"Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam has stated that his position on the Israel-Palestine conflict is fundamentally different from that of forme
“Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam has stated that his position on the Israel-Palestine conflict is fundamentally different from that of former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Calvin Cheng.
Speaking to the media on 2 April at Maarof Mosque in Jurong West, Shanmugam was asked about Cheng’s controversial Facebook post from 13 March, in which Cheng criticised members of the Palestine Solidarity group for allegedly disrupting Meet-The-People Sessions held by the People’s Action Party, including Shanmugam’s.
In his post, Cheng suggested funding their relocation to Gaza on the condition that they never return, offering business-class tickets to the group’s leaders and walking shoes for their supporters. His remarks sparked backlash, and on 28 March, former opposition politician Jufrie Mahmood lodged a police report against him, labelling Cheng an “”infamous Islamophobic ex-NMP”” in his own Facebook post.
Shanmugam clarified that he had not followed the exchanges between Cheng and Mahmood closely but reiterated his long-standing stance on the conflict. “My views on Israel-Palestine are entirely different from Cheng’s. As I stated in November 2023, Israel’s actions are illegal and oppressive to Palestinians, and my position has not changed,” he said.
Declining to comment further due to the ongoing police investigation, Shanmugam acknowledged the legal implications surrounding the dispute. Meanwhile, Cheng announced on 2 April that he had sought legal advice and initiated legal action against those who republished Mahmood’s accusations, including Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam, activist Martyn See, Taiwan-based media platform The Online Citizen, and Mohamed Khair.”
COMMENTS