MOM Statement on the Issuance Of Correction Directions Under the Protection From Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Against the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)

Introduction

1. Three Correction Directions (CD) have been issued to a sponsored Facebook post by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) published on 2 December 2019, a post on the SDP Facebook page on 30 November 2019, and an article on the SDP website on 8 June 2019. The CDs will require SDP to carry a correction notice stating that its sponsored Facebook post, the post on its Facebook page, as well as the article on its website, contain a misleading graphic and false statement of facts.
   
   Corrections and clarifications regarding falsehoods posted by SDP
2. On 2 December 2019, SDP published a sponsored Facebook post, which contains a graphical illustration depicting plunging local PMET employment.
3. This is wrong. As reported in the Ministry of Manpower’s Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, local PMETs employment has risen steadily since 2015.
4. The sponsored Facebook post, as well as the post on SDP’s Facebook page, contains links to an article on the SDP’s website titled, “SDP Population Policy: Hire S’poreans First, Retrench S’poreans last”. The article contains the statement: “The SDP’s proposal comes amidst a rising proportion of Singaporean PMETs getting retrenched”.
5. This statement is also wrong. There is no rising trend of local PMET retrenchments. The number of local PMETs retrenched in 2018 was, in fact, the lowest since 2014. Local PMETs retrenched as a proportion of all local PMET employees, has also declined since 2015.
   
   SDP’s statements seek to mislead Singaporeans
6. The Singapore economy is continuing to create jobs despite the economic headwinds. Local PMET employment has increased consistently. There is no rising trend of retrenchment, whether amongst PMETs or otherwise.
7. Given the current uncertain economic climate, it is understandable that some Singaporeans feel anxious about employment prospects and retrenchments. This makes it all the more critical that public debate on the important issue of jobs is based on accurate facts, and not distortions or falsehoods.
8. These false and misleading statements by the SDP have a singular objective – to stoke fear and anxiety among local PMETs. It is important to set the facts straight so that Singaporeans are not misled.
   
   For more information
9. For details on the corrections and clarifications regarding the misleading graphic and false statements of facts posted by SDP, please refer to https://www.gov.sg/factually/content/corrections-on-falsehoods-posted-by-SDP.