It is wrong "in principle" for activist and political detainee Teo Soh Lung to suggest that if there was any law-breaking, it should be "ignored because the persons involved were young", said Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam in a Jun. 13 Facebook post.

Additionally, such an approach would set "a bad precedent," added the minister.

Shanmugam also said that Teo was "wrong in her facts and assumptions", in terms of his presence at Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) when the petition was presented, not listening and meeting with young people to hear their views, and one's ability to express opinions without breaking laws.

Responding to Teo's post

Shanmugam was responding to a Facebook post published by Teo on Jun. 12, in which she contended that Shanmugam had missed "a golden opportunity" to get to know the group of individuals who delivered letters opposing the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill to the MHA on Jun. 7.

Teo claimed that MHA had instead "issued threats of possible prosecutions and revocation of student and work passes, long term visit pass, work permits, and permanent residence status".

Here, Teo was likely to refer to the statement issued by the Singapore Police Force in response to the incident, which stated that two representatives from the group "were allowed to enter MHA to deliver the letters" before the group "was told to leave".

"Police are looking into the group's conduct at various points of their procession which may have broken the law, including the Public Order Act 2009 for organising a public procession without a police permit," the statement read.

The police also added they would take "firm action" against foreigners who have been permitted to study, work, or reside in Singapore but broke Singapore laws", which may include revocation of permanent residence and passes.

Details of Teo's post

In her post, Teo said she was "disappointed that the Minister for Law and Home Affairs not only refused to listen to what the young have to say but sent them away with threats".

Instead, she contended that "it is time for ministers to listen and not expect to be listened to at all times" because "young people today are the future leaders of Singapore".

She said that "their policies and laws may be outdated and may no longer fit the people they govern", noting that "enhancing punishments may work for the older generation but may not work for the young".

Teo said she "dread[s] to think" what Shanmugam would do to students if they should one day organise themselves "to be as visible as the students in universities abroad" if he "had to resort to threats against a group of peaceful and orderly students today".

Since April 2024, student protests calling for their universities' divestment from Israel in the United States have been making headlines, especially after some of the students ended up clashing with local police, reported the Associated Press and the New York Times.

Shanmugam's response

In response, Shanmugam explained why Teo was wrong in her facts and assumptions.

Instead of purposely refusing to meet the individuals on Jun. 7, the minister said he "was not in Singapore when the petition was presented" at MHA, and he "could not have met the petitioners even if he had wanted to".

Shanmugam also refuted the claim that he had refused to listen to young people, stating that he had met "thousands of young people every year in different settings, often in dialogues where [they] have mutually respectful discussions" and referring to his social media posts showcasing those occasions.

If laws are broken, there can be consequences: Shanmugam

As for how the police were responding to the incident, Shanmugam said that there are "many perfectly legal ways in which opinions can be expressed and petitions presented in Singapore".

Meanwhile, it is also widely known in Singapore that if laws are broken, there can be consequences, added the minister.

Instead of repeating "the same old tired tropes", such as the Singapore government and its ministers do not listen, its policies are outdated, and the ministers think they are answerable to no one, Teo "should sit in one the dialogues" the ministers have, "look carefully" at Singapore's policies, see how "the majority of [Singaporeans] have been progressing", and understand why Singapore is considered one of the best-governed states in the world, said Shanmugam.

Here, the minister referred to a Financial Times article and a chart that indicated Singapore's low murder rate, high GDP per capita, and high satisfaction rate in health care, education, and the judicial system amongst its citizens, as compared to those from the United States and the United Kingdom.

"We haven't gotten our excellent safety record, low homicides, low crime by accident. Nor by ignoring deliberate law-breaking. The advice that she gives (let people break the law if they are young), will inevitably lead to protests of a much more violent and intemperate nature that we see in some other countries. Singaporeans, in a large measure, do not want that," said Shanmugam.