Jakarta. The Singaporean Embassy in Jakarta recently denied claims of Ex-Vice Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal’s visit to the ambassador’s residence amid negative online sentiments against the city-state.

Dino had previously tried to counter claims that Singapore was behind index provider MSCI’s proposed downgrade that had caused Indonesian stocks to plunge. Multiple Instagram posts alleging that he had visited Singaporean Ambassador Kwok Fook Seng’s Jakarta residence popped up, while others accused him of conspiring with the city-state. Saiful Mujani — an analyst whose surveys expose plummeting approval ratings — was allegedly present during the Oct. 18 visit, according to those posts.

The Singaporean Embassy slammed these statements as “false”.

“No such visit took place. This is clearly disinformation,” the embassy wrote in a statement over the weekend.

The embassy is planning to work with the Indonesian Communications Ministry to address the issue.

Dino denounced the posts as being “100% fictional and fabricated”, saying that he was in Perth during the time of the alleged visit. He denied ever meeting Saiful in person. He also seeks to bring the matter to Communications Minister Meutya Hafid’s attention.

“While one might think this is purely a grassroots effort — well, it’s not; this is a coordinated, organized action with backing, because there’s no way they would do this just for the fun of it,” Dino said.

MSCI is mulling expelling Jakarta from the “emerging market” group and club it with other “standalone” markets like Zimbabwe. Jakarta's benchmark stocks dropped 11.6% on the day of the announcement.

Anti-Singapore sentiment has been growing in Indonesian social media from that day forward, notably by Former Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi. He had accused Singapore of plotting to drive down Indonesian stock prices via an MSCI downgrade. Lutfi alleged involvement by Singapore’s investment vehicle Temasek and sovereign fund GIC.

Dino posted a video dismissing the accusations shortly after, citing the proven bilateral ties and how any turmoil in Indonesia can deal a blow to the close neighbor — a post that led to online attacks.

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