Foreign Interference in Singapore Elections

15 Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Prime Minister (a) whether there is any risk assessment made by the Government on our vulnerability to foreign interference in our elections from both state and non-state actors; (b) what are the measures in place to safeguard Singapore from foreign interference in our elections; (c) what are the security guidelines on vigilance by political parties and candidates on this issue; and (d) how can the social media be kept free and open for political discussions whilst dealing with malicious/subversive content.

The Minister, Prime Minister's Office (Mr Chan Chun Sing) (for the Prime Minister): Mdm Speaker, on behalf of the Prime Minister. Foreign interference in domestic politics and electoral processes cannot be underestimated and must always be factored into our social and psychological defence. History has shown that bigger and more powerful states would seek to advance their interests by projecting their influence on, usually, smaller or less well organised ones via all instruments of power, ranging from military, economic, cultural, diplomatic to informational. We cannot expect to be immune from such external forces.

Singapore's small size, openness and relatively short history have always made it challenging for us to mitigate the external influences on our systems. The advent of modern technologies, proliferation of various media platforms, rapid communication cycles and seamless information transmission channels combine to further complicate our task of defending ourselves from external influences.

Our consistent position has always been that politics in Singapore is meant only for Singaporeans. We chart our own course and bear responsibilities for our choices. We have various existing measures to guard ourselves and our systems from foreign interference, but we will need to evolve them in tandem with the changes in technology, media platforms and communications channels. Let me share some of our existing measures.

First, our election laws expressly prohibit foreigners from taking part in election activities. For instance, the Political Donations Act prohibits election candidates and political parties from accepting foreign funding. Under the Societies Act, only Singapore citizens can be members of political associations and these associations must not have affiliation or connection with any organisation outside of Singapore that is contrary to our national interest. Beyond elections, the Public Order Act was also amended this year to make clear that the Police may refuse to grant a permit for public assemblies and processions organised by or involving the participation of foreigners or foreign entities and directed towards political ends.

Second, we have measures to protect Government networks and IT systems, so that they are not used by others to subvert our election process. If these systems are compromised, they can be exploited to leak information or propagate fake news to disrupt election campaigns and shape voting patterns. However, cybersecurity is a collective responsibility. Election candidates and political parties also need to safeguard their own systems. If they require advice on the security of their IT systems, they can approach SingCERT, a division of the Cyber Security Agency.

Third, to prevent foreigners from manipulating our media platforms to influence local politics, the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act and the Broadcasting Act allow the Government to restrict and control the ownership of newspapers and broadcast media. Funds from foreign sources for non-commercial purposes are prohibited for newspaper companies, broadcasting companies and corporatised online news entities.

Madam, despite these measures, it is critical for Singaporeans ourselves to recognise that foreign influence campaigns continue to exist. The avenues of these campaigns are multi-faceted. They can take the form of surreptitious contributions, which can be seemingly harmless donations to unsuspecting Singaporeans or local organisations, so that influence and pressure can be exerted over them.

This threat of foreign influence is compounded by the pervasive use of the Internet and social media. Our Government agencies, such as the National Library Board and organisations like the Media Literacy Council, have also embarked on various programmes, such as the Better Internet, and the Source, Understand, Research and Evaluate programme, or SURE for short, to help Singaporeans become more discerning in what we read. Nonetheless, the Government must also be able to step in to ensure that fake news which impacts society is not allowed to spread unchecked. Through consultations with stakeholders, the Government will be introducing legislation, accompanied by public education and, where appropriate, co-regulation with industry players.

Mdm Speaker, Singapore politics and our political processes are for Singaporeans only. The integrity of our democratic process is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders and our electorate. Each one of us must play our part by being vigilant and discerning about what we might have read or heard, in order to safeguard our democratic processes from being undermined by foreign influence. Ultimately, our best defence is a discerning electorate that recognises the realities of geopolitics and the world which we live in.

Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines): Just wanted to check, would there be any measures that might be taken for the upcoming Presidential Election? I understand that there would be more education on fake news, but what really can we do more to educate Singaporeans to be more vigilant to recognise fake news, but what really can we do more to educate Singaporeans to be more vigilant to recognise fake news?

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mdm Speaker, let me take the second supplementary question first. On what more we can do, beyond what I have just stated, I think there are two other important things we need to do collectively as a society.

First, I think we need to be much more aware of the many teachable moments that are readily available in other parts of the world. There are many lessons which we can draw from some of the recent episodes that have happened in other parts of the world; episodes that have happened to even bigger countries than us.

Secondly, when it comes to this subject of foreign relations and foreign interference, it is always a sensitive topic. Many of such issues cannot be shared publicly and may not be in our best interest to share publicly, but, nevertheless, we must endeavour to share such things, where possible, in closed sessions with our community leaders so that we have a collective awareness of the world that we are living in and the geopolitical forces that we have to contend with.

Madam, on the upcoming Presidential Election, we have stated many of the existing measures that we have in place and we are also keenly aware of the new challenges that are evolving as we speak. We will continue to need to be vigilant at the systems level but we will also need everyone to do this collectively, so that, collectively as Singaporeans, we can all do our part to safeguard the integrity of our own democratic processes, make the choices that we desire to make. Because, ultimately, we, as Singaporeans, will bear the collective responsibility for all the decisions that we have made.

Mr Png Eng Huat (Hougang): Just two quick questions, to ask the Minister. Are there actual incidents of foreigners interfering in our electoral system or our electoral process in the past? The second question is, will the Ministry be working with social media organisations, like Facebook and Google, to help fight fake news?

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Madam, in response to the first supplementary question from Mr Png, we take it as our working assumption that, every day, every moment, we must be careful of potential foreign interference in our processes. The details will not be convenient for me to address publicly, but suffice to say that we will never let our guard down. We take it as a working assumption. It may be an interference or an attempt to interfere in our electoral process, or it may be an attempt to influence our public opinion or our own local organisations.

On the second issue about working with social media organisations like Facebook, yes, we do have conversations with them on how we can collectively do this better and it will be one of the stakeholders which we will be consulting closely on the way forward.

3.00 pm

Mdm Speaker: Order. End of Question Time.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), provided that Members had not asked for questions standing in their names to be postponed to a later Sitting day or withdrawn, written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix.]