S’pore’s social cohesion a strong defence against terror attacks

The threat of terrorism has grown with the emergence of the Islamic State (ISIS) group and lone-wolfs who can be self-radicalised over the Internet, and no one country can guarantee that it will not fall prey to an attack. Should an attack ever take place in Singapore, the country’s reservoir of goodwill and trust among all communities will help the nation rally together to reject the premises and actions of the terrorists and to support the victims and rebuild, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

But trust must never be taken granted and is something Singapore has to work on constantly, added Mr Teo, who is Coordinating Minister for National Security, in an interview with Channel News Asia last week. Below is an excerpt from the interview, in which Mr Teo also touched on non-traditional security threats such as cyberattacks and transboundary haze, as well as four key issues Singapore faces in the medium term.

Could we start by talking about Singapore’s security vulnerabilities?

The terrorism threat has become more prominent all around the world over the last two years with ISIS, which has spread its actions beyond Syria and Iraq. We have seen bombings in Bangkok, Paris and San Bernardino, though not all are ISIS-related.

From our part of the world, some 700 to 1,000 persons have gone to Syria and Iraq. They will return, and cause a major security concern for a number of years to come. There are also hundreds of people previously from the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group, who have served their sentences and are being released. Although ideologically ISIS and JI do have differences, they share a basic common platform and a tendency towards radicalism, extremism and violence.

All this has heightened the threat from terrorism to Singapore.

What sets Singapore apart from other countries in terms of countering radicalism and extremism?

I commend our Muslim community and its leadership for their commitment to promote and practise Islam in the context of our multi-racial, multi-religious society. In fact, all our communities and faiths understand, and are committed to, working together for multi-racial, multi-religious harmony. This requires mutual understanding and tolerance from all communities.

In contrast, in some European countries, Muslim communities continue to practise Islam in a way that is based on the countries that they came from, usually countries where Muslims are a majority.

The preachers ... tend to preach and practise Islam in a way that is appropriate for their original countries, and not contextualised to the countries in which they have now settled and become citizens. This creates a possible dilemma for some Muslims who may not be quite sure how to place themselves in the context of the countries they now live in, and still be observant to their faith and their beliefs, based on practices from a different context.

We also have another situation in a number of Muslim-majority countries, where Islam has now become a major part of politics, and enters into the political competition. This provides an opportunity for those who are more radical to find a platform in this competition.

In Singapore, we are fortunate that the vast majority of Muslims in Singapore and the Muslim leadership are united with all Singaporeans to fight extremism, terrorism and violence, no matter what the source is.

What are some specific things we are doing to counter extremist ideology?

The Muslim community in Singapore has taken a number of very important proactive steps to counter extremist ideology, radicalism and violence. These measures were reviewed and enhanced since about two years ago with the emergence of ISIS.

First, the Friday messages and sermons in our mosques deliver messages of peace and social harmony, and call on Singaporeans to reject extremism, radicalism and violence. This is quite different from some countries where radical preachers preach quite the opposite, putting poison into the micro-ecosystem.

Second, our Muslim religious leaders have developed a counter-ideology to refute the tenets on which ISIS bases itself. This helps to inoculate individuals, especially the young, who might be uncertain or confused by the messages which emanate from ISIS, including over the Internet. Our religious leaders also use such counter-ideology to help bring those who have been radicalised back to the correct path.

Third, we found ways for Singaporeans to help the refugees in Syria and Iraq. It was not just the Muslim community, but also non-Muslim groups in Singapore, who wanted to contribute. This shows that we are united in a common humanity, and united in wanting to live in peace and harmony together in a multi-racial, multi-religious society in Singapore.

Are the social bonds between our races and religions robust enough to bounce back from an attack, and perhaps become a stronger society, should it happen?

Since independence, we have invested a lot to build up trust between communities, community leaders and individuals. But trust is a very fragile thing, which we must never take for granted. It is something which we have to work on all the time, every day.

The target of terrorists is actually our social cohesion. In Singapore, we have a better chance than most countries to withstand an attack, because we have a great reservoir of goodwill and trust among all communities in Singapore. This will help us to draw together in the event of an attack, rejecting the premises and actions of those who carried out the attack, and rallying together to support the victims and to rebuild.

What are some of the new vulnerabilities that we face? What more can we do to guard against these?

Self-radicalisation is a new vulnerability. Today, there are very persuasive speakers on the Internet. ISIS has videos in Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Melayu, to recruit and influence people from our part of the world. There is a unit in Syria and Iraq today, called the Katibah Nusantara, which consists of people from our region.

Unlike 15 years ago, a person, particularly a young person, can become drawn in, mesmerised and influenced by these radical websites, without being part of a physical group. And lone wolves or clean skins (people who have not been detected before) can suddenly carry out an attack.

