Singapore orders TikTok and Meta to block accounts of Australian man accused of radicalising citizens and threatening racial harmony.
SINGAPORE: Authorities have ordered TikTok and Meta to block access to the accounts of an Australian man linked to the radicalisation of two Singaporean citizens.
The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that former Singaporean Zulfikar bin Mohamad Shariff promoted extremist views online.
“He called on Muslims to reject the constitutional, secular, democratic state in favour of an Islamic state governed by Syariah law,” the ministry said in a press release.
Zulfikar believed violence could be used to achieve this goal if necessary.
Authorities detained him in 2016 under Singapore’s Internal Security Act for promoting terrorism and glorifying the Islamic State.
The law permits suspects to be held without trial or subjected to travel and internet restrictions.
Zulfikar repeatedly stirred discontent within Singapore’s Malay/Muslim community against the Chinese community.
Officials cited a June TikTok video where he claimed Malays and Muslims were forced to abandon Islam and assimilate into Chinese culture.
Zulfikar renounced his Singaporean citizenship in 2020 and was accused of attempting to interfere with this year’s election.
Singapore’s resident population comprises 74% Chinese, 13.6% Malay, 9% Indian and 3.3% classified as others.
“The Singapore government takes a very serious view of threats to our racial and religious harmony, including from foreigners, and will not hesitate to act against them,” the ministry emphasised.
The government issued directions to TikTok and Meta under the Online Criminal Harms Act, which took effect in February 2024.
Neither TikTok nor Meta immediately responded to requests for comment. – Reuters
