SINGAPORE — The video starts with a young man holding up a stack of papers to the camera, and as he reveals the words sheet by sheet, the viewer learns that he had struggled with mental health in school, and eventually turned to extremist ideas to find a sense of belonging and heroism.

The story, which unfolds in a silent TikTok video, ends when the young man's mother finds his diary, filled with plans of violent "martyrdom", and her horrified reaction eventually leads him to realise that the path he was on was the wrong one.

This is one of several videos that have been posted on a new TikTok account by the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), an organisation that assists in the religious rehabilitation and counselling of radicalised and self-radicalised individuals.

The account, which represents RRG's latest move to engage youths and sway them away from radicalisation.  was officially launched at the organisation's annual retreat at Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort on Wednesday (June 22). 

A senior analyst in terrorism research, Mr Jasminder Singh, said the effort is commendable and should be replicated by other groups advocating social harmony, but he added that RRG will have to work with TikTok itself to ensure that the platform's algorithm can feed these videos to young people who are searching for violent or extremist content.

Speaking at the retreat, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that helping radicalised youth return to the fold will become more challenging as there is an increasing array of extremist thoughts that are easily accessible online, ranging from Islamist extremism to far-right, anti-Semitic and Neo-Nazi ideas. 

That is why Singapore has to raise its game to counter radical ideologies on social media and rehabilitate young people who have been detained for radicalism.

"I know from personal experience that it is not easy to put together content on social media that is appealing to young people. It is very challenging," he said.

"Sometimes you try and you do not get a lot of eyeballs, and you have to try something else; it is a bit of a hit-and-miss... But through these social media platforms, I hope all of us can develop more effective ways to engage young people, to correct misinterpretations and promote a better understanding of religious texts and concepts appropriate to Singapore’s secular society."

Mr Wong noted that there is a concerning trend of more youth becoming radicalised. Before 2015, there was only one case of youth radicalisation in Singapore but since 2015, there have already been 11 such cases.

Apart from traditional social media channels, extremist groups have also exploited online music streaming and gaming platforms popular with youth, he added.

THE TIKTOK INITIATIVE

Speaking to TODAY, members of RRG who were present at the retreat agreed with Mr Wong that one of the biggest challenges it faces now is to ensure that young people do not fall prey to radicalisation, given the proliferation of extremist content online. 

Ustaz Dr Mohamed Ali, co-chairman of RRG, noted that TikTok is used widely by young people and RRG has to keep up with the times. 

The group plans to promote messages of peace and moderation through its new platform and counter extremist narratives, he said.

Although the TikTok account was officially launched on Wednesday, its first post was on June 7 and there have been several posts in the past few weeks. 

These include videos on the signs of radicalisation, what "Jihad" means and the dangers of online radicalisation. Most of these short videos are narrated in Malay by religious counsellors or young people, with English subtitles.

For RRG's TikTok messaging to be successful, one expert said that there needs to be collaboration between the organisation and TikTok itself. 

Mr Singh, a senior analyst in terrorism research, said that social media algorithms could mean that the messages of peace that RRG hopes to spread may not reach the young who search for extremist and violent content. 

"When it comes to the algorithms, the responsibility will lie on the tech companies who run these applications," he said.

Mr Singh is with the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, part of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University.

He added that on RRG's side, it should look into social media strategies, such as properly hashtagging its posts, to ensure that radicalised youth who search key terms online will come across RRG's TikTok account. 

"It's all about the collaboration between the RRG and the tech companies, coming to know what should be the hashtags... and to know who is your audience." 

He also said that not only should RRG embark on this initiative, but all groups representing different faiths should address this problem of extremism, given its many forms. 

"RRG's focus is just on Islamic terrorism, and Singapore has seen far-right extremism as well." 

Whichever group, regardless of the religion, should be on the lookout for extremist ideologies in their circles, Mr Singh added.

"People here come from all walks of life, we have to be prepared." 

Ustazah Kalthom Isa, who is an RRG member, said that TikTok videos alone will not solve the problem of extremist content and ideas spreading among youth, but these posts will act as a window to the resources available at RRG. 

She said: “TikTok cannot provide everything… but this will link youths to our website, and help them with choosing RRG’s religious scholars where they can seek guidance and any advice.

“Because youngsters don’t want to read (a lot) but they just want to have a very quick answer, so this is the way that we can introduce ourselves to them.”