The community has an important role to play here. Friends and families who see people around them behave in a different way than before, and who may be going down this radical path, can help by raising the alert early — whether to a religious teacher, the Religious Rehabilitation Group, or the police or Internal Security Department.

Through our rehabilitation programmes, we can work with the families and friends to save these people from harming themselves or others, and bring them back on the right path.

We also have to make sure that our borders are secure. We cooperate with other countries to exchange names of persons who have been radicalised and pose a danger. We exchange intelligence on potential threats, and make sure that people who come into Singapore are properly checked to the extent possible.

But no country is able to protect everything. Security agencies and officers cannot be everywhere, all the time. And we can’t lock down everything. No country can give a 100 per cent guarantee that there will be no attack. And anybody that gives such a guarantee is telling a lie. So, we also depend on Singaporeans to be vigilant, report suspicious activity and to have the resilience to rally together, if such an attack were to occur.

Beyond traditional national security threats, what risks and trends could pose a threat to Singapore’s security; for example, national disasters or transboundary environmental issues? Is greater bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation needed to deal with such threats?

Another growing new threat which most countries face today is cybersecurity. The threat has become more serious also because we are much more dependent on the Internet and cyberconnectivity, whether for trade, banking or other activities.

In April 2015, we established the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) under the Prime Minister’s Office, overseen by the Minister for Communications and Information, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim. The CSA will take a preventive approach to cyber security, and work with different sectors in Singapore, for example banks, water, energy, telecommunications, government, to enhance cyberresilience. We want to build in cybersecurity considerations beforehand, by design, as best as we can, as we develop Smart Nation initiatives. The CSA will also have the ability to deal with cybersecurity attacks.

Cybersecurity inherently requires international cooperation because attacks are usually mounted or routed through servers and paths that pass through many countries.

The Interpol Global Complex for Innovation, which opened in Singapore this April, has a digital crime centre which has already carried out some successful operations to counter cybercrime threats.

Are there any other non-traditional national security threats (eg natural disasters or transboundary haze) for which we need a better degree of trust and cooperation within ASEAN?

Unfortunately, natural disasters do occur in our region from time to time. Very often, no country working on its own has enough capacity to deal with the entire range of consequences.

So, it is very useful to have a system in which we help each other and bring resources to bear. In ASEAN, we have such a mechanism, which we have exercised at different levels, and also put into action in some major incidents.

The haze affects many countries and people in the region. Singapore’s only interest is to work with our friends and our neighbours, as well as with ASEAN and the international community, to resolve this issue as quickly and decisively as possible, not just for a particular year, but for the medium to long term.

We believe that this is an issue which can be resolved, with will, commitment, goodwill, cooperation and the correct application of good techniques and technology, so that we can save many millions of people in our part of the world from this scourge of the haze.

What would you say are the main issues that Singapore will have to face, heading into 2016 and perhaps in the next few years?

We think and plan not just for one year, or one term, but for the medium and long term, for Singaporeans and Singapore. That’s a hallmark of Singapore. There are four things that we are looking at, for the medium term.

The first is the economy. (Finance) Minister Heng Swee Keat is leading the Committee for the Future Economy, to make sure that Singapore continues to be a thriving economy with good jobs, a hub where people want to do business, and which provides a good living for Singaporeans.

We face serious challenges here because our Singaporean population and workforce will stop growing in the next five to seven years. On the other hand, the skill levels of our people are rising and can be improved further — so we can pursue opportunities in different economic sectors, or link up with growing areas of the world, in sectors where we have competitive advantage and can create value.

The second is security. Security is not just about terrorism and extremism, although that is the most salient threat that we are facing today. Singapore will always be a small country in a part of the world where there has been a long history of instability and wars being fought. So, if we want to survive in peace and security and as an independent country, able to determine our own future, defence and security will always be a very important component of Singapore.

The third is social cohesion. How do we maintain our social cohesion and bonds? How do we grow in a way where everyone shares in that growth? How do we integrate our migrants, including spouses of Singaporeans who marry those who are non-Singaporeans and children, into Singapore? Eventually, it is the ideals and values which Singapore lives by and has grown by, that unites us all.

Fourth, which is the most important of all, is leadership renewal, to make sure that we continue to have good, stable, clean leadership for the future. The last General Election has provided us with this platform of opportunity to prepare the leadership not just for the next five years, but for the next 15 years.

We must make sure that Singapore remains led by able, honest, capable people with the right motivations, with the right heart, for Singaporeans and Singapore. That itself is a major enterprise which should not be left to chance. Singapore is a small country, and if we fail in this one, we may never have the chance to recover again.