Build up trust to enhance security, say participants at SGFuture forum

SINGAPORE — Concerns about a lack of trust between citizens and misconceptions about terror — like assuming terrorists are usually foreigners — as well as a desire to reach out to people outside of their own races and cultures, were issues cited by participants of a closed-door engagement session on the future of Singapore’s security yesterday.

The session, organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, was part of the ongoing SGFuture engagement series.

Participants included members of the public, volunteers from the Home Team network, as well as full-time National Servicemen (NSFs).

One of them was freelance trainer Leo Kwang Lian, 52, who said that Singaporeans needed to take ownership of the safety and security of their neighbourhoods by finding opportunities to interact and build the trust between their neighbours.

“You must be able to trust that whoever is in your neighbourhood...They may look different from me, they may have very different languages, they may look outwardly different.

“But because I know them, I understand them, I know that...they are all Singaporeans like me,” she added.

Another participant, medical sales professional Mabel Loh, 39, felt that Singaporeans had the tendency to think that the threat of terrorism comes from foreigners.

“But what if one day, (it is) a fellow Singaporean and we fail to detect it?” said Ms Loh, speaking after the session last night.

During the session, she and her fellow group members offered suggestions on how to raise awareness of terrorist-related threats, such as by incorporating such topics into the school curriculum.

Giving a wrap-up of the session yesterday, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Lee said what struck him was that participants saw the safety and security of Singapore as essential elements to the country’s future success.

While some participants suggested more surveillance cameras or tapping technology to enhance security, the “vast majority of suggestions” revolved around the “basic building blocks of our social fabric”, such as multiculturalism in Singapore, said Mr Lee.

“They wanted a higher breakthrough, they wanted to bring multiculturalism to the next level. They talked about very basic things like wanting to celebrate the festivals of the neighbours of a different ethnic group, wanting to reach out,” he said.

He added: “The message from these two sessions is that we as Singaporeans want to play a bigger part in keeping our society, our country, our family and all of us safe, secure and strong.” Siau Ming En