Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim on Israel-Hamas conflict

In October this year, the police received eight reports of offensive remarks or actions targeting members of the Jewish or Muslim communities in Singapore. This was equal to the total number of such reports in the first nine months of the year. Also in October, five applications to hold events related to the Israel-Hamas conflict at Speakers’ Corner were rejected. They were among seven applications for events at the site which were turned down over the past three years, out of a total of more than 400. Giving the figures in Parliament on Monday (Nov 6), Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said applications have been - and will continue to be - rejected as long as there are real public safety and security concerns. This would have been the case for events related to the war in Ukraine, for example. He reiterated that Singapore’s stance is clear on acts of terrorism and people calling for violence - that these will not be tolerated and firm action will be taken.