Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh speaking to the media during a doorstop at Kovan Food Centre on April 26, 2025. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: The Singaporean religious teacher who said he spoke to Workers' Party (WP) candidates contesting the upcoming election had turned up at a meeting the party had with Malay/Muslim religious leaders, said WP chief Pritam Singh.
There was no prior indication that the religious teacher – Noor Deros – would be at the meeting, Singh told reporters on April 26 when asked to comment about Facebook posts by Noor that claimed he had spoken to all Malay candidates from the WP.
Malay-language newspaper Berita Harian reported on April 26 that Noor claimed the WP had agreed to take up the concerns raised by the asatizah, or religious teachers, regarding the Malay/Muslim community in Singapore.
Noor also claimed, among other things, that he had urged WP and other election candidates to reject the normalisation of LGBTQ+ issues, take a strong stance against Israel, and recognise the state of Palestine.
In a statement on April 26, the WP said: “At a meeting with other religious leaders where Noor Deros was present, the party confirms there were no promises, commitments or agreements made to any individual, including Noor Deros, in exchange for political support for WP candidates.”
Singh said Noor had a list of demands, adding: “As our statement makes it quite clear, there’s no situation of ‘if the WP pushes forth this agenda, I would support you’. I’m sorry, we don’t work politics like that in Singapore.”
The WP cannot be a successful political party “if we play the race and religion card”, Singh stressed.
On Noor, he said: “If this gentleman thinks that his advocacy will lead to the issues being brought up by the Workers’ Party, I think he’s sadly mistaken.”
Singh’s comments come a day after the Infocomm Media Development Authority – acting as Assistant Returning Officer – directed Meta, which owns Facebook, to disable Singapore users’ access to several posts put up by foreigners.
In one post, Iskandar Abdul Samad, the national treasurer of Parti Islam SeMalaysia, expressed support for WP’s vice-chair and Tampines GRC candidate Faisal Manap.
He had also shared several other posts still online showing support for other WP members such as Alia Mattar, Sufyan Mikhail Putra and Abdul Muhaimin, as well as Singapore Democratic Party candidate Damanhuri Abas and Singapore Democratic Alliance candidate Abu Mohamed.
The WP said in its statement that it “does not have control over foreign parties who express support for our candidates”.
“Any imputation of the same is wholly inaccurate,” the party added, saying it is firmly committed to “Singapore’s “secular, multiracial, multi-religious society, and to protecting the integrity of our electoral process”.
Singh was asked how the latest developments could affect the contest in Tampines GRC, where the WP team led by Faisal is challenging a PAP slate led by Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.
Replying, Singh said none of WP’s Malay/Muslim candidates – including Mr Faisal – will represent only their community.
“This is Singapore. It’s a multiracial society, so every candidate has to represent all Singaporeans equally and fairly,” he added.
On the party’s strategy in terms of deploying candidates, Singh said this is done to give the team the highest chance of success. “If the allusion is we have put Faisal (in Tampines), and that’s something wrong that we’ve done, I don’t accept that.”
Singh also said he stood behind the Government’s message that foreigners must not influence Singapore’s elections in any way, and that religion and politics must not be mixed.
“Our political scene is for our people. We persuade Singaporeans of our value proposition, and we urge all Singaporeans, regardless of race, language or religion, to judge us on our manifesto and our proposals and what we do in Parliament for all Singaporeans, not specific communities only,” the WP chief said.
“I think once we go down that road, you’re going to have an unnecessary politicisation of the public space, and we don’t want that. That’s not healthy for Singapore, and that’s not healthy for our minority communities as well.”
In its statement, the WP noted that in the course of its political work, the party “meets with various members of our religious communities, regardless of race or religion. Our religious leaders of all faiths share varied views and opinions on public life in Singapore”.
The party said that it is committed to keeping religion and politics separate – a principle it said is well established in Singapore.
Faisal Manap of the Workers’ Party at a walkabout at the Tampines Round Market and Food Centre on April 26, 2025. - Photo: ST
The WP cited how Faisal said during the debate on the Maintenance of Religious Harmony (Amendment) Bill in Parliament that “religion needs to be kept aside, or apart from politics, so that religion will not be used to gain personal benefit or to benefit any political party”.
During the same debate, Singh said: “MPs must represent the interests of every community, not just their own, and must be mindful of introducing religion into politics.”
“The WP commits to forge greater understanding among the different communities in Singapore, and push forward policies that benefit Singapore, and more importantly, all Singaporeans,” said the party.
Former WP chief Low Thia Khiang also weighed in on foreign influence in Singapore’s politics during a walkabout at the Tampines Round Market and Food Centre.
Speaking in Mandarin, he said: “Singapore does not allow foreign interference in its politics. But the circumstances that constitute interference, and the definition of interference, can diverge.”
“This is not just a problem that’s surfaced now, but emerged very early on… Politics has become very complex… Singapore is a small country and thus has to be very careful not to allow foreign influence in its politics.”
“WP has all along not played the racial game… it operates in the country’s interests. The party does not play racial politics.” - The Straits Times/ANN
