Guard against temptation to play race, religion card in future elections, says PM

The temptation to play the race and religion card to draw voters will grow as elections become more tightly contested, and Singapore must find ways to guard against this, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

- Anjali Raguraman Correspondent

He called for constructive politics, conducted with seriousness and integrity. He also urged MPs to reaffirm their commitment to serve all Singaporeans, and forswear the use of racial and religious appeals in elections.

In his speech on day three of the debate on the President’s Address, PM Wong said there was a “close call” in the recent general election, where external parties “sought to exploit our differences to divide and weaken us”.

“In one instance, they attacked the credibility of certain candidates because these candidates allegedly failed to advocate the rights of a particular religious community,” he said.

“In another instance, they praised a candidate for arguing against the separation of religion and politics.”

Facebook posts made by two Malaysian politicians and an Australian citizen, who was a former Internal Security Act detainee, had urged voters to cast ballots along religious lines. The Singapore Government directed Meta to block access to these posts.

PM Wong noted that there were Singaporeans who encouraged certain groups to vote along racial and religious lines — narratives that were both seen online and heard on the ground.

“They said — vote for this candidate because he or she is a better representative of your race or religion. Or they compared two candidates, and said — vote this person, because he or she has been a more vocal champion for your race or religion.”