SINGAPORE — Border control is Singapore’s first line of defence in preventing terrorism attacks on home soil, in light of the “serious and persistent” terrorism threat in South-East Asia, said Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Lee today (Jan 27) in Parliament.

Mr Lee was responding to questions from Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC), Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar GRC) and Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson SMC), who asked what could be done to step up border security and internal security, following the Jan 14 Jakarta bombings.

Mr Lee pointed out that at least two Singapore citizens have been known to make their way to Syria with their families to take part in the conflict there. Four Singaporeans were also detained last year, while a fifth was issued a restriction order.

“There are others who have expressed interest to go to Syria to fight and have been investigated, or are currently under investigation. Most of them were radicalised by online videos and articles, and through social media postings. This problem of self-radicalisation continues to be a concern in Singapore,” he added.

As Singapore is a major transport hub in the region, border control at checkpoints should be strengthened, Mr Lee said.

However, enhanced security measures at land checkpoints, such as at the Woodlands Checkpoint, may cause inconvenience to travellers during busy periods like Chinese New Year next month, he added.

To improve technology while ensuring efficient travel and high levels of security, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will implement the BioScreen initiative across all checkpoints to capture the fingerprints of all arriving persons by this June. These fingerprint records will allow ICA to verify travellers’ identities before he can enter Singapore, and will facilitate automated self-clearance when departing.

Police cameras will also be installed at all HDB blocks and multi-storey carparks, and the Ministry is looking into installing more cameras in HDB estates and other public areas.

The police has also increased patrols in crowded areas and conducted exercises to better prepare officers in response to terrorism attacks. For example, more than 1,800 home team officers participated in a multi-agency security exercise on the night of Jan 19 to test contingency and security response plans during terrorism attacks.

Additionally, the Ministry will work with commercial and private establishments to enhance security measures at their premises through the Safety and Security Watch Group.