DELAY the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill to hold public consultations and have checks in place to ensure accountability. These were the main thrust of objections raised by Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh and Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai in Parliament on Monday.

"Exceptional executive power requires robust judicial oversight to ensure accountability," said Workers' Party's Mr Singh.

In particular, he took issue with Clause 99 in which one of the sub-clauses stated that "the rules may also enable or require a reviewing tribunal to hear or consider any proceedings or appeal without the appellant bringing the appeal having been given full particulars of the reasons for any conduct which is the subject of the proceeding or appeal".

"(This) appears to go so far as to completely displace natural justice from the oversight process," he said.

"The Workers' Party (WP) rejects such an appeal mechanism. We propose an amendment to Clause 104 to allow first for an appeal to the minister, and thereafter to the High Court with full judicial scrutiny. Of course, there is a provision for a private hearing where national security is at risk," he said.

If it becomes law, the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica) will chiefly address foreign interference via electronic communications. It grants the Minister for Home Affairs powers to issue directions compelling Internet platforms to block accounts and to require "politically significant persons" to declare foreign affiliations, among others.

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Mr Singh also gave a quick overview of the 44 amendments proposed by the WP which he broke down into four main areas - accountability, fairness, transparency and effectiveness.

On the topic of fairness, Mr Singh said the law must more precisely scope the extent of executive powers to minimise the prospect of abuse of power.

"Phrases such as 'is likely to' and 'where the minister suspects' create low thresholds of proof that could be unfairly used against entities and individuals if power is in the wrong hands," he said.

Mr Singh also questioned why non-legislative measures were not considered to combat foreign interference.

"This bill is the final instalment in a series of legislative changes that arose out of the work of the Select Committee on deliberate online falsehoods. It was to be expected from the committee's report that legislation would be used to address the problems identified. What is more difficult to grasp is the comparative lack of public knowledge on the non-legislative levers to address foreign interference," he said.

He further noted that while the select committee offered "a number of" non-legislative measures, the government's response "appears to have been focused on Pofma and now, Fica."

The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) was passed in Parliament on May 8, 2019.

"Non-legislative responses that promote a more participatory and educated citizenry would inoculate the population in a whole-of-society way far better against foreign interference. This is an area I believe the government needs to look into in a deliberate fashion across all levels of society," said Mr Singh.

PSP's Mr Leong meanwhile said his party "cannot support Fica because of the insufficient evaluation by both parliamentarians and members of the public" of the Bill's far-reaching implications.

He further noted that such an important Bill should not be rushed through Parliament. He cited the Copyright Bill which had a two-month long consultation and the Pofma Bill, for which the government had consulted the public and held eight days of Select Committee hearings.

He further argued that countering foreign interference is an ongoing task and that sufficient resources have been deployed to help tackle it.

"Between the ISA (Internal Security Act), NPPA (Newspaper and Printing Presses Act), Broadcasting Act and Pofma, this government already has extensive powers to deal with any Internet security threat, manage public opinion, and prevent the spread of false information online," he said. "Is there a need to give this government further powers to deal with foreign interference at the expense of our citizens constitutional rights?"

He added: "PSP calls upon the government to delay the passing of the bill, hold public consultation, and appoint a Select Committee to scrutinise the bill closely."