Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has said that his personal assessment of the terror threat facing Singapore is a “medium” at the Marine Parade Emergency Preparedness Day yesterday.
The former Prime Minister’s comments come after the Ministry of Home Affairs detained two men and one women under the Internal Security Act earlier this month. Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim that the three detainees were self-radicalised a day after the arrests.
The arrests came a month after Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen revealed in October that seven times more Singaporeans were radicalised in the past year than the period before that.
According to the MHA, one of the detainees is a 38-year-old housewife called Amina. An ISIS supporter who harboured the intention to join ISIS in the conflict zone, Amina promoted pro-ISIS materials on social media to influence others to support the terror group.
Another detainee, Adzrul Azizi bin Bajuri, is only 19 years of age. The former full-time National Serviceman became radicalised after he was exposed to pro-ISIS propaganda online.
The last detainee, 25-year-old Abdul, was a member of the Jemaah Islamiyah – an extremist Islamic group based in the region
Urging Singaporeans to remain vigilant against any possible terror attack, Goh asserted that it is “everyone’s responsibility” to keep Singapore safe and secure and that the fight against terror is not just the responsibility of the authorities:
“If something happens … we … help one another because we are all Singaporeans, regardless of race or religion. This will happen only because there is trust between us.
“Whatever the threat may be to Singapore, we should be prepared, be vigilant (and) build up bonds.”
The veteran politician who presently serves as member of parliament for Marine Parade GRC also highlighted reports that militants in Batam had planned to launch rocket attacks on Singapore last year. He said at yesterday’s event: “It did not happen, but they were planning to.”
https://theindependent.sg.sg/minister-in-charge-of-muslim-affairs-urges-muslims-in-singapore-to-beware-of-pro-isis-material-online/