“Singapore’s domestic affairs should be debated and decided by Singaporeans, within Singapore,” the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) said in a statement today.

“Politics should stop at the water’s edge.”

Pritam Singh, who leads the largest opposition Workers’ Party, spoke on a political podcast hosted by former Malaysian health minister Khairy Jamaluddin and uploaded on June 24.

In the podcast, Pritam said he doesn’t want to be prime minister, though his party should one day be a viable alternative to the ruling PAP.

The PAP’s criticism of the interview comes after Singapore’s political leaders warned in the lead up to the May 3 election that foreign actors, including a political party in Malaysia, had tried to influence the outcome of the vote.

“PAP leaders routinely give interviews and share their views on domestic matters to foreign media outlets,” the Workers’ Party said in a statement.

The ruling party is “opposing for the sake of opposing”.

At a rally before the election, Pritam said his team rejects any involvement of foreign elements in domestic politics, declaring that “Singapore is our business – nobody else’s”.

Singapore was expelled from a union with Malaysia in 1965 following deep political and economic differences as well as racial unrest.

Since then, both nations have refrained from commenting on each other’s politics and from using each other’s media to influence public opinion, the PAP said.