Activists confront Shanmugam at Chong Pang Meet-the-People session, shout 'coward' as he walks away
Aqil Hamzah The Straits Times March 13, 2025
Two women confronted Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam at his Meet-the-People Session on March 12, causing a commotion outside his Chong Pang branch office that was caught on camera.
In a seven-minute video posted on Facebook by Mr Shanmugam, the pair are seen wearing shirts with “Press” in front, and the names of journalists killed in Gaza at the back. They approach him to talk about the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma).
The video shows them questioning him in a confrontational tone as residents and volunteers look on. At one point, they show onlookers the middle finger and shout at the minister when he walks away to attend to his duties.
In his Facebook post, the Nee Soon GRC MP said both women, who are sisters, were not residents in his constituency, and belong to a small group that has gone to different PAP Meet-the-People Sessions in the last few months to be “deliberately confrontational, create incidents, try and provoke”.
[Deliberate rowdyism, rudeness at MPS last night] [Deliberate rowdyism, rudeness at MPS last night] Over the last few months, we have noted a small number of persons going around to different Meet The People Sessions run by PAP MPs to be deliberately confrontational, create incidents, try and provoke. They then put out a version of what happened, to put the MP and his team in as negative light as possible. Last night this was tried at MPS. Two sisters came to see me. They were not my residents. Their photo is below in comments. I was walking around outside my Branch office, greeting the persons waiting for MPS, and spoke with them. I asked if they were my residents. They didn’t give a clear answer. I asked again, and one of them said that they were from Punggol. I said that MPS is for residents – for us to help our residents. She then asked me where is it written down, that we will only see our residents. They wanted to talk about POFMA. I was accused of lying because other MPs had seen persons who are not residents. (They accused me of lying, more than once, through the night). Their accusation, that I was lying, was typical of the way the engagement proceeded, through the night. MPS is run by the Branch, by the MP and volunteers. The Branch can decide that it will only see residents, though the MP can exercise some discretion in seeing non-residents. Most people will understand this – and if they didn’t know, they might ask why. They won’t be aggressive and accuse the MP of lying. The antagonistic way in which they spoke, behaved, interrupted, threw accusations of lying, suggested that they wanted to make a scene, get some material to put out, rather than engage in a genuine discussion. I told them that there were a lot of residents waiting to see me, with serious personal issues. I will deal with them first. If there is time, I will see the two sisters and discuss POFMA. If there is no time, then they would be given a time for either me or someone else to see them, discuss POFMA. I also had to step out for a while to join my Malay community leaders, to launch a Hari Raya light-up in my constituency. I explained to them that it was a busy night, I had a lot of office work pending as well – so they had to understand if I was not able to see them that night. After telling them that, I turned around to walk into my branch office. They then shouted very loudly “Coward”. Another person joined them in this shouting. I went back to them to tell them off for behaving in this way – I was quite unhappy with the disruption they were causing. I pointed to them to behave. I also pointed out to them that they were disrupting the MPS. They can’t, as non-residents, come to MPS and insist that their political discussion take priority over the needs of the waiting residents. They said they were prepared to wait. I think I also told them there was no basis for them to shout in a nasty way. Meanwhile, they were showing their middle finger, making scenes. Photo below in comments. I told them that their behaviour was being recorded. They then became very aggressive towards the lady volunteer who was recording. They told her that she should delete the video, and she should not have recorded without their consent. I told them that sometimes, my volunteers will follow me on my rounds, including at MPS, video my interactions, take photos. Those who have seen my FB page would have seen such photos, videos. And it was a public place, outside my branch. As a result of the commotion and noise, several of my volunteers had gathered around. There was a lot of concern. People are not used to this sort of rowdy behaviour, at MPS. The waiting residents were also shocked. Some of them (including a Malay lady) came to apologise to me for the behaviour of these two sisters. I understand that people may feel strongly about some issues. But MPS is not a protest venue. It is where residents go to their MPs to seek help. Many have acute concerns — housing, jobs, medical needs, family issues, and would wait patiently, often for hours, to speak with their MP. Hijacking these sessions is unfair to residents. There are appropriate avenues for advocacy — but disrupting sessions meant to help residents who are struggling with everyday challenges crosses a line. As I walked into my branch, again there was a question of whether I will see them – from the doorway of my branch, I said loudly enough for them to hear, that I will deal with them – I wanted to see them, speak with them, see if we find some common ground. I eventually spent a fair bit of time, about 30-45 min, towards the end of the MPS to speak with the two sisters and two others who came in with them. I told them that we were recording the discussion – because I know what had happened in other MPS sessions. I asked them if they had gone for any other MPS to discuss. I didn’t get a clear answer but think one or both said they had been to one other MPS. I asked if they were recording – and they said they were not recording. I treat discussions at MPS as confidential, so won’t go into what was discussed. Watch the video for what happened outside the Branch. Posted by K Shanmugam Sc on Thursday 13 March 2025
They typically put out their version of events afterwards, painting the MP and their team in as negative a light as possible, he said.
