SINGAPORE – Warning that the region has become “fertile ground” for terrorism to take root, posing dire implications for Singapore, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said the Government will introduce policies to keep divisions across racial and religious lines at bay over the course of the year.

The minister was speaking at the 2nd Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Distinguished Lecture and Symposium held at Marina Mandarin Hotel earlier this afternoon (Jan 19).

Mr Shanmugam, who is also Law Minister, said the wave of terrorist ideology sweeping over the region threatens Singapore’s very existence, as her religious diverse and tolerant society is “unacceptable to the zealots” seeking to absorb the country into a Caliphate.

Amid these circumstances, a direct terrorist attack is one threat confronting Singapore, said the minister. In the next few months, measures to strengthen Singapore’s hard security and drill home the importance of collective responsibility against terrorism will be rolled out.

Although Singapore is fairly secure in terms of border control, it still needs to strengthen its hard security against the possibility of attackers gathering just outside the country to plan an attack before moving in, he said, citing the example of how perpetrators of the Paris attacks had probably schemed in Molenbeek in Belgium. That means Singapore’s security forces, intelligence and border controls have to be strengthened, he added.

“In addition to strengthening our security, we have to do one more thing which is very urgent. We have to now move to change mindsets. Our people must realise that everyone is responsible for our collective security. Every one of us,” said Mr Shanmugam.

Another threat is that part of Singapore’s Muslim population may be radicalised, said Mr Shanmugam, noting the easy availability of “slick, evocative” videos and talks on the Internet posted by religious preachers who glorify violence. Already, some young people in Singapore have been “brainwashed”, he noted.

He cited an example on a national serviceman who had begun surfