Singapore blocks TikTok and Meta accounts of Australian linked to radicalisation

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore has ordered TikTok and Meta to block access in Singapore to the accounts of an Australian man authorities say has contributed to the radicalisation of two of its citizens, the ministry of home affairs said on Tuesday. Former Singaporean Zulfikar bin Mohamad Shariff "called on Muslims to reject the constitutional, secular, democratic state in favour of an Islamic state governed by Syariah law", said the ministry in a press release. "He believed that violence should be used to achieve this goal if necessary." Zulfikar was detained in 2016 under Singapore's Internal Security Act for promoting terrorism and the online glorification of the Islamic State. The law allows suspects to be held for lengthy periods without trial, or to be given a restriction order limiting travel and internet access, among other conditions. Authorities said Zulfikar "repeatedly continued to stir up discontent within the local Malay/Muslim community against the Chinese community in Singapore".  They cited a Tiktok video posted in June in which Zulfikar said that Malays and Muslims had been forced to move away from Islam and assimilate into the Chinese community. Zulfikar, who renounced his Singaporean citizenship in 2020, was also accused of trying to interfere with this year's election in the city state. In multiracial Singapore, 74% of the resident population are Chinese, 13.6% are Malay, 9% Indian and 3.3% classified as others. The city-state is also a melting pot of various religions. "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," said the ministry. The government issued the directions to TikTok and Meta under the Online Criminal Harms Act, which came into force in February 2024. TikTok and Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by David Stanway)

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