Kokila Annamalai, the first activist in Singapore to defy its ‘stifling’ online speech laws

Kokila Annamalai, a prominent Singaporean activist, has spent years supporting death row inmates and their families as they fight to avoid execution. So, when she was ordered by the government to share a “correction” on social media that countered criticisms she had made of Singapore’s laws, and accused death row inmates of “abusing” the justice system, she felt compelled to take a stand.

“Death row prisoners are one of the most voiceless and powerless people in our society, and the courts are such a powerful institution,” she says.

The government “correction” notice had said some death row inmates “abuse the court process by filing last-minute applications to stymie their scheduled execution”.

“I feel a very deep sense of injustice and pain about how something that should be their right is [being] described as an abuse,” says Annamalai. “Obviously, it is their impulse to try everything in their power… to try and save their life, and fight for what they think is just.”

The 36-year-old has refused to share the correction, and is believed to be the first person within Singapore to defy its online misinformation law – a stance the risks jail time.

Annamalai hopes that by doing so she can “hold the line” and show others they do not need “to be cowed by the system”.

‘They’re afraid’

Annamalai has faced multiple police investigations, and even a criminal charge, for taking part in peaceful protests over the years. Her group, Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), has been blocked by the authorities from holding an exhibition on its key campaign issue, the death penalty. The issue is so taboo that very little space is granted to their voices in mainstream media. Even booking a venue for campaign events is challenging.

Social media is one of the few platforms where it is possible to share critical opinions, she says, adding that this has made her all the more determined to defy the government’s order, which was issued under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma).

Annamalai believes the government has adopted various new laws to restrict online civic rights. “They’re very afraid of the amount of critical discussion and dissent in the online space. And that’s not something that their previous laws have been designed to police sufficiently.”

She has now been referred to the Pofma office for investigation. She could face a fine of up to $20,000 (£15,400) and 12 months imprisonment.

Kate Schuetze, deputy regional director for research at Amnesty International, said Pofma orders were “nothing but a desperate measure to stifle peaceful freedom of expression and criticism of the authorities”.

Growing a ‘culture of dissent’

Annamalai has been invovled in activism since university and says she has witnessed a change in public attitudes to civic rights. In the past, “the overwhelming public response to acts of protest was contempt,” she said. “You’d get a lot of hate comments, a lot of attacks – ‘where do you think you are? You should move to the west if you want to import all these western liberal ideas.”

Today, the public attitudes are shifting, she says.

“The government’s position has always been that Singaporeans are not invested in civil liberties – that they understand that they have to trade them off for public order and safety, and in return, [the government] gives them a good life, a comfortable society to live in,” said Annamalai.

That deal has been undermined, Annamalai says. “Inequality is on the rise, the cost of living is high, people can’t afford housing,” she said. “People are struggling.”

This shift in the social contract is part of what makes her defiance of the Pofma Act so crucial, she says, to support a change whereby society is “starting to practise and explore, [and] starting to grow in its culture of dissent”.

The Facebook post that drew a government Pofma order had been about the execution of Azwan bin Bohari, who was hanged in October after being found guilty of possession of 26.5 grams of diamorphine for the purpose of trafficking.

The government accused Annamalai of suggesting that it “schedules and stays executions arbitrarily and without regard for due legal process”.

Annamalai denies this, and says her post instead focused on how bureaucratic decisions are confusing and traumatising for families.

The government also ordered a correction to another aspect of her social media post, saying she had written that in cases involving alleged drug trafficking, the state does not face the “legal burden” of proving the accused is guilty. Annamalai says she was drawing attention to how Singapore’s laws allow for a presumption that a person is trafficking drugs based on the amount they are carrying. She says this puts the burden on the accused person to refute this – which she feels shifts part of the burden of proof and is unfair, especially when a conviction can lead to the death penalty.

Responding to criticism of the Pofma act, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the government “does not target individuals or organisations for speaking out against the death penalty”, adding: “But where false statements are made about government policy which is a matter of significant public interest, then it is important that readers are made aware that what they may be reading is considered false by the government.”

The ministry claimed that Annamalai’s “intent is to undermine public confidence in public institutions, in particular the criminal justice system”, adding “where she does so based on falsehoods, the government is entitled to a right of response”.

The order regarding her social media post, it added, does not “prevent her from sharing her views. It simply requires her to carry a correction notice alongside her original post”.

It is possible to appeal against Pofma orders. However, Annamalai has not done so because she would still be required to comply and post a “correction” notice.

Prisoners ‘dehumanised’

Research from 2018 suggests that the death penalty is supported by the overwhelming majority of Singaporeans. However, over recent years, a growing number of people have voiced support for abolition of capital punishment.

In 2022, rare protests calling for an end to executions drew more than 400 people . “For a long time people on death row were kept very dehumanised to the public. The only kind of narrative [the public] would get is that they’re these terrifying criminals who are ruining our society, making everyone unsafe, and putting children at risk,” said Annamalai.

Efforts to share the stories of those on death row online have underlined how many are from minority or migrant communities, and marginalised backgrounds.

“That makes people a lot more uncomfortable with the death penalty,” she says.