SINGAPORE: Singapore’s government has used a controversial online misinformation law to order an opposition party to correct a social media post, days after campaigning got underway for an election next week.
Under the law, ministers can order social media sites to put warnings next to posts the government considers false and order pages be blocked, but critics fear it is being used to suppress dissent.
On Thursday the government ordered Peoples Voice to correct a video posted on Facebook and YouTube and the opposition party complied, putting up banners saying it contains inaccurate information.
In the video, party chief Lim Tean said the government spends a quarter of a billion Singapore dollars ($180 million) “providing free education for foreigners every year.”
A government website aimed at debunking untrue information said the video contained “a false and misleading statement,” as a significant majority of such students have to pay fees higher than local students.
The large number of foreigners in the city-state has become a hot-button issue ahead of the election, with the opposition pressing the government to put Singaporeans first when it comes to job opportunities.
People’s Voice is among a handful of small opposition groups taking on the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) at the July 10 vote.
While the PAP is expected to remain in power, the opposition hopes to win more seats in parliament.
Since the misinformation law came into force last year, several opposition figures and activists have been ordered to correct posts while Facebook has been forced to block pages on several occasions.
The tech giant said last month the use of the law is “severe” and risks stifling free speech, while Google and Twitter have also expressed concerns.
But authorities insist the measure is necessary to stop falsehoods from circulating online that could sow divisions in the multi-ethnic, multi-faith country of 5.7 million.
Singapore opposition hit with misinformation law before polls
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Singapore opposition hit with misinformation law before polls
- Ministers can order social media sites to put warnings next to posts the government considers false and order pages be blocked
Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt
- Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years
DHAKA: A once-banned Bangladeshi religio-political party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February’s parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief said.
Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years as it marks a return to mainstream politics in the predominantly Muslim nation of 175 million.
Jamaat last held power between 2001 and 2006 as a junior coalition partner with the BNP and is open to working with it again.
“We want to see a stable nation for at least five years. If the parties come together, we’ll run the government together,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in an interview at his office in a residential area in Dhaka, days after the party created a buzz by securing a tie-up with a Gen-Z party.
Rahman said anti-corruption must be a shared agenda for any unity government.
The prime minister will come from the party winning the most seats in the Feb. 12 election, he added. If Jamaat wins the most seats, the party will decide whether he himself would be a candidate, Rahman said.
The party’s resurgence follows the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.
Rahman said Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern, as ties between the two countries have hit their lowest point in decades since her downfall.
Asked about Jamaat’s historical closeness to Pakistan, Rahman said: “We maintain relations in a balanced way with all.”
He said any government that includes Jamaat would “not feel comfortable” with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed with the Awami League’s backing in 2023.
