‘If not you, then who?’ – Vivian Balakrishnan’s denial about post ‘like’ raises even more concerns

SINGAPORE: A denial Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan issued this week regarding “liking” a controversial Facebook post has raised even more questions instead of quelling outrage.

Former nominated member of parliament (NMP) Calvin Cheng had suggested that he would sponsor relocating pro-Palestine activists 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 the Law and Home Affairs Minister at his meet-the-people session.

Last week, the activist group shared screenshots and highlighted on social media that Dr Balakrishnan and Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How had liked Mr Cheng’s post but later removed their “likes”.

Mr Tan later admitted that he had accidentally liked the post. Dr Balakrishnan, on the other hand, claimed that he had not liked the post at all and indicated that the security of his Facebook account might have been compromised. He wrote on social media, “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.”

Instead of putting the concerns to rest, Dr Balakrishnan’s explanation has only raised more questions. He did not specify whether his account was hacked or if someone else in his team accessed his account and initiated the like. Critics have asserted that it is even more concerning that a minister’s verified account can be compromised and that this may not have come to light if not for the controversial like.

Calling for a more thorough explanation, some observers added that this is a serious issue and that the minister should respond more transparently, given that the controversial comment mocks concerned Singaporeans.

Among those who raised concerns was noted author and Jom editor Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh. He asked the minister in a comment, “Dear Vivian, what do you mean by ‘taken measures to enhance account security’? Does it mean that authorised people had access to your account, and could ‘Like’ on your behalf? Or that it was unauthorised people/hackers who did this? Or are you disputing that the ‘Like’ even happened? It would be great to clarify, thank you.”

Prominent Singapore activist Kirsten Han questioned, “The kind of clarification that only prompts more questions. What does this mean, exactly? If it wasn’t him, then who? What sort of account security lapse or weakness was there?”