Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Social resilience crucial in keeping S’pore secure

Singapore was rocked this month by two separate announcements of persons detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for being radicalised and aspiring to travel to the Middle East to join the Islamic State in armed conflict.

Airport security patrolling Changi Airport. The job of safeguarding the nation’s security cannot be left to the armed services alone but must involve all Singaporeans.  TODAY file photo

Airport security patrolling Changi Airport. The job of safeguarding the nation’s security cannot be left to the armed services alone but must involve all Singaporeans. TODAY file photo

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp
Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

Singapore was rocked this month by two separate announcements of persons detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for being radicalised and aspiring to travel to the Middle East to join the Islamic State in armed conflict.

What made them particularly shocking were the fact that one — Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari — was a young mother who became the first female to be detained under ISA for subscribing to violent extremist ideology, while the other cases were two men who became the first uniformed officers arrested for terrorism-related offences.

The first officer is Khairul Mohamed, 24, who was preparing to travel to Syria to undertake armed resistance. He wanted to fight alongside the Sunnis against the Shias.

The second officer is Rizal Wahid, 36, who was detained because he knew about Khairul’s intentions and extreme religious orientation but kept silent and did not report him to the authorities. Both were auxiliary police officers with security firm Aetos.

Khairul’s case is similar to Izzah’s, in a way, because had their close friends or family members reported them to the authorities earlier, they could have received proper guidance from religious authorities here.

Instead, those within Izzah’s and Khairul’s circles kept silent. Several ministers have since stressed the need for Singaporeans to report their family members or friends that they suspect of becoming radical.

A bigger concern about the case of Khairul and Rizal is how their irresponsible behaviour could undermine the painstaking gains made by the Malay/Muslim community over the years in developing trust from other communities, particularly in the area of national defence and security.

Questions have long been asked of conflicting loyalty among the Malay/ Muslim community when it comes to defending Singapore against Muslim-majority countries, particularly in the tumultuous post-independence years.

But since the 1980s, with better integration of the Malay/Muslim community into Singapore society, and a higher level of ease and trust among Singaporeans of the different races and religions, the country has made significant progress in deploying Malay national servicemen to more combat posts across various services in the Singapore Armed Forces.

These are hard-won gains not only by the Malay/Muslim community, but by Singapore society at large, with Singaporeans of all races and religions now serving alongside one another to defend the nation. That in itself has helped to foster greater understanding among the various communities.

Yet the foolish and dangerous actions of Khairul and Rizal risk undermining this progress and planting new doubts about conflicting loyalties among Malay/Muslims, particularly those in uniformed service.

Parliamentary Secretary (Home Affairs and Health) Amrin Amin alluded to this when he condemned the actions of Khairul and Rizal as a disgrace to the uniformed services.

“I worry that Khairul’s and Rizal’s conduct may undermine scores of Muslim officers who love this country, and served and continue to serve our Singapore with loyalty and courage,” Mr Amrin wrote on Facebook last week. “The corrosive potential of Khairul’s and Rizal’s conduct has to be checked. We are a great country because of the strong trust and belief we have in one another regardless of race, language or religion.”

As Mr Amrin and numerous other political office holders rightly pointed out, in times like these, Singaporeans have to take particular care to guard against Islamophobia.

If not, we could easily slide back to a situation such as the 1960s, when Singapore witnessed bloody racial riots and mistrust among the different ethnic communities.

On the one hand, non-Malays could once again doubt the loyalty of the Malays, and on the other hand, the Malays may feel they are being marginalised for being left out of sensitive positions in the country’s uniformed services.

How do Singaporeans prevent any trust deficit towards the Muslim community?

First, the Muslim community should continue with their efforts to engage people of other faiths. For instance, during the month of Ramadan, in which Muslims carry out the fast, the community invited non-Muslims to join them in iftar (breaking of fast) sessions.

Muslim religious leaders have been active in fostering good relations with other faith groups through dialogues, to develop trust among different communities. They should continue these efforts.

Muslim leaders should also educate their congregants about Islamic history, and be mindful of those who harbour negative views about secularism, especially those who argue that secularism is the antithesis of the Islamic way of life.

Thus, religious leaders have a duty to thwart any conservative ideas, especially those demanding a separate, Islamic way of life, dichotomising the world in terms of Islamic versus secular worldviews.

They must remind their fellow Muslims of the importance of respecting the rule of law of the country they live in, and the belief that serving the country’s interests is a part of their religious obligation.

Furthermore, religious leaders must engage the youth through social media to battle radicals’ online propaganda.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, has rightly urged religious leaders to boost their online presence and make religious content more appealing.

Improving their online presence requires religious elites to understand the needs of the millennial generation: This generation is not keen on a top-down approach of religious dissemination. Religious elites must also use popular culture to be more attractive to youths.

Second, non-Muslims should refrain from knee-jerk reactions. They should not lose sight of the fact that Muslims have over the years demonstrated loyalty to the country: For example, they have served National Service diligently, and risked their lives alongside Singaporeans of other races and religions to defend the nation.

The most recent example of a Malay/Muslim who died while performing his duties is Staff Sergeant Nadrie Matin, a traffic police officer who was involved in a traffic accident while on patrol.

There are many other uniform Malay/Muslims who have died or made other sacrifices while serving their country, and Singaporeans should not be alarmed by Rizal’s and Khairul’s arrest.

As Singapore celebrates 50 years of National Service this year, all Singaporeans must reaffirm that they have a role to play in safeguarding the country’s security, and should not relying on security agencies alone.

But more importantly, national security cannot be achieved if there is social distrust towards any community — there must be social resilience.

Singaporeans must problematise the nexus between religion and radicalism; they must be clear that the behaviour of a minority does not represent the community.

They must also acknowledge the strides the Muslim community has made in maintaining Singapore’s security and multi-ethnic and secular outlook.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr Norshahril Saat is Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. He researches on Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia politics.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.