Minister Josephine Teo Reveals MPS Disruptions by Activist Groups Similar to Shanmugam Incident

By
George Yang
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Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo revealed on 14 Mar 2025 that her Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS) have been disrupted twice by activist groups, similar to the recent incident involving Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

Mrs Teo, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs and an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, shared these experiences in a Facebook post after footage emerged of Mr Shanmugam’s confrontation with activists at his Chong Pang branch office on 12 Mar 2025.

Multiple Disruptions at Meet-the-People Sessions by Palestine Solidarity Group

The People’s Action Party (PAP) identified the individuals disrupting Mr Shanmugam’s session as members of Monday of Palestine Solidarity, a group that has reportedly targeted more than 10 MPS across Singapore.

According to the PAP, the group typically creates disturbances in waiting areas, disrupts queue systems, films proceedings, raises voices, and heckles volunteers, affecting residents seeking assistance.

Teo experienced her first encounter with the group in November 2024 at her Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng branch office, when two women attended her MPS to voice concerns about Singapore’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Despite MPS being designed to prioritize urgent resident matters, Teo spent nearly an hour listening to their concerns and offered to write to relevant ministries on their behalf.

A few weeks later, an online article appeared about their exchange, despite MPS interactions typically being kept confidential.

“Although the article acknowledged that I had engaged the two women empathetically, it was difficult to see any reason for publishing the piece other than to spread the word that they had successfully made a move at my MPS,” Teo stated.

Fake “Mother-Daughter” Duo Incident and Impact on MPS Purpose

In January 2025, Teo faced another disruption from a different activist group. A regular attendee of her MPS arrived with a supposed “daughter,” claiming to seek financial help.

When meeting with Teo, the younger woman passed the older woman a document to read, with contents unrelated to financial assistance.

“It soon became clear that the pair were not mother and daughter, and that the contents were unrelated to the financial assistance they had initially claimed to be seeking,” Teo wrote.

She noted that her volunteers had been supporting the older woman for some time with monthly groceries and weekly food rations. Despite the incident, Teo and her team continue to provide assistance to the woman.

“To this day, my volunteers and I continue to support [her] by delivering her weekly rations,” Teo added.

Mr Sharael Taha, an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, also reported that representatives from Monday of Palestine Solidarity had visited his MPS at Pasir Ris East constituency.

“Their actions – including being rude to the volunteers and making hurtful comments about family – show they were never truly interested in meaningful, constructive dialogue that could genuinely help the cause,” Taha said.

Teo expressed concern that such incidents make it difficult for her and her volunteers to let their guard down, as they worry about facing hostility or being secretly recorded and portrayed negatively.

“While my volunteers and I will do our best to bounce back from such incidents, I am saddened that, in my nearly two decades as an MP, the tone of MPS seems to have shifted because of episodes like these,” she remarked.

She emphasized her hope for MPS to return to their original purpose: “They are not protest platforms, but a channel for MPs to engage their residents openly and attend to their most acute needs.”

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]