Singaporeans must be vigilant about any potential attempts by foreign parties to influence local politics and undermine the democratic process.
“Foreign interference in domestic politics and electoral processes cannot be underestimated and must always be factored into our social and psychological defence,” said Mr Chan Chun Sing in Parliament today.
“History has shown that bigger and more powerful states will seek to advance their interests by projecting their influence on usually smaller or less organised ones via all instruments of power,” he added. “We cannot expect to be immune to such external forces.”
“We take it as a working assumption that every day, every moment, we must be careful of potential foreign interference in our processes … suffice to say that we will never let our guard down,” the minister added.
The threat is compounded by the pervasive use of the Internet and fake news.
Mr Chan urged Singaporeans to be more discerning in what they read or hear.
“It is critical for Singaporeans ourselves to recognise that foreign influence campaigns continue to exist … the integrity of our democratic process is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders and our electorate,” he said.
Singapore has taken measure to guard against foreign influences.
For instance, election laws prohibit foreigners from taking part in election activities and the Political Donations Act prevents election candidates and parties from accepting foreign funding.
The Public Order Act was also amended earlier this year to make clear that the police may refuse to grant permits for public assemblies organised by foreign entities and which are directed at advancing political causes.
There are also measures to protect Government networks and systems.
“If these systems are compromised, they can be exploited to leak information or propagate fake news to disrupt election campaigns and shape voting patterns,” Mr Chan warned.
“ULTIMATELY, OUR BEST DEFENCE IS A DISCERNING ELECTORATE THAT RECOGNIZES THE REALITIES OF GEOPOLITICS AND THE WORLD WHICH WE LIVE IN."
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