Singapore warns The Economist’s journalist for interfering in domestic affairs

Singapore has warned The Economist's bureau chief here for a public endorsement of a local online publication, which ''constituted interference'' in the country's domestic politics.

In a statement, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) noted that last month Dominic Ziegler publicly endorsed, in writing, local online publication, Jom, The Straits Times newspaper reported on Friday.

"He compared Singapore to an illiberal state and encouraged Singaporeans to embrace an alternative vision, instead of what was being offered by the state and an allegedly captive media," the ministry said, expressing its "clear expectation" to Ziegler that he would not do so again.

Jom is a new weekly digital magazine covering arts, culture, politics, business, technology and more in Singapore, according to its website.

"Ziegler's action clearly crossed the line from reporting on Singapore to participating in Singapore's domestic affairs," the statement said.

Ziegler writes regularly for the British weekly's Banyan column, which covers Asian politics and culture.

The ministry said that Ziegler had exploited his status in Singapore as a journalist in a prestigious international publication to advocate Singaporeans for his viewpoint on the city-state's domestic politics, a country of which he is not a citizen.

"It is a longstanding Government policy that such foreign interference in our domestic politics will not be tolerated," said the ministry. "Singapore politics is reserved only for Singaporeans," it added.

Foreign correspondents are free to report and comment on Singapore in their respective publications for a global audience, said the MCI, noting that Ziegler himself had done so regularly.

"The Government insists on the right of reply to correct foreign reports that it considers inaccurate or biased, but it does not prevent foreign correspondents from engaging anyone they wish here and reporting on Singapore in any way they think fit," it added.

Noting that many foreign correspondents and media outlets base themselves in Singapore, the ministry said that The Economist itself has expanded its bureau here in recent years, transferring many of its correspondents previously based elsewhere in the region to the city-state.

The publication would not have done so if it did not find Singapore a suitable base for its correspondents, MCI said. In May, Ziegler had announced in a Banyan column that he had moved to Singapore from Hong Kong.

''We continue to welcome foreign correspondents and media outlets to operate out of and report on Singapore, including The Economist. However, they must comply with our laws and must not interfere in our domestic politics," the MCI said.

Jom was launched in August 2022. According to its website, this was six months after The Inquiry, the company that runs the digital magazine was registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority in February of that year.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)