‘Clearly disinformation’: Singapore embassy denies claims Indonesian public figures met ambassador

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Embassy in Jakarta on Sunday (Oct 25) rejected as disinformation claims that two prominent Indonesian figures met its ambassador, amid heightened online commentary over Indonesia-Singapore relations in recent weeks.

Social media posts had alleged that former deputy foreign minister Dino Patti Djalal and political science professor Saiful Mujani - described in the posts as anti-government figures - met Singapore ambassador Kwok Fook Seng at his residence on Oct 18.

The claims emerged after Dino publicly defended Singapore against allegations that it was conspiring against Indonesia’s interests, including its stock market.

“The Embassy is aware of social media posts containing false statements claiming that Professor Saiful Mujani and Dr Dino Patti Djalal had visited the residence of the Ambassador of Singapore to Indonesia on 18 October 2026,” it said in a statement.

“No such visit took place.”

The embassy described the claims as “clearly disinformation” and said it would work with Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs to address the issue. 

Both Saiful and Dino have also denied the allegations. 

Saiful is a professor of political science at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University and founder of Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting. 

Dino was Indonesia's deputy minister for foreign affairs in 2014 and has also served as ambassador to the United States. He currently heads the think tank Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia. 

According to Indonesian news outlet Kompas, the allegations surfaced after a video purportedly showing the entrance of the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta circulated on social media, accompanied by claims that the two men had met Kwok. 

Indonesia’s ruling party Gerindra has also said it was looking into the allegations and the accuracy of the information circulating online.

“The Gerindra Party has been monitoring information that has recently circulated on social media regarding an alleged meeting of anti-government figures with the Singapore Ambassador to Indonesia,” said Bambang Haryadi, secretary of the party’s faction in the House of Representatives, in a statement quoted by state news agency Antara. 

Dino described the allegations as “fabricated” and said he would raise the matter with the Indonesia’s Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid.

"The post began circulating after I made a statement about Indonesia-Singapore relations. Since many people have asked me about this, I want to clarify that the story is 100 per cent fictitious, totally fabricated,” he said in a video posted on Instagram on Sunday. 

Dino said he had been in Perth, Australia on Oct 18 to speak at a climate change event and only returned to Indonesia on the evening of Oct 20. 

He said he knew Kwok, who has been Singapore’s ambassador to Indonesia since 2022, but had never visited his residence in Jakarta.

Saiful separately said he had never met or spoken to either Dino or Kwok.

“I have never spoken to Mr Dino Patti Djalal, either directly or indirectly, let alone met him. I have also never spoken to the Singapore ambassador to Indonesia, much less met him in person anywhere,” Saiful told Metro TV.

“I am very surprised that the lie claiming I met both of them has gone viral,” he added. 

The allegations come amid remarks by current and former Indonesian political figures involving neighbouring countries, including Singapore and Malaysia, as transboundary haze from forest and land fires affected the region. 

Dino in a video last week described Singapore as a country with “goodwill, trust and a proven track record of cooperation with Indonesia”.

His comments followed allegations by former Indonesian trade minister Muhammad Lutfi that Singapore state investors Temasek and GIC had sought to pressure global index provider MSCI into downgrading Indonesia’s stock market.

Without naming Lufti, Dino said that any claim that Singapore was conspiring against Indonesia’s equity market “doesn’t make sense”, pointing to Singapore’s substantial investments in Indonesia and assistance during crises including natural disasters and COVID-19. 

“Singapore has a vital interest in Indonesia’s political and economic stability because it is one of the countries most affected whenever political and economic turmoil occurs in our country," Dino said.