by Prof Sattar Bawany
The announcement by Coordinating Minister K. Shanmugam that Singapore will once again refuse to recognize Palestine as a state at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly is nothing short of disappointing and morally indefensible.
Over 140 nations across the globe, including many of our closest partners in ASEAN, have already recognized Palestine. For Singapore to stand among the very few countries refusing to do so undercuts our credibility as a principled, rules-based nation. Neutrality in the face of decades of occupation, suffering, and displacement is not neutrality—it is complicity.
Singapore has always spoken proudly of its independence, sovereignty, and the international recognition it received in 1965. That very recognition safeguarded our survival as a small nation. To now deny Palestinians the same recognition is hypocrisy of the highest order. We cannot keep hiding behind the excuse of “waiting for negotiations” when the power imbalance is so overwhelming and when negotiations themselves have been systematically undermined.
This position also damages our standing in the region. Our Muslim-majority neighbors—Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei—see Palestinian statehood not only as a political issue, but as a moral one. Singapore risks being perceived as tone-deaf, more concerned with appeasing Israel and its Western allies than showing moral leadership in support of justice and self-determination.
History will not look kindly on this stance. When the story of Palestine’s eventual independence is told, Singapore will be remembered not as a courageous advocate of justice, but as one of the few nations that lacked the conviction to stand on the right side of history.
It is time for Singapore to live up to the principles we so often preach. Recognition of Palestine is not just diplomacy—it is a test of our integrity.
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