SDP appeals to Shanmugam to vary POFMA order

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has appealed to Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam on Apr. 8 to vary a Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) order against the party.

In a statement shared on their Facebook page, the opposition political party objected to the order, adding that they will "take the case to the High Court" if the application is denied.

The order, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Jun. 29, 2024, instructed the party to publish a correction notice alongside its social media posts bearing two false statements.

The directive pertains to an SDP statement regarding the alleged case of three women involved in a procession to the Istana to deliver letters to the Prime Minister.

May take the case to High Court

In their Facebook post, the party said that it was incorrectly attributed with one of the statements cited in the directive.

"First and foremost, we point out that we did not make the statement which was set out as the first subject statement of the Correction Direction," SDP wrote.

The application was made under Regulation 13 of the POFMA regulations, with SDP citing the need to "clarify some key issues ahead of the General Election of 2025".

The party also said that it is the "constitutional right" of Singapore citizens to "peacefully" make their views known publicly "whether we agree with them or not".

SDP expressed their hope for the correction direction to be varied, adding that they will escalate the matter to the High Court if the appeal is unsuccessful.

The party said that it is "critical" that individuals are not penalised for statements that they do not make, and expressed their hope that the appeal process will make this "clearer".

POFMA issued after two falsehoods regarding procession involving three women

The POFMA order was initially issued to SDP, with MHA highlighting two falsehoods made by the party including:

• That the three women were prosecuted for organising support for the Palestinian people in the ongoing Gaza war, in the form of a procession to the Istana.
• That the government, and in particular Minister for Home Affairs and Law Shanmugam, prosecuted the three women because they had expressed views that the Government disagreed with.

As MHA noted in their statement, the decision to charge the three women was not in response to the views they had expressed, nor did it depend on whether the views concorded with the government's view.

The charges concerned the organising of the unauthorised procession.

Also, the decision to charge the three women was not made by Shanmugam, as the SDP posts had suggested.

Instead, the decision to charge the three women was made by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, after its review of the police’s investigative findings. The minister does not make decisions relating to criminal prosecutions.

"MHA would like to reiterate that the three women were charged for offences under the POA, for their alleged involvement in organising a procession in the vicinity of the Istana, which is a designated prohibited area.

Any person who organises a public assembly or a procession in a designated prohibited area would have committed an offence, regardless of the cause or issue he or she is advocating for."

Charged

Mossammad Sobikun Nahar, Siti Amirah Mohamed Asrori and Annamalai Kokila Parvathi were charged under the Public Order Act on Jun. 27, 2024 for allegedly organising an assembly or procession with around 70 people in attendance without a permit on along the Istana's perimeter.

SDP then shared correction notices on their Facebook post and TikTok account on Jun. 27 and 28 respectively.

Top photos via Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)/Facebook & sgforpalestine/Instagram