‘The most powerful law’ in Singapore: Foreign Interference bill brings concerns for civil society
- The Fica bill will allow authorities to demand user information from internet companies and target people deemed to be collaborating with foreign actors
- Critics fear its broad language could be used to silence dissent but the government says it is not aimed at ‘criticisms’ but at ‘covert and clandestine activities’
In all likelihood, that topic – heatedly being debated by residents on social media, online forums and sparsely occupied coffee shops – will be on the back burner when the country’s parliament convenes on Monday.
Instead, political observers expect the main action to come during the second reading debate on the draft foreign interference bill.
Described by veteran political commentator Eugene Tan as having “the makings of being the most powerful law on our statute books”, the 249-page Foreign Interference (Countermeasures), or Fica, bill was introduced for a first reading on September 13.
In tabling the Fica bill, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) government said the legislation’s introduction was necessary and timely, given the highly connected city state’s vulnerability to foreign meddling in the internet-era.