STTU Marks 75 Years as Singapore Deports Two Bangladeshis for Extremist Posts
Singapore's South Asian communities made headlines this week on two starkly different fronts: the Tamil teaching profession celebrated seven and a half decades of quiet, volunteer-driven cultural work when Prime Minister Lawrence Wong addressed the Singapore Tamil Teachers' Union gala dinner, while two Bangladeshi construction workers became the latest to feel the city-state's firm response to extremist speech online — their work permits cancelled and themselves repatriated after the Internal Security Department concluded their social media activity was incompatible with Singapore's multiracial society.
Two Bangladeshi Workers Deported Over Extremist Social Media Posts
Singapore's Internal Security Department confirmed on July 17 that the work permits of two Bangladeshi nationals — Tayani Md Risad, 25, and Islam Sahedul, 37 — had been cancelled and the men repatriated to Bangladesh following separate investigations into their social media behaviour. The pair were employed in Singapore's construction industry and were investigated independently after their extremist posts came to the attention of authorities. Risad had publicly expressed support for Shafiur Rahman Farabi, a Bangladeshi radical Islamist writer known for inciting violence against secular and atheist bloggers; Farabi is also alleged to have ties to Hizb ut-Tahrir, a fundamentalist Islamist group that Bangladesh's own government has banned. Sahedul's postings included inflammatory commentary on the Israel-Iran conflict, as well as divisive religious views that characterised Muslims who do not accept governance under Islamic law as infidels. The ISD was careful to clarify that its investigations found no indication that either man intended to carry out attacks or was connected to terrorism activities in Singapore. Nevertheless, an ISD spokeswoman said their "extremist and divisive views are inimical to Singapore's multiracial and multi-religious society." Bangladeshi news outlets reported that both men were detained and questioned by Bangladeshi authorities when they arrived home, as officials there investigated possible links to militant organisations. The case is a reminder that Singapore treats online extremist expression as a deportable offence for foreign workers even when no direct violent plot is uncovered. [2]
Tamil Teachers Union Turns 75: PM Wong Salutes Volunteers Carrying the Language Forward
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong attended the Singapore Tamil Teachers' Union 75th Anniversary Dinner on July 17, paying tribute to an organisation that predates Singapore's own independence and has since grown from a small band of dedicated teachers into a union of more than 600 members, including pre-school educators. In his speech, Wong praised the STTU for championing teacher welfare, strengthening the Tamil language profession, and advancing Tamil instruction through Singapore's most formative decades — and doing so entirely as a volunteer-run body, with full-time teachers giving their time and energy on top of regular classroom duties. The Prime Minister acknowledged the growing pressure facing Tamil in Singapore, where English increasingly dominates at home, in the workplace, and in daily interaction. For Tamil specifically, he noted, the challenge runs deeper than for other Mother Tongue languages: students may encounter fewer natural opportunities to hear, speak, or engage with Tamil outside formal school hours. Wong framed Mother Tongue languages not merely as academic subjects but as connective tissue linking Singaporeans to cultural heritage, values, and identity — making Tamil educators, in his view, far more than grammar and vocabulary instructors. They carry stories, traditions, and cultural continuity across generations. STTU president Danapal Kumar presided over the milestone celebration, which was also attended by Labour Movement representatives. The union's 75-year journey stands as one of Singapore's longest-running Tamil community institutions. [3]
Sources: [2] The Straits Times · [3] Prime Minister's Office Singapore