Pofma Office rejects activist Jolovan Wham’s claims that he was asked to apologise during interview
SINGAPORE - The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) Office has said activist Jolovan Wham's claims that he was asked to apologise during an interview with the office on Oct 22 were untrue. Mr Wham posted on Facebook on Oct 24 that he was asked by a Pofma officer at the end of a three-hour investigation if he wanted to apologise for his actions. He was called to the office for an interview after he and eight others were issued correction directions from the Pofma Office. This was for posts that suggested that Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam had said in Parliament that the rule of law does not operate in Singapore. Mr Wham wrote in a post about his interview: "The implication was that if I did (apologise), they might decide to let me off the hook. But what a terrible choice one has to make to avoid legal troubles!" He added that he could not bring himself to apologise and claimed the authorities were using their power to scare others into submission and humiliate him. The Pofma office said instead that it was Mr Wham who had asked the investigating officer if he was expected to apologise, in a written statement on Monday (Nov 1) to address Mr Wha...
Anti-foreign interference Bill already has proportionality requirement, similar to Pofma: MHA
SINGAPORE - The proposed law to counter foreign interference already contains a requirement for orders issued under it to be proportionate, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Sunday (Oct 3). The ministry was responding to Senior Counsel Harpreet Singh Nehal who said in a Facebook post on Saturday that the language of the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill (Fica) "sets an extremely low bar for the public interest requirement to be met". "The Bill simply requires that the minister form the opinion that it is in the public interest to exercise his powers. As drafted, the Bill does not require that the opinion be reasonably held, or that the specific Fica orders that are issued be proportionate," Mr Singh added. The ministry said this was untrue, adding that the Bill incorporates proportionality into its public interest requirement. "The statutory test of 'public interest' stipulates that it should be necessary or expedient in the public interest to use those powers," MHA said. The ministry also said the same issue arose two years ago in relation to the law on fake news - the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) - that imposes a similar requir...