SINGAPORE, Jan 4 — Any individuals or groups in Singapore who conduct political campaigning or fundraising to further a political agenda overseas will be dealt with firmly, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said today.
In a statement, the ministry said it had been made aware of online allegations that Singapore might be “used as a platform” for Indonesia’s upcoming Presidential Elections.
MHA said that the allegations include claims that funds in Singapore are meant for supporting certain candidates at the elections, to be held on Feb 14 to elect the president, vice president, and other top roles in the country.
While MHA did not name any websites or entities in its statement, TODAY understands that the allegations were made on a YouTube video featuring Indonesian businessman and self-proclaimed political analyst Mardigu Wowiek Prasantyo, who is better known as Bossman Mardigu.
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The video also featured Abraham Samad, the former chairperson of the Corruption Eradication Commission in Indonesia.
Mardigu appeared on Abraham’s YouTube channel “Abraham Samad SPEAK UP”, which has more than 600,000 subscribers.
The video, whose title in Bahasa Indonesia translates to Intelligence Leaks: Conspiracy of 3 Foreign Countries to Control the 2024 Presidential Election, had attracted more than two million views as of 2pm on Thursday.
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In the video, where Mardigu and Abraham have a conversation in Indonesian, they both make several allegations about foreign interference in the Indonesian elections.
One claim is that China, the United States and Singapore are seeking to influence the outcome of the elections.
Another allegation is that there is a large amount of money stored in Singapore is ready to be used to influence the elections.
MHA warned against conducting any foreign political activity here.
“The Singapore Government takes a clear and strong stand against the importation of politics of other countries into Singapore,” said MHA.
It added that persons visiting, working or living in Singapore should not use the country to conduct political campaigning or fundraising to further a political agenda overseas.
“We will deal firmly with any individual or group found to be doing so, including termination of immigration facilities,” it said.
More than 204 million voters in Indonesia are eligible to cast the votes next month to decide the country’s next president, members of parliaments, governors, regents and mayors.
Hundreds of thousands of candidates from 18 political parties are expected to vie for more than 20,000 positions at the national and regional legislative bodies.
The outcome of these elections will determine the leader of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, as well as whether the next leader will continue or undo the legacy of outgoing president Joko Widodo, such as his foreign policies, as well as his social and infrastructure programmes.
The incumbent, popularly known as Jokowi, has served two five-year terms and is not eligible to run again. — TODAY