Questions surround the arrest of pro-Palestine Singaporean lawyer deported by Malaysia

Malaysia’s decision to hand over a Singapore lawyer and opposition politician wanted in the island state for failing to surrender to authorities to begin serving a jail sentence is not only seen as the latest in a series of actions against vocal lawyers, but also comes amid a silent crackdown on critics of Israel, with which it has close diplomatic and military ties.

Malaysian police arrested Lim Tean in Johor last week, and days later he was swiftly deported to Singapore over a conviction for practising law without a valid certificate, a charge not uncommon for the PAP regime to throw at its critics.

Lim was accused of appearing for his clients on 32 occasions in 2021 without a valid certificate, and was convicted in July 2024. Last year, he was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment and a S$1,000 fine before the jail term was doubled to three months and one week.

On Aug 3, Singapore police issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to surrender himself to begin the jail term. He was subsequently arrested in Johor.

Lim is a vocal critic of the Singapore regime, which for decades has shown little tolerance through a systematic criminalisation of dissent, with critics being charged under various laws, such as the notorious Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma). At other times, government leaders have wantonly sued opposition politicians for libel, some of whom ended up bankrupt and disqualified from their parliamentary seats.

In recent months, the 61-year-old has been a vocal critic of Israel and its genocidal war in Gaza, and  frequently posts his analyses of current affairs to debunk Western narratives dished out by the Singapore media.

Just last month, Lim praised Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for standing his ground against threats from US congressmen after Malaysian authorities took action against Network School, a so-called tech retreat in Johor founded by pro-Zionist American entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan.

“This is what I call the Legitimacy Principle in action – a government’s strength isn’t measured by how much force it can project, but by whether its people, and the wider world, believe it’s doing the right thing,” wrote Lim.

Lim’s take on the current conflict in the Middle East also clashes with Singapore government leaders’ tacit support for the US–Israel war against Iran.

In June, he offered historical context to the West’s conflict with Iran over the decades, and spoke out against those who peddle narratives to vilify the Islamic republic.

“Across my social media platforms, I encounter daily a particular brand of ignorance that I find increasingly impossible to ignore. Iran is dismissed as a crazy country ruled by medieval mullahs, its people caricatured as fanatics who chant ‘Death to America’ for no coherent reason. And from that caricature flows a conclusion that should horrify any person of conscience – that it is therefore perfectly justifiable for America, Israel, or any other country to bomb Iran, kill its people, and destroy its infrastructure,” he wrote.

Singapore leaders have made no secret of where they stand in the war against Iran.

In April, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan was accused of hypocrisy over comments criticising Iran’s decision to impose limits on the Strait of Hormuz as a violation of international law.

Meanwhile, authorities have also charged and fined people for protesting against Israel, and curbed any expression of sympathy for Palestinians.

This was seen again when British band Massive Attack was banned from ever performing in Singapore after its members unfurled a Palestinian flag during a concert on July 29.

Singapore’s position on conflicts involving Israel has revived an old theory that the city-state’s existential threat is identical to that of the Zionist state, both aligned with the US and situated among large Muslim populations.

Sandwiched between its giant neighbours Indonesia and Malaysia, both with majority Muslim populations vocally opposed to Israel, Singapore is one of the few countries with close military and diplomatic ties to Israel. Between 2018 and 2022, Singapore imported arms worth a total of US$73 million from Israel.

Singapore is also modelled on Israel’s security and defence system, including mandatory military training for its citizens.

Meanwhile, as Lim becomes the latest lawyer to be jailed, government cybertroopers have been actively pushing back against critics who defend him.

One such critic is Foong Swee Fong, who said there is more to Lim’s conviction surrounding his practising certificate.

“The way he has been treated is as if he has committed the supreme crime, that of betraying the State and therefore all Singaporeans. The fact is that he stood up for those who disagreed with the government and was crushed,” wrote Foong.

“Can the government not find it within themselves to respect those who disagree with them, instead of shutting them up, sidelining them or crushing them?”