Govt urges S’poreans to stand together in fight against terror
Flowers are put in a window shattered by a bullet as a forensic marker sits next to the impact as people pay their respect to the victims at the site of the attacks on restaurant Le Petit Cambodge (Little Cambodia) and the Carillon Hotel on the first of three days of national mourning in Paris, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015. Photo: AP
SINGAPORE — With the spectre of terrorism looming large post the Jakarta attacks, several ministers today (Jan 18) warned of an increasingly complex security landscape that will require enhanced efforts from not just the government, but the general public as well to keep the country safe and secure.
The ministers were responding to President Tony Tan’s address on Friday to open the 13th Parliament. Among other issues, Dr Tan spoke about the “significantly” greater threat from Islamic State (IS) and terrorism, as well as the importance of keeping Singapore society united and resilient.
Laying out their plans under the current term of Government, the leaders helming the defence, national security, home and foreign affairs portfolios brought up the new and growing challenges facing the country. In the coming days, the remaining ministries will release their addenda to the President’s address.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is the Coordinating Minister for National Security, said: “While we have built up our social resilience and strengthened our security forces, our national security can be undermined in many ways, including a terrorist attack, a virus whether medical or cyber, food contamination, and social fissures ... Everyone has a part to play to keep Singapore and Singaporeans safe.”
Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen both pointed to the recent attacks in Paris, Sydney and Ankara that underscored the challenges of keeping Singapore safe in the face of violent extremism.
Mr Shanmugam said the situation in the region has become even more serious with regional authorities estimating as many as 1,000 South-east Asians travelling to Syria and Iraq to join the IS terrorist network.
“When these people return, they will have the capacity to do harm, given their combat experience and networks,” he said. “In Singapore, we have had to detain a small number of radicalised Singaporeans who were planning to stage ‘lone-wolf’ attacks in Singapore.”
Dr Ng noted that the same technology that helps Singapore’s economy and society to function with ease and efficiency has also given cyber criminals and attackers “more avenues to disrupt and destabilise” the country. “Many countries in our region are modernising their militaries against a backdrop of growing nationalism, difficult maritime and territorial disputes, and persistent threats from terrorist and cyber-attacks,” he said.
“Technologies that used to be the domain of professional militaries are becoming cheaper and easier to obtain and used by less advanced militaries and non-state actors,” he added.
Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan noted that the shifts in global power and competition for influence among the major powers will impact the global and regional order, “bringing both unprecedented risks and opportunities for us as a nation”. “The rise of nationalism, protectionism and the polarisation of society in many regional countries have further exacerbated the challenges faced by Singapore,” he said.
To guard against a wider range of threats, Dr Ng said the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) would develop new fighting concepts and pursue technological advancements in areas such as unmanned systems and robotics to make the army more potent and flexible. “Such technologies have the added benefit of greater precision while using less manpower, enabling the SAF to adapt to a shrinking workforce. MINDEF and the SAF will also develop new capabilities to defend against threats in the cyber domain,” he said.
Enhancing regional stability and cooperation also requires “an open and robust regional security architecture”, he noted. To that end, Singapore will continue to work with partners to grow multilateral platforms such as the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)-Plus. This May, it will be co-hosting the ADMM-Plus Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism Exercise.
On the domestic front, Mr Shanmugam said the Ministry of Home Affairs will step up security responses and strengthen resilience against terrorism, such as by strengthening border capabilities and installing more police cameras in public areas. It will adopt a more data-driven response model to serve the public, such as in emergency responses.
Mr Teo said the National Security Coordination Secretariat has been working with government agencies and community groups from the social sector, to develop a stronger understanding of the factors that affect social resilience “such as attitudes towards crises and emergencies, social capital and social trust in a time of changing demographics, and family resilience”.
“While we can never be certain of where the next security threat may emerge, we need to prepare ourselves and develop robust plans that can be adapted for different threat scenarios. Standing together, we stand a better chance of ensuring our national security,” he said.
