Ministry of Home Affairs Asks 9 People to Apologise for Misstating What Mr Shanmugan Said in Parliament

On Monday (4 Oct), a certain parliamentary debate grabbed all the headlines.

The debate was over the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica), which is a law that aims to prevent, detect, and disrupt hostile foreign interference in our domestic politics.

Under Fica, any appeals against directions made under the law will be heard by an appointed tribunal, not a court.

Some MPs, like Workers’ Party MP He Ting Ru, suggested amending the Bill to allow appeals to be made to the High Court instead of a tribunal.

But Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam believes such appeals should be heard by an independent reviewing tribunal instead.

As it was such a hotly-contested debate, several activists and news sites had reported the matter.

But in doing so, they’ve been deemed to have misrepresented what Mr Shangmugam said.

Ministry of Home Affairs Asks 9 People to Apologise for Misstating What Mr Shanmugan Said in Parliament

This is why the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) directed nine entities to correct false statements and apologise for misquoting the Home Affairs Minister.

Eight of them are activists: Jolovan Wham, Andrew Loh, Kirsten Han, Martyn See, Julie O’Connor, Kokila Annamalai, and Lynn Lee, and the Facebook page Wake Up Singapore

People’s Voice chief Lim Tean was also issued the direction.

News site Mothership also published an editor’s note on an article posted on Wednesday (6 Oct), apologising for the misrepresentation.

In its statement, MHA said that these nine entities had “completely” misstated what Mr Shanmugam had said in Parliament on Monday (4 Oct).

What Was Misstated? 

Mr Shanmugam had made comments about the rule of law during a debate on Fica.

According to the statement, Mr Shanmugam had said in Parliament that the “Rule of Law is fundamental and basic for Singapore and its success, and the Government has always been committed to the Rule of Law and continues to be committed to it.”

He added that there are countries around the world where the rule of law is a “concept for lawyers, but does not operate in the real world, and their societies live in utter misery.”

“The nine persons put up posts which attributed to the Minister the very opposite of what he had said. They suggested that the Minister had said that Rule of Law does not operate in Singapore. That is false,” MHA said.

“MHA has sent letters to them, requiring them to correct the false statements and apologise.”

As of 7 Oct, seven of them have corrected their posts and apologised for what they did, the ministry said.

The ministry also provided a link to a video of Mr Shanmugam in Parliament, where he comments on the rule of law.

11 Opposition MPs Voted Against Fica Legislation 

Speaking about Fica, Mr Shanmugam agreed that while executive powers must be subject to checks and balances, the best form for Singapore’s context needs to be determined, adding that Fica offers the most calibrated approach for the Internet age.

When it was tabled, all 11 opposition MPs present voted against it and made known their opposition to the law during the debate.

In the end, Fica was approved by Parliament on Monday.

Read Also:

• 9 Facts About FICA, a Foreign Interference Bill That Will Be a Law in S’pore After a 10-Hour Debate
• 3,483 New COVID-19 Cases Reported on 7 October With 3 Deaths

Feature Image: YouTube (CNA)