The women belong to an activist group called Monday of Palestine Solidarity, said the People’s Action Party in a post on its Petir website. The group has visited at least 10 Meet-the-People Sessions, including National Development Minister Desmond Lee’s in West Coast GRC and Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo’s in Jalan Besar GRC.
The PAP said the group would create a ruckus in the waiting area and disrupt the queue system, while also filming and raising their voices, affecting residents who were at the sessions to speak with their MPs and volunteers.
The volunteers would also be subject to heckling by members of the activist group. The PAP said: “It is not right that our volunteers are subject to taunts and accusations about their motives and character.”
Mr Shanmugam said Meet-the-People Sessions are not places for protests.
“I understand that people may feel strongly about some issues. But (a Meet-the-People Session) is not a protest venue. It is where residents go to their MPs to seek help. Many have acute concerns — housing, jobs, medical needs, family issues, and would wait patiently, often for hours, to speak with their MP,” he wrote.
“Hijacking these sessions is unfair to residents. There are appropriate avenues for advocacy – but disrupting sessions meant to help residents who are struggling with everyday challenges crosses a line.”
Describing a Meet-the-People Session as “one of the most direct lines of assistance for many Singaporeans in need”, the PAP said it empathised with the frustration and helplessness many feel with regard to Gaza, and that people can turn to their MPs for support.
“Our MPs and volunteers have always taken the time to hear the views of our residents on this issue, which we then relay to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on their behalf,” it said.
It added that many Singaporeans who feel strongly about the issue have already raised funds for Gaza through the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation, and encouraged more people to step up in donating to help displaced Palestinians.
In the video, Mr Shanmugam is seen explaining to the women that he only sees his residents, after one of them said she lives in Punggol.
She asks for proof that MPs cannot attend to non-residents at Meet-the-People Sessions, to which he responds that he will speak with them after attending to his own residents, if they do not mind waiting.
Initially, the pair agree. However, one woman then states that Mr Shanmugam’s explanation is “not true”, as other MPs have met with non-residents.
In his post, Mr Shanmugam said MPs can exercise discretion in seeing non-residents, even if the branch decides that only residents will be attended to. Most people understand this and would not accuse the MP of lying, he added.
The minister said the women accused him of lying, more than once, during the night.
“Their accusation, that I was lying, was typical of the way the engagement proceeded, through the night,” he noted.
Added Mr Shanmugam: “The antagonistic way in which they spoke, behaved, interrupted, threw accusations of lying, suggested that they wanted to make a scene, get some material to put out, rather than engage in a genuine discussion,” he noted.
In the video, one woman is seen getting agitated after being told that the conversation is being filmed. She demands that the video be deleted, adding that she did not consent to being filmed. Mr Shanmugam responds that as it is a public area, his volunteers have a right to record it.
“I told them that sometimes, my volunteers will follow me on my rounds, including at (Meet-the-People Sessions), video my interactions, take photos,” he added in his post.
Reiterating that the sessions are for residents, Mr Shanmugam said he informed the women that he would be happy to discuss Pofma with them, if there is time.
“If there is no time, then they would be given a time for either me or someone else to see them, discuss Pofma,” he wrote.
“I also had to step out for a while to join my Malay community leaders to launch a Hari Raya light-up in my constituency. I explained to them that it was a busy night, I had a lot of office work pending as well – so they had to understand if I was not able to see them that night.”
In the video, when Mr Shanmugam turns to go back into the branch office, the two women, joined by a man, shout at him and call him a “coward”.
Mr Shanmugam said in his post: “I went back to them to tell them off for behaving in this way – I was quite unhappy with the disruption they were causing.
“They can’t, as non-residents, come to (Meet-the-People Sessions) and insist that their political discussion take priority over the needs of the waiting residents,” he said.
He added that he spoke with the women, along with two others, for 30 to 45 minutes towards the end of the session.
“I told them that we were recording the discussion – because I know what had happened in other Meet-the-People Sessions,” said Mr Shanmugam.
He added that they told him they were not recording their discussion.
Said Mr Shanmugam: “I treat discussions at Meet-the-People Sessions as confidential, so won’t go into what was discussed.”
In a separate Facebook post, Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng stated his view that advocacy is important.
Citing his own experiences in advocating for different issues, he said: “But we must remain civil and respectful to get the change we want. That is part of advocacy as well.”
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