Singapore’s top officials, including the prime minister have taken a former nominated member of parliament to task for saying on social media he would sponsor flying members of an activist group to Gaza “only if they never come back”.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, the city state’s leader Lawrence Wong called the remarks of ex-NMP Calvin Cheng “insensitive and unacceptable”. Cheng had directed his sarcasm at pro-Palestinian activists disrupting various meet-the-people sessions.
Wong wrote: “When we were part of Malaysia, some segments of the Malaysian community called the local Chinese pendatang – foreigners or immigrants. It angered many Chinese, who felt that they were second-class citizens. So when Singapore became independent, we resolved never to treat our minorities like that.”
He added that Singapore today was “diverse and yet harmonious”, stressing that “cohesion is the result of generations of patient effort and hard work” and must be guarded.
“In today’s uncertain environment where there are many external forces that can pull our society apart, this work is even more important,” Wong said.
The prime minister’s post also included photos of him with Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi and Ustaz Pasuni Maulan at Yusof Ishak Mosque, who had met Cheng earlier in the day. The two ustazs sit on the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore.
