Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Calvin Cheng has cancelled a planned Hari Raya fundraising initiative following widespread backlash from the Muslim community and announced that the donations collected will instead be directed to a national charitable cause.
In a Facebook post on Thursday evening, 3 April, Cheng wrote:
“I have decided that it’s in the interest of all to re-direct the donation to a national cause.
In celebration of SG60, Community Chest has launched SGSHARE.
The funds will be matched 1 to 1 and 100% of proceeds will go towards empowering communities in need.”
The redirection followed earlier controversy after Cheng revealed on 30 March that he had raised nearly S$200,000 from a group of wealthy new citizens, primarily from China, to support Hari Raya celebrations and social cohesion initiatives at Our Tampines Hub.
He framed the initiative as part of efforts to promote multiracial harmony, particularly among new citizens unfamiliar with Singapore’s social compact.
“After talking to some of our Malay Muslim leaders, I started an initiative that would raise money from wealthy new citizens that would further multi-racial and religious cohesion in Singapore,” he wrote.
An email shared by Cheng on 30 March in a Facebook post appears to confirm that he was officially invited to a donor appreciation ceremony at Our Tampines Hub, scheduled for 20 April 2025.
The message, sent on behalf of Minister Masagos Zulkifli and Mayor Desmond Choo, thanked Cheng for his “kind link-up of donors towards SG60 Tampines Cares” and invited him to attend a presentation of appreciation during the venue’s re-opening.
However, the effort was met with widespread online criticism.
Many members of the Muslim community saw the gesture as insincere or an attempt at public relations recovery following Cheng’s controversial 13 March Facebook post, in which he sarcastically offered to sponsor activists to Gaza on the condition that they not return.
That post sparked significant backlash and led to a police report by former opposition politician Jufrie Mahmood, who accused Cheng of making Islamophobic remarks and inciting disharmony.
Cheng has denied the allegations and has initiated legal action against multiple parties for alleged defamation.
Critics online rejected the Hari Raya initiative as tone-deaf. Some accused Cheng of attempting to “buy back” goodwill without taking accountability.
Other commenters said the gesture lacked sincerity and demanded a genuine apology.
One user wrote, “You are in no position to talk about social cohesion. Your post is utterly pathetic.” Another added, “There are things money can never buy — dignity, loyalty and honour.”
One Facebook commenter wrote, “We don’t want your money! We don’t feel safe with you,” while another said, “This is the ultimate insult… rubbing salt into our wound.”
Mohammad Farehan, chair of Singa Legends, responded to concerns about national athletes appearing in the promotional material.
He confirmed that the group would not participate “if [Cheng] is involved in the organisation of the event.”
When pressed for an apology by others, Cheng declined, writing:
“ apologise for what may I know ? Have u been reading too much internet misinformation ?”
He maintained that his original remarks were directed only at “a specific group of rude and disruptive activists” and were not aimed at Muslims.
“There is no genocide,” he added, attributing blame to Hamas for the crisis in Gaza.
At least 1,163 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed large-scale strikes on 18 March.
According to the Health Ministry, this figure includes 97 people killed in the past 24 hours, along with three additional bodies recovered from earlier strikes.
The ministry also reported that the overall death toll has reached 50,523 since the war began on 7 October 2023.
Donation redirected
Four days after Cheng announced his donation to the Tampines Care Fund, Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs and MP for Tampines GRC, Masagos Zulkifli, clarified in a Facebook post that while he appreciated Cheng’s efforts to raise funds in his personal capacity, he disagreed with Cheng’s views on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In the post, Masagos, who is also Minister for Social and Family Development, affirmed his own position — that the killing of innocent civilians must stop — and highlighted Singaporeans’ shared values of justice and mutual respect.
He added that the Tampines SG60 Cares initiative would continue with other donors, and he acknowledged Cheng’s decision to redirect the funds elsewhere.
On Thursday, PlanB reported that Our Tampines Hub had not promoted or officially announced the event on its social media platforms at the time Cheng made his initial announcement, contributing to public scepticism.
Aside from Masagos, other Members of Parliament from the People’s Action Party (PAP) have also distanced themselves from Cheng’s 13 March post.
Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam stated during a 2 April media interview that he had “very different views from Mr Cheng on Israel-Palestine.” He reiterated his previous position that “Israel’s actions are illegal and oppressive to Palestinians.”
Separately, Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan publicly denied supporting Cheng’s original post after criticism over a visible “like” from his Facebook account.
In a statement published in the early hours of 2 April 2025, Dr Balakrishnan wrote:
“I did not ‘like’ the post by Calvin Cheng on 13 March 2025. I do not share those views. I have since taken measures to enhance account security.”
Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How also clarified that he had “accidentally” liked the post and did not endorse Cheng’s comments. He confirmed that the like has since been removed.
Dr Lim Wee Kiat was also reportedly among those who had engaged with the post and later removed it, though he has not publicly responded to media queries from Wake Up Singapore or The Online Citizen.
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