KUALA LUMPUR – Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has fired back at PAS, accusing the Malaysian party of showing double standards and interfering in Singapore’s internal affairs over remarks relating to race, religion and politics.
In a statement released yesterday, MHA said PAS had “contradicted its own earlier position” by defending comments made by two of its leaders during Singapore’s General Election (GE) in Apr 2025 — remarks the ministry described as “a serious interference” in the republic’s domestic politics.
According to MHA, on Apr 24, PAS National Treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad publicly expressed support for Workers’ Party (WP) candidate Faisal Manap, commending him for “having the courage to explain to Parliament that in Islam religion must not be separated from politics.”
On the same day, PAS Selangor Youth Chief Mohamed Sukri Omar re-posted a message on social media which stated that Malay-Muslim Members of Parliament (MPs) from Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) “cannot be trusted.”
“These actions represented a serious interference in Singapore’s elections,” MHA said.
The ministry noted that on Apr 25, it issued a joint statement with the Elections Department (ELD), warning of the dangers of foreign influence in Singapore’s electoral process and the risks of mixing religion with politics.
It added that the government had also blocked access to posts made by both PAS leaders as part of its measures to prevent external influence.
MHA said that just three days later, on Apr 28, PAS appeared to take a more conciliatory stance, saying that the two leaders’ remarks “represented their personal views” and did not reflect PAS’s official policy.
The party also acknowledged that Singapore, as a sovereign nation, had “every right under the law to take any appropriate and reasonable measures to protect and safeguard its legitimate interests.”
However, MHA said PAS had since reversed its position through its Oct 15 statement, now claiming that the remarks made by its leaders were consistent with PAS’s official stance.
“PAS now characterises the Apr 24 comments by its members as expressions of the party’s official view,” MHA said.
“It describes them as ‘ordinary cross-border commentary’ and takes issue with Singapore’s response to such so-called ‘legitimate speech.’ PAS further claims to be entitled to freely express its views on Singapore politics so long as this is not accompanied by funding, actions, coordination or directives.”
MHA questioned this sudden shift, asking, “What is PAS’s true position?”
“As a Malaysian Islamist political party, PAS cannot have Singapore’s best interests at heart,” the ministry said.
“Does anyone seriously believe that PAS is supporting the Workers’ Party’s Malay-Muslim candidates in Singapore because PAS cares for Singaporeans? Or that PAS subscribes to Singapore’s model of multi-racial, multi-religious equality and meritocracy?”
The ministry stressed that it was “not for foreign entities or individuals to tell Singaporeans how to vote, least of all along racial and religious lines.”
“That is divisive and unacceptable,” MHA said.
“It may be how politics and political parties are organised in other countries, but it is not how politics and political parties are organised in multi-racial, multi-religious Singapore.”
MHA also rejected PAS’s claim that its comments were unlikely to influence Singaporeans.
“If that were true, why make these comments at all?” it asked.
“Their clear intent was to influence Singaporean voters. That is unacceptable.”
While noting that foreigners may have opinions and are entitled to comment on Singapore’s policies, MHA maintained that Singapore will not tolerate any attempts by foreign actors to shape its political discourse for their own ends.
“The Singapore Government will not stand by if a foreign actor attempts to influence Singaporeans for its own purposes, especially by rousing racial and religious sentiments during elections,” the ministry said.
“It is vital to reject all such attempts immediately, clearly and unequivocally.”
MHA added that its position is consistent with Singapore’s broader effort to safeguard its political integrity and prevent external parties from exploiting race and religion to divide its society. – October 17, 2025