KEEPING RELIGION, POLITICS SEPARATE
“The principle of keeping religion and politics separate is well established,” the WP said in Saturday’s statement, noting that its Members of Parliament had previously affirmed this principle in parliament.
The party cited comments made during a 2019 debate on amendments to the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, where WP MP Faisal Manap said religion must be kept apart from politics, and party leader Pritam Singh stressed that MPs must represent all communities and avoid introducing religion into politics.
In its statement, WP said it remained committed to policies that benefit Singaporeans of all backgrounds.
“We remain firmly committed to Singapore’s secular, multi-racial, multi-religious society, and to protecting the integrity of our electoral process,” said the WP.
COMMUNITY LEADERS RESPOND
Religious and community leaders have also spoken out on the matter, with the Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League saying on Apr 26 that it is concerned about the attempts to exploit racial and religious differences in the upcoming election.
“As an institutional member of the Muslim community, we strongly believe that Singaporeans must prioritise racial and religious harmony, and not allow anyone to use these sensitive issues to divide our unity and peace,” the organisation said in a Facebook post.
“We urge all Singaporeans to remain vigilant and reject any attempts, whether from domestic or external parties, to exploit racial and religious differences for their own purposes.”
Interfaith advocate and director of Dialogue Centre Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib also took to Facebook to express his unease over the issue.
He wrote: “Individuals like Zulfikar Shariff (Zai Nal) and Noor Deros are trying to bring in communal religious politics. We need to be more wary and discerning. Particularly since we live in a multi-religious and multi-cultural society.”
Under the Parliamentary Elections Act, it is an offence for foreigners to participate in elections activity or publish online election advertising – defined as any online material that can “reasonably” be regarded as intended to promote or prejudice the electoral success or standing of a political party or candidate.
Singaporeans will head to the polls on May 3.
