SINGAPORE: Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said
Singapore cannot afford to let down its guard even though it has
been successful in preventing terrorist attacks in the
past.
Speaking in Parliament during the debate on the
estimates for his ministry, Minister K Shanmugam said in addition
to the threat from foreign terrorist groups, Singapore has not been
spared from the threat of individuals who are radicalised through
exposure to online jihadist material.
The security agencies have detained four such
self-radicalised individuals so far.
Mr Shanmugam stressed that tackling the threat of terrorism cannot
be done by any government acting alone.
He added that a vigilant and cohesive community played a crucial
role in countering the spread and influence of jihadist
ideology.
"Singapore continues to be an attractive terrorist target. Mr Alvin
Yeo is right to say that the nature of the threat requires that we
all pull together and play our part. There are no absolute
guarantees, and certainly no perfect systems. There will be
occasional human lapses.
"However I believe that the combined efforts of the government, the
private sector and a vigilant and cohesive community will continue
to guard Singapore from the terrorist threat, and continue to keep
us safe and secure."
On its part, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Internal
Security Department (ISD) have conducted security briefings and
conferences to reach out to the community to sensitise them to the
threat of terrorism.
To date, these security briefings have reached out to over 300,000
individuals.
The SPF and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) also leveraged
on new media platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook, to spread the
message on the need for public vigilance against possible terrorist
threats.
Mr Shanmugam said they will continue to organise such activities
and exercises to raise public awareness and vigilance against
terrorist threats.
He said: "Past survey findings suggest that to the general public,
crime is a greater concern than the terrorist threat. This is not
surprising, given the fact that so far we have been fortunate
enough to have avoided a large scale terrorist incident.
Mr Shanmugam added that past surveys also suggest that there is
generally a high level of confidence in the government and security
forces' ability to respond effectively.
"In terms of public preparedness for a terrorist incident, slightly
more than half of the population indicated that they are prepared
for an attack and know what to do in the event of an attack. This
is encouraging, but there is room for improvement. Home Team
agencies will continue their outreach and educational efforts on
this front," he said.
- CNA/fa
ya ya ya..... Mr si mi gam, employ more gurkha to protect the
country....pay them many many money....... $inkapore lang money
many many.......
