Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan is in hot water again, this time over a “like” on a Facebook post by ex-NMP Calvin Cheng. Calvin Cheng had an idea to sponsor pro-Palestine activists from Singapore to Gaza with a one-way ticket. People flipped out when they saw Vivian and Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How had “liked” it.
It was an “accident”
Vivian and Tan Kiat How both claimed that they were unaware about their accounts liking the post, calling it an accident. But the advocacy group MPS Palestine wasn’t buying it. They called out both ministers, asking how they could “like” something so harsh when they’ve talked about peace for Palestinians in Parliament.
Not Vivian’s First Social Media Slip-up
Back in the 2011 General Election, he accidentally made a post on cooling-off day, when candidates are supposed to stay quiet.
Did he not learn from that mistake and allowed another “accident” to happen to his social media account?
Singapore’s Image on the Line
Singapore’s big on staying neutral, pushing for a two-state solution, so this kind of slip-up looks bad. The cooling-off day tweet was a laughable accident—this Gaza post thing? Way more serious. What do you think? Was it a hack, a mistake, or something else?
