Ex-NMP Calvin Cheng 'deeply remorseful' over comments on pro-Palestine activists

SINGAPORE: Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) and socio-political commentator Calvin Cheng said on Thursday (Apr 10) that he was "deeply remorseful" over public comments about a pro-Palestinian activist group in Singapore.

Mr Cheng said in a Facebook post that he had met two Muslim community leaders, Ustaz Pasuni Maulan and Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi, at Yusof Ishak Mosque in Woodlands on Wednesday. Both men sit on the MUIS council - the overall decision-making body of the organisation.

MUIS is the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore.

"I told the ustazs that I am deeply remorseful about my remarks suggesting that our people go to a conflict zone. They advised me to be more sensitive in the future, in what I say," Mr Cheng wrote. 

His Facebook post on Mar 13 caused a public outcry after he criticised a group known as Monday of Palestine Solidarity, whose members have been accused of disrupting Meet-the-People Sessions.

“I would like to sponsor them to relocate to Gaza, expenses paid by me. But only if they never come back … I am offering business class to the leaders. And to their 928 followers, can buy them some walking shoes each. Take a slow hike,” he wrote then on Facebook. 

A police report and legal threats have been made, while the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (Pergas) has expressed dismay over the comments.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Thursday that Mr Cheng's comments were "completely insensitive and unacceptable", adding that Singapore must protect and nurture the cohesion it has built over generations.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli and Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam both said last week that they disagree with Mr Cheng's remarks.

Mr Masagos, who is also Minister for Social and Family Development, on Wednesday also called the comments "unacceptable and hurtful" and said that many people, especially those within the Malay-Muslim community, had felt angry and dismissed.

Mr Cheng acknowledged that the post "had caused hurt and anger, especially within the Muslim community in Singapore", adding that he told Ustaz Hasbi and Ustaz Pasuni he "had not intended to attack any community or faith".

"My comments were directed specifically at the MPS (Monday of Palestine Solidarity) group, which included Chinese and Indians, and had a mix of religions. I was specifically upset with their disruptive activism. My remarks were not targeted at the Muslim community." 

Mr Cheng made similar comments in a Facebook post last week, saying that he did not "generalise these remarks to all activists, nor did I mention race or religion".

SHOULD HAVE BEEN "MORE SENSITIVE": CHENG

Mr Cheng said on Thursday that he should have been "more sensitive" with his remarks and that he had spoken to members of the Malay-Muslim community over the past week. 

"I should not have said (even in jest) that people should go to a conflict zone," he added.

"I am deeply grateful that Ustaz Pasuni and Ustaz Hasbi were willing to meet me, and listen to me and speak about reconciliation and healing. I thanked them for their kindness, understanding and compassion."

He also said that during the meeting, he stated why he was taking legal action against several people and platforms, noting that "some people had wrongly attributed some other statements to me which I did not make".

"I explained that I had to start legal actions because such untrue statements were very damaging to me," he added.

In a Facebook post on Apr 2, Mr Cheng said former Singapore Democratic Party chairman Jufrie Mahmood had lodged a police report accusing him of Islamophobia.

He also named Reform Party leader Kenneth Jeyaretnam, activist Martyn See, alternative news website The Online Citizen, and one Mohamed Khair as having expressed or republished similar views.

"I have sought legal advice from Senior Counsel and have been advised that these statements are highly defamatory of me," he wrote then.

"I have instructed my lawyers to write to Mohamed Khair, Jufrie Mahmood, Martyn See, Kenneth Jeyaretnam and The Online Citizen, to require them to retract the statements they have made and apologise."