Fathership

Shanmugam pulls out receipts on 'racist' Leong Mun Wai

Shanmugam highlighted a pattern of concerning statements from Leong that had racial undertones

|3 min read
Shanmugam pulls out receipts on 'racist' Leong Mun Wai

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam criticised Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai for making comments that suggest a lack of value for the government’s multiracial approach to policies.

Shanmugam was replying to a parliamentary question Leong had filed on whether the Government plans to review the Chinese-Malay-Indian-Others (CMIO) framework.

Leong's parliamentary question arose following Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong’s comments at an Institute of Policy Studies conference on January 20, where Tong said the CMIO model should be constantly reviewed to reflect Singapore’s increasingly complex multicultural landscape.

The exchange that followed with Shanmugam, focused on whether Leong valued the multiracial approach to policies and ethnic integration in Singapore’s housing estates

Shanmugam highlighted a pattern of concerning statements from Leong:

  • Comments about the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that members of Leong's own party found to have racial undertones

  • Criticism of the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP), despite its role in maintaining racial integration in housing estates

The Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) is a key plank of the People’s Action Party’s policy to ensure that people live together and are integrated, said Shanmugam.

“We put a lot of value in making sure our housing estates are well managed, because we care for Singaporeans, and the CMIO is a key plank of those policies,” he said.

In response, Leong said he wanted to put on record that the PSP supports the EIP.

What it takes issue with is that the EIP has an economic cost to minority-race home owners, Leong added.

“We have recommended in this Parliament that we should compensate the minorities for that economic cost that they have incurred,” Leong said. “So that’s all we say. We are not against the EIP at all.”

Shanmugam replied: “I note that Mr Leong doesn’t deny saying that 80 per cent of Singaporeans who live in HDB flats are condemned, and that his comments were racist.”

Leong is no stranger to controversy. During his time in Parliament as a NCMP, he Leong has engaged in a pattern of divisive, polarising politics – aimed at making people angry and rile up negative sentiments for political mileage.

In February 2024, Fathership reported that Leong was ousted as Secretary-General by his own party.

The next day at a press conference, Leong claimed that he wanted to "take responsibility" for his transgressions by 'voluntarily stepping down'.

Read next article ⬇️

Who is Nurul Afiqah, the activist who stormed Law Minister K Shanmugam's MPS?

Locum nurse by day, local disruptor by night.

|4 min read
Who is Nurul Afiqah, the activist who stormed Law Minister K Shanmugam's MPS?

What started as a polite exchange at a Meet-the-People Session (MPS) on Wednesday evening (Mar 12), spiraled into chaos at the Chong Pang Branch office in Nee Soon GRC.

Law Minister K Shanmugam found himself squaring off against a group of activists who stormed the session with a singular demand: a rhetorical back and forth over the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA)—Singapore’s 2019 weapon against online lies, and Palestine.

Activists branded Shanmugam a “coward,” flashed middle fingers, and clashed with volunteers trying to capture the melee on video.

Who Is Nurul Afiqah?

Enter Nurul Afiqah, aka Afiqah Kamel—a rising star in Singapore’s activist galaxy. By day, she’s a locum staff nurse; by conviction, she’s a megaphone for the downtrodden, tethered to Sick and Tired, a collective amplifying the voices of healthcare workers and patients.

Her first foray into public activism was on Labour Day 2024, Afiqah seized the mic, railing against the paltry wages and grueling conditions plaguing grassroots healthcare staff. But her fire burns beyond the hospital's burn unit—she’s a fierce advocate for Palestine.

Afiqah Kamel

Since December 8, 2023, she’s hosted Chapterwise Bookclubs every Friday night, first at Punggol - where she resides, and later on at Our Tampines Hub.

These aren’t your average book chats; they’re curated deep dives into the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Her activist streak flared in February 2024 with a cheeky “Free Airshow Attendee Shaming Service”—a satirical jab at Israel’s role in the Singapore Airshow.

Hungry for bigger waves, she teamed up with seasoned rabble-rouser Suraendher Kumaar, trading quiet defiance for full-on disruption.

The art of disruption

Afiqah’s baptism into disruptive activism kicked off on September 16, 2024, alongside Suraendher, targeting MP Edward Chia’s MPS in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

Edward Chia MPS

Armed with pointed questions about Singapore’s alleged ties to Israel’s actions in Palestine, they unleashed a verbal barrage. Chia humored them, and the night ended in a tense “agree to disagree,” with vague promises of follow-ups.

A month later, they cornered MP Sun Xueling—Afiqah’s own Punggol West rep—at her MPS.

The script was familiar: Singapore-Israel ties took center stage, and the back-and-forth felt like a broken record.

By January 2025, REACH, the government’s feedback arm, dangled a closed-door chat. Afiqah and her posse pushed for an open forum but got shut down.

REACH Meeting

The Playbook

The group, operating under the banner we.the.pofma, developed a clear modus operandi: "raid" MPS sessions, pose leading questions about Singapore-Israel ties, present a petition signed by over 70 people condemning Israel, and share interaction summaries on Instagram.

They’ve rallied the public with a battle cry—join the “ongoing initiative,” complete with talking points, constituency hit lists, and post-raid recaps.

Activist Strategy

Interactions reviewed by Fathership suggest the group plans to intensify MPS visits in the lead-up to anticipated elections later in 2025.

The People’s Action Party (PAP) tallies over 10 such ambushes across constituencies in recent months. They’ve slammed the group’s antics as disruptive and antisocial, lamenting the hijacking of a forum meant to serve residents.

Afiqah’s rebel alliance

Afiqah’s activism intersects significantly with Suraendher Kumaar (sometimes spelled Kumarr), a veteran activist known for championing workers’ rights, labor issues, minority rights, and the Palestine cause. Suraendher leads we.the.pofma, a seemingly collaborative group tied to prominent activists like Kokila, Kirsten Han, PJ Thum, Jolovan Wham, and Elijah Tay.

Activist Network

Suraendher Kumaar

His network also includes ties to Leon Perera, a former Workers’ Party member who resigned in 2023 over an infidelity scandal with Nicole Seah. Perera notably served as a keynote speaker at the launch of Suraendher’s People’s Manifesto in July 2024.

Afiqah, through Suraendher Kumar also works closely with SDP Young Democrats.

SDP Young Democrats

Afiqah’s on a collision course with Singapore’s status quo, hell-bent on spotlighting the Israel-Palestine saga and picking apart policies like POFMA.

She has opted for disruptive activism because her Chapterwise Book Club meets weren't impactful enough to change the world.

Trading quiet enlightenment for loud MPS ambushes proved disruptive activism is the real spice of life when polite discussion just won't cut it.