SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore has ordered Facebook (NASDAQ:META) parent Meta to block Singaporeans’ access to posts made by three foreigners accused of trying to influence a national election next month on racial and religious lines.
The orders were issued after some posts deemed "intended to promote or prejudice the electoral success or standing of a political party or candidate", the Elections Department and home affairs ministry said on Friday.
Meta did not respond to a request for comment. Two of the three people whose posts were blocked rejected the accusations.
The May 3 election, the first under new social media rules introduced in 2023, looks set to be dominated by the People’s Action Party, which has won most seats in every vote since independence in 1965.
The rules bar foreigners from publishing online election advertising, which it defines as online materials that could help or hurt any political parties or candidates.
Authorities identified the foreigners behind the posts as Iskandar Abdul Samad, treasurer of the Islamist party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; Mohamed Sukri Omar, its party’s youth chief in the Malaysian state of Selangor; and Facebook and Zulfikar bin Mohamad Shariff, an Australian who renounced his Singapore citizenship in 2020.
The PAP-led government said their posts interfered with domestic politics and influenced citizens to vote on racial and religious lines.
Authorities found that Zulfikar had accused Malay-Muslim lawmakers of failing to represent Muslim interests. Sukri had reposted Zulfikar’s post and Iskandar had expressed support on social media for the Workers’ Party’s vice chair.
Iskandar did not respond to a request for comment.
In a Facebook post on Saturday about the order, Sukri said he never sought to interfere in the election and his concerns were for the plight of Malay-Muslims in Singapore "a community increasingly marginalised in various aspects, whether in education, economy, or cultural freedom."
Parti Islam Se-Malaysia secretary general Takiyuddin Hassan said the views of the two party leaders did not reflect its official policy or stance.
While the party respected Singapore’s concerns, the government’s response to their remarks was "somewhat exaggerated and unilateral," he added.
Zulfikar on Facebook said that the order showed the PAP and its supporters were scared and that "desperation reeks".
The Workers’ Party said in a statement on Saturday that it has no control over foreign parties who express support for its candidates. The PAP did not respond to a request for comment on Zulfikar’s remarks.