Singapore has no space for divisive politics when it comes to the Hamas-Israeli conflict.
It is a highly emotive issue — it makes for heightened tensions considering Singapore’s hard-won multi-racial, multi-religious society as well as Singapore’s geographical location in a region with many fault lines.
Here, we stick true to our principles: The official record shows we always stand for protecting all civilians caught up in the Middle East territorial conflict; not with any particular country.
Our most recent vote (Oct 27) at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly last month for an immediate and sustained humanitarian truce is in this consistent vein.
Closer to home, our Government and our Party show this commitment to security and stability too.
Seeking clarity on Hamas’s terrorism
“Arguments on foreign policy must stop at our shores. And on something as vital as terrorism, we cannot afford to have political parties trying to outflank each other in order to fish for political points,” stated Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan in Parliament this Monday (Nov 6).
Minister Balakrishnan also had Leader of the Opposition (LO) Pritam Singh clarify that the Workers’ Party (WP) does indeed condemn Hamas’s actions on October 7 as terrorism — not merely “militant operations” like the WP wrote in their statement earlier on October 18.
Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and MP Vikram Nair (Sembawang GRC) also emphasised the need for this clarity to LO Singh.
We are heartened that the WP is amending their October 18 statement as a result. Afterall, it is needed to reflect Singapore’s longstanding principles of standing with protecting civilians caught up in this conflict, no matter where there are from, not with any particular country. It also shows no excuses for terrorism.
A call for unity
“We must unite at times like these, rather than seek to divide or seek political dividends. Let us not kid ourselves, all it takes is a cursory search and you will see that since 7 October, online traffic and misinformation targeting Singapore has been on the rise. Mr Speaker, we are at risk as a nation,” said our MP Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC) in Parliament.
Alongside fellow PAP MPs Vikram Nair (Sembawang GRC) and Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (Choa Chu Kang GRC), MP Yam tabled a Motion calling for solidarity and peace in the Middle East as well as for other Singaporeans to promote racial and religious harmony — the Motion brought MPs from the PAP and the Opposition together in support for it.
All these stances and measures are important in manoeuvring the different viewpoints around the Hamas-Israel conflict.
It is an emotive one, and fertile soil for opportunists and extremists on both sides to drive divisions, peddle disinformation, and gain short-term social and political mileage in Singapore. Our actions and emphasis must hence guard against anything that threatens the fibres of our close-knit society.
