SINGAPORE: In an interview with the press on Wednesday (April 2), Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam has asserted that he does not share the same views on the Israel-Palestine issue as former nominated member of parliament (NMP) Calvin Cheng,
In a remark that stirred controversy, Mr Cheng had suggested on social media that he would sponsor relocating pro-Palestine activists in Singapore to Gaza “only if they never come back”. The activists he had referred to had dominated headlines last month when they got into an argument with Mr Shanmugam at his meet-the-people session.
The issue was amplified when two ruling party politicians appeared to “like” the post. Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How later admitted that he had accidentally liked the post. Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, meanwhile clarified, “I did not ‘like’ the post by Calvin Cheng on 13 March 2025. I do not share those views. I have since taken measures to enhance account security.”
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) stalwart Jufrie Mahmood has lodged a police complaint against Mr Cheng, who has announced plans to start legal action.
When pressed for his opinion on the controversy, Mr Shanmugam made clear that he hasn’t been following all of Mr Cheng’s social media posts closely and that while he may agree with some of the ex-NMP’s takes on other matters, “his views on Israel/Palestine are sharply different from mine”.
He added, “Mr Jufrie says that Mr Cheng is an Islamophobe. Mr Cheng disagrees and says that Mr Jufrie has falsely accused him of making a statement that was actually made by someone else. I don’t know what the facts really are. But I would suggest it is best to keep to the truth and be sensitive when making comments on the Israel/Palestine situation.”
Reasserting his position on the Israel-Palestine issue, the inmister also pointed out that he has previously said, in November 2023, that “Israel’s actions are illegal and oppressive to Palestinians”. He clarified, “That remains my view.”