Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Monitoring and Addressing Instances of Foreign Interference

Question:

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how does the Ministry monitor and address instances of foreign interference; (b) what is the success rate of these interventions; and (c) what steps are being taken to educate the public and political entities about the risks and signs of foreign interference and how they can protect themselves against such threats.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1. The Government has frameworks in place to monitor for and minimise the risk of foreign interference, and to counter the threats we detect. These include legislative levers such as the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act and Internal Security Act.

2. For operational reasons, the Government does not disclose details or statistics.

3. The ultimate line of defence against foreign interference, however, must indeed be an aware and discerning populace, as the Member mentioned.

4. To this end, the Government has embarked on information literacy campaigns and public education. These include National Library Board’s S.U.R.E 2.0 campaign, which stands for Source, Understand, Research and Evaluate. The campaign aims to impart critical skills to help Singaporeans better assess the reliability of information.

5. The Government also regularly conducts briefings, dialogues, and workshops to raise awareness on foreign interference. Audiences at these outreach efforts include public servants, full-time National Servicemen, and students. MHA will continue to work with agencies to engage the public about the threat posed by foreign interference.