Pritam Singh calls out Facebook group, decries 'ritualistic resort to pragmatism' in foreign policy matters

Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh took aim at a pro-establishment political Facebook group SG Matters for a post they put up about Singapore's foreign policy and the Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza.

Singh addressed the post on May 18 and also shared his thoughts on Singapore's foreign policy stance.

The post

On May 18, SG Matters, which frequently share positive posts of PAP politicians, put up a long post discussing their own views of Singapore's foreign policy.

It touted the values of neutrality, "clear-eyed pragmatism" over "emotional impulse" while still adhering to our principles.

However, the post highlighted that in their view, Singapore does not have the space to "indulge in virtue-signalling."

It then mentions the conflict in Gaza and said Singapore contributes where it can through humanitarian aid, capacity-building and diplomacy.

"Some asked why Singapore hasn’t taken a stronger stance on the Israel-Palestine issue—why we haven’t 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞."

SG Matters quoted former MFA Permanent Secretary Bilahari Kausikan who said cutting ties with Israel would make "zero difference."

It labelled such moves as "symbolic measures" to "satisfy short-term emotions" but believes it will not contribute meaningfully to long-term peace.

The post included a picture of Singapore's first foreign minister, S Rajaratnam, with a quote reading "We are not anti-anybody, we are simply pro-Singapore."

You can see the post below:

Pritam Singh's response

In his own post, Singh said he did a "double take" upon seeing the SG Matters post "attempting to explain" what national interest and foreign policy entail, and how they intersect.

"Some Singaporeans, being widely read and of different political persuasions, take very different views of the principles our foreign policy ought to stand for and how these can and should be manifested.

After all, even as Singapore’s “influence is limited”, our country is not without agency."

S Rajaratnam, Goh Keng Swee and Lee Kuan Yew

Singh commented on the post's inclusion of Rajaratnam's quote and shared an anecdote about Singapore's response to the Six Day War in 1967 that involved Israel and its Arab neighbours.

Rajaratnam advocated supporting the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution condemning Israel.

Goh Keng Swee, as then-interior and defence minister, opposed this due to Israel's support for Singapore's nascent armed forces, and was concerned about disarray if Israel abandoned the SAF.

Lee Kuan Yew, then-prime minister, proposed a "third way" to abstain from the UNGA vote, but also emphasised that Singapore must stand up for the rights of small nations to exist.

Diversity of views

Singh made the point that in the earlier conflict where Israel violated international law, Singapore's "three foreign policy gurus" had differing points of view.

"What more ordinary Singaporeans in response to what Israel is doing in Gaza, particularly to women and children today?" he asked.

Singh said that as Singapore supports the rules-based international order, he expects Singaporeans to air their own views on the violations of such rules.

As such, one cannot expect Singaporeans to "peddle a one-dimensional narrative that has been fed to them", Singh said, given our exposure to the world, differing perspectives and our multi-cultural society.

While Singaporeans do contribute to humanitarian aid, they will not only make donations, but also share their views "on what principles our foreign policy should uphold."

Pritam Singh's views on foreign policy

Singh said that as long as foreign policy remains an "extension of domestic politics", wherever Singaporeans have "legitimately-held views", both doing good and feeling good exist on the same continuum.

"And as long as the Government (not mouthpieces - self-appointed or otherwise) continually engages the public and makes it a point to explain why our foreign policy takes the position that it does, most Singaporeans I hazard will give the Government a wide berth, and the benefit of doubt."

This may be so even as other Singaporeans may feel it overstates the cynicism that characterises much of the international political order, while understating the agency that Singapore has as a sovereign nation, Singh added.

"For some positions are worth standing up for, while an overly ritualistic resort to pragmatism may operate to dilute the resilience, commitment and unity of those who stand up for what is (morally) right."

Singapore Matters fact-checked for spreading falsehood

Singh also noted that SG Matters is a "sister page" of another Facebook group, Singapore Matters.

While they are two different pages, both share identical profile pictures, intro bios, and link to the same website.

During the recent GE2025 campaign, Singapore Matters shared a post with a fake quote attributed to WP candidate, Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar.

Singapore Matters falsely alleged that Alia had said in an April 24 rally speech that the Israel-Palestine conflict is more important than local Singapore issues.

The post was shared on May 1 at 5:30pm, less than half a day before Cooling Off Day laws came into effect on May 2, and was deleted after being called out.

AFP later fact-checked the post and found it false.

Singh said, "When called out, Singapore Matters quickly deleted the post, no doubt, in their “self-interest”. The real agenda or motive for peddling a falsehood one day before ‘cooling-off day’, close to polling day, would not have been lost on anyone."

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Top image from Kenneth Tiong's Facebook.