SINGAPORE: An Australian Christian cleric has been turned away from Singapore after arriving at Changi Airport on Monday, Home Office officials confirmed to Bikyamasr.com. James Blundell Minchin was deported from Singapore on Monday after attempting to enter the country, the Home Office confirmed in a statement later on Monday. The move is likely to heighten tensions with Australia and the Christian population in Singapore who have been faced with ongoing corruption allegations at the city-state's largest church, the City Harvest Church. Sources in the Home Office told Bikyamasr.com that Minchin's barring from entering Singapore was not related to the City Harvest scandal. The MHA said, Minchin had “abused the social visit pass privileges previously extended to him while he was in Singapore by interfering in our domestic politics and mixing religion with politics.” In August last year, the cleric had spoken at a forum where he “alleged that the rule of law was bypassed and corrupted in Singapore, and questioned the independence and integrity of the judiciary.” That forum was organized by civil society group Function 8. The MHA also referred to a recent visit to Singapore during which Minchin gave a “political interview in his capacity as a clergyman.” The interview had been for a Singapore Democratic Party talk show. In its statement, the MHA added that “the separation of religion and politics is a long established principle in Singapore, to safeguard the inter-religious and social harmony in our multi-religious society. This principle is applied evenly and foreigners are not exempt.” Singapore's regulations require all foreigners involved in activities directly related to “any seminar, conference, workshop, gathering or talk concerning any religion, race or community, cause or political end” to hold a Miscellaneous Work Pass. Minchin is the author of No Man is an Island, a 1986 book that attempted to psycho-analyze former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, and the two recent visits were not the first he has made to Singapore. Singapore does not appreciate criticism from foreigners over its domestic policies, which officials said was largely the reason for not allowing Minchin into the country, despite his previous visits.
