NTUC to be designated as politically significant person under foreign interference law
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 12 Jul 2024
Author: Chin Soo Fang
The pre-emptive measure is intended to mitigate the National Trades Union Congress’s risk of being a target of foreign interference in the future.
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) will be designated a politically significant person under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica), a law that empowers the authorities to deal with foreign interference in domestic politics.
The notice was served to NTUC on July 11, according to a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The statement said: “The Registrar (of Foreign and Political Disclosures) has assessed that given NTUC’s close nexus and symbiotic relationship with the People’s Action Party, it is in the public interest for countermeasures under Fica to be applied to NTUC.”
The pre-emptive measure is intended to mitigate NTUC’s risk of being a target of foreign interference in the future.
“It is not because NTUC has been compromised by a foreign actor, or has committed any wrongdoing nor anything of concern,” MHA said in response to queries.
Politically significant persons can include political parties, political office-holders, MPs, and election candidates and their election agents.
Other persons or groups may also be designated politically significant if the authorities assess that their activities are directed towards a political end, and that it is in the public interest that countermeasures against foreign interference be applied.
As a designated politically significant person, NTUC would have to make yearly disclosures to the authorities of political donations of $10,000 or more that it receives and accepts, as well as foreign affiliations.
NTUC’s designation is at the federation level and will not include affiliated unions and associations, nor its social enterprises, which are separate legal entities. It will also not include NTUC’s personnel such as its central committee members and employees, said MHA. However, several of NTUC’s central committee members may already be politically significant persons, given their roles as political office-holders or sitting MPs.
They include Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How and Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Desmond Tan.
On why NTUC is being designated a politically significant person only now, more than six months after Fica provisions against interference via local proxies came into force in December 2023, MHA said it needed time to consider and assess many issues.
NTUC has 14 days from the date of the notice to submit representations to the authorities. If it is designated a politically significant person, NTUC may appeal against the decision to the Minister for Home Affairs.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it notes that the designation of NTUC as a politically significant person does not result in any prohibitions on the organisation’s ongoing activities.
“MOM will continue to work with NTUC as a key tripartite partner,” said a ministry spokesperson. “NTUC’s activities have been in compliance with the Trade Unions Act.”
NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said in a media statement that his organisation is committed to championing its members’ and workers’ interests.
“We do so with accountability and transparency. We are aligned with national safeguards to prevent foreign interference, and we will continue to ensure that our operations remain free from foreign influence,” he said.
Mr Ng added: “We will review MHA’s requirements for the designation process and would like to assure our members, partners and stakeholders that NTUC’s core work to better workers’ lives and livelihoods will continue unabated.”
Human rights group Maruah and non-governmental organisation Think Centre were designated politically significant persons in December 2023 when Fica provisions against interference via local proxies came into force.
MHA said the reasons for designating NTUC a politically significant person are very different from those that resulted in these two organisations being similarly designated under the law.
Maruah and Think Centre were gazetted political associations under the Political Donations Act, which was repealed when Fica came into force.
Their designations under Fica were accompanied by stepped-up countermeasures, which required them to not accept donations from foreigners, among other things. These were issued to largely mirror requirements imposed on them under the repealed Act.
However, the authorities have assessed that it is not necessary to issue such measures to NTUC at this point.
Instead, NTUC is being designated a politically significant person because it has a close nexus and symbiotic relationship with the People’s Action Party.
Symbiotic relationship between PAP and NTUC
Singapore’s political leaders have often spoken about the symbiotic relationship between NTUC and the PAP. In his 2023 May Day Rally speech, then Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong described both groups as “sibling organisations” that originated from the same movement.
“We share the same objectives – to improve the lives of workers and Singaporeans, promote economic growth for all, and ensure social cohesion and stability,” he said.
Workers and unions have supported the PAP through good and bad times, while the PAP works with NTUC to implement pro-worker laws and policies, and ensures that NTUC has the resources to look after our workers, he added.
Mr Ng pledged to deepen this symbiotic relationship during the 2024 May Day celebrations, saying: “We will work with the PAP Government and employers to build a more prosperous Singapore and strive for better wages, better welfare and better work prospects for all.”
NTUC has 1.3 million members and unites 58 trade unions, seven trade associations, seven social enterprises and other partners under its umbrella.
As at May 2024, about 45 per cent of union members were professionals, managers and executives.
A Cabinet minister has traditionally held the post of NTUC secretary-general. The practice began with Mr Lim Chee Onn, who was the first labour chief to be appointed minister in the Prime Minister’s Office in 1980.
What is the foreign interference law and why is NTUC a ‘politically significant person’?: askST
On July 11, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it intends to designate the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) as a politically significant person under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica).
It is in the public interest to do so, given NTUC’s close nexus and symbiotic relationship with the People’s Action Party (PAP), MHA said.
Human rights group Maruah and non-governmental organisation Think Centre – both gazetted as political associations – were designated as politically significant persons in December 2023 when Fica’s provisions against interference via local proxies came into force. Singaporean businessman Philip Chan Man Ping was subsequently also designated as a politically significant person in February 2024.
The Straits Times recaps what the law is about, and what being a politically significant person entails.
Q: What is Fica?
Fica was passed in Parliament in October 2021 to strengthen the Government’s ability to prevent, detect and disrupt foreign interference in Singapore’s domestic politics conducted through hostile information campaigns and the use of local proxies.
It does not target Singaporeans or other local entities that express their views, unless they are being used by foreign entities as proxies for interference, said MHA.
To safeguard domestic politics, the law applies to two categories of people and organisations: defined politically significant persons and designated politically significant persons.
Q: Who is a ‘defined’ or ‘designated’ politically significant person?
Certain groups and individuals who are directly involved in Singapore’s political processes are defined as politically significant persons. These include political parties and their central executive committee members, political office-holders, MPs including Non-Constituency MPs and Nominated MPs, election candidates and their election agents.
An individual or group can also be designated as a politically significant person if the authorities assess that their activities are directed towards a political end, and that it is in the public interest that they be subjected to Fica’s measures to mitigate the risk of foreign interference. This is the case for NTUC.
Then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in April that he was a politically significant person because he was the PM and therefore had a nexus to Singapore politics.
“So being declared a politically significant person does not mean necessarily that you have done anything wrong. It is just to put everybody on notice, that you have either a foreign nexus or you are politically active,” he said in an interview.
Q: What are politically significant persons subjected to?
The countermeasures on defined and designated politically significant persons cover donations, volunteers, leadership, membership and affiliations.
Defined politically significant persons face more stringent countermeasures. These include having to report single donations of $10,000 or more, and being prohibited from receiving donations from foreigners.
They are required to maintain a separate bank account to receive political donations, and cannot accept any volunteer labour or services provided by foreigners.
Individuals need to disclose whether they have been granted migration benefits, such as honorary citizenship or permanent residency, by foreign governments.
Designated politically significant persons need to disclose only political donations and foreign affiliations. If there is a higher risk of foreign interference, they can be subjected to the same requirements faced by defined politically significant persons.
Q: Can a person or organisation challenge their designation as a politically significant person?
They can appeal to the Minister for Home Affairs, who may consult an advisory committee when he hears appeals regarding designations and directives.
Q: Why is NTUC being designated as a politically significant person?
MHA said this is a pre-emptive measure to mitigate any potential risk of foreign interference in future, based on the Registrar of Foreign and Political Disclosures’ assessment of NTUC’s involvement in Singapore’s politics.
“It is not because NTUC has been compromised by a foreign actor, or has committed any wrongdoing nor anything of concern,” MHA added.
Singapore Management University law don and former Nominated MP Eugene Tan said that given the longstanding symbiotic relationship between NTUC and the PAP, this intended designation is a proper and needed application of the law to prevent, detect and disrupt foreign interference in Singapore’s domestic politics.
He noted that a significant part of NTUC’s activities is directed towards a political end, such as the issues of workers’ rights, interests and well-being and industrial relations.
Q: Why is NTUC being designated only at the federation level?
MHA said the other NTUC-linked entities have much less or no nexus to Singapore politics, and it is not in the public interest to designate them.
The ministry added that the designation will not include NTUC’s affiliated unions, affiliated associations or social enterprises, which are separate legal entities from NTUC.
It will also not include NTUC’s personnel, such as its central committee members and employees, although some NTUC committee members or appointment holders may already be politically significant persons, MHA said, citing those who are Members of Parliament.
Q: Will this affect NTUC’s relationship with the PAP or its reputation?
MHA said being designated will not affect NTUC’s activities and its core work as a labour movement.
Upon designation, NTUC will simply be subjected to transparency requirements – to disclose its reportable political donations and foreign affiliations. There are no prohibitions or restrictions on NTUC’s activities.
Q: Does it mean an organisation with close links to a political party will be designated a politically significant person?
Two conditions must be met for an entity to be designated as a politically significant person, MHA said. First, the entity’s activities are directed in part towards a political end in Singapore. Second, it is deemed to be in the public interest that countermeasures under Fica be applied in relation to the entity.
Associate Professor (Practice) Terence Ho from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore said NTUC appears to be in a class of its own in terms of its political influence and membership reach.
“It is prudent that an entity with considerable political influence and reach should be subject to pre-emptive measures against foreign interference,” he said, noting that the extent of an entity’s political influence would determine whether it is in the public interest to designate it.
Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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