SG govt officials and agencies' social accounts spammed as Indonesian preacher denied entry

The social media accounts of a number of political holders and government agencies in Singapore, including president Halimah Yacob and prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, have been spammed with comments from supporters of Indonesian preacher Abdul Somad Batubara. Batubara, who arrived in Singapore on Monday with six travel companions, was denied entry and sent back the same day due to his history of extremist teachings, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.

A quick check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE confirmed that other accounts that were targeted include Lee's Twitter page, senior minister Teo Chee Hean's and foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan's Instagram accounts, the Singapore Government's and Ministry of Law's Twitter pages, as well as the Instagram pages for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore Tourism Board and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE also found that the hashtags #SaveUAS and #saveustadabdulsomad were most commonly used by the spammers. Most of the spam comments were hashtags, and complaints the matter. For instance, one netizen said, "Singaporeans do not deserve to treat our teacher Ustad Abdul Somad, a person we respect, like that."

According to the ministry, while Batubara had attempted to enter Singapore ostensibly for a social visit, the Singapore Government takes a serious view of any persons who advocate violence or espouse extremist and segregationist teachings.

"For example, Batubara has preached that suicide bombings are legitimate in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and are considered 'martyrdom' operations. He has also made comments denigrating members of other faith communities, such as Christians, by describing the Christian crucifix as the dwelling place of an 'infidel jinn (spirit/demon)'," MHA added. 

Separately, IMDA banned the release of a controversial Indian film, The Kashmir Files. According to multiple media outlets including Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, and The Straits Times, the film centres on the exodus of Hindus from the disputed Muslim-majority Kashmir region.

After assessing The Kashmir Files in consultation with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of Home Affairs, media outlets reported that IMDA found it to be beyond its film classification guidelines. The agencies then decided that the film will be refused classification for its provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims, as well as the depictions of Hindus being persecuted in the ongoing conflict in Kashmir, media outlets said.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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