we should never mix religion and politics.
03:59At the end of the day, whatever our differences, we are all Singaporeans first and foremost.
04:05I thank Singaporeans of all races and religions for having supported this multi-racial and multi-religious approach
04:13all this world, which has enabled us to build a successful and harmonious Singapore.
04:22At the end of the day, I'll continue to do the same thing as a communist vice president.
04:25I thank you for that very much.
04:27Thank you for continuing the announcement.
04:29Thank you for that.
04:31My book is from the beginning of the 2000s.
04:32All of us, begin to write and we will keep the same thing as an article as a national and national and national,
04:35as a scholar as an article, as a writer of science-wave,
04:37as a writer of science-wave, as a writer, who shared a story on the subject.
04:38I thank you for the first time.
04:40Yes, instead of the PhD, I'm the PhD, I'd hope to try to see,
04:42you know the PhD will find a new study or a writing process.
04:43I thank you for this always.
04:44Today, I give you a lot of questions and a few questions that don't be about.