Greater effort must be made to engage minority groups, says PM Wong

But he cautions against identity politics after foreigners were found trying to influence polls

- Lim Min Zhang

Greater effort must be made to engage different communities, including those of different races and causes, and MPs should continue to highlight their concerns in Parliament where necessary, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Such concerns are legitimate and MPs should make them known, but this is very different from identity politics, which means championing one group's interests at the price of shrinking the common space, he said at a press conference on April 26.

If Singapore allows identity politics to happen, there could be push-back from the majority. Such examples of divided societies have already been seen elsewhere, said PM Wong.

"Yes, we are in an election contest. Yes, every party would like to win and gain more seats, but victory should not come at the price of our unity. That is too high a cost," he said.

He was speaking to reporters at the National Press Centre a day after the Singapore authorities announced that they had found several foreigners attempting to influence the upcoming general election, and had moved to block Singapore users' access to Facebook posts that sought to do so.

A joint statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Elections Department on April 25 said the posts were targeted at Singaporeans and urged them to vote along racial and religious lines.