Singaporean opposition candidate misquoted online ahead of polls

Ahead of Singapore's national elections on May 3, a graphic spread in social media posts falsely claiming a candidate from the opposition Workers' Party said the "Israel-Palestine conflict is more important than bread and butter issues". In fact, Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar said during a rally that Singaporeans wanted to meet their members of parliament to discuss both local matters and the government's position on global issues.

"Are you voting for someone to speak for Palestinians in Parliament? Or are you voting for a voice to speak for YOU on the bread and butter issues that are so close to your heart?" reads the caption of a graphic shared May 1, 2025 on Facebook.

The graphic features a photo of opposition Workers' Party candidate Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar, who was standing in the newly created Punggol constituency, and a quote attributed to her.

"The deciding factor for me joining the election was the Israel-Palestine conflict," it reads. "The Israel-Palestine conflict is more important than bread and butter issues."

The graphic surfaced a day before Singapore's mandated "cooling-off period" when election campaigning must be halted (archived link).

The May 3 elections saw voters hand Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's ruling People's Action Party (PAP) a landslide victory in which they took all but 10 seats in the wealthy island state's 97-seat unicameral legislature (archived link).

The PAP, which has steered the country to prosperity during its decades in power while being criticised for suppressing dissent, was always expected to easily retain a clear majority in the legislature.

Siti Alia's party could not claim the Punggol constituency, with Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong leading his PAP team to victory with 55.17 percent of the vote (archived link).

The graphic spread elsewhere on Facebook in posts criticising Siti Alia. However, it mischaracterises her comments.

A keyword search on Google led to a video of the candidate giving a speech on April 24. The Workers' Party uploaded it to YouTube the following day (archived link).

Siti Alia begins the speech by saying: "The concern for the humanitarian crisis in Palestine crosses the boundaries of race and religion."

She goes on to question why the Singaporean Ministry of Education had added a course on the conflict without consulting parents, which prompted many to raise the issue with members of parliament.

"To have our voices heard is important to us as Singaporeans, ranging from local issues such as lift upgrading in the neighbourhood, to more major issues that affect Singaporeans as global citizens.

"We meet our MPs to discuss bread and butter issues, yes, but we would also like to meet our MPs to discuss the effects of certain laws or the government's positions on certain global issues."

At no point does she say the conflict is "more important" than local Singapore issues. AFP could find no other evidence of such a statement from Siti Alia.

Singaporean online media outlet AsiaOne also covered the claim and ensuing online debate (archived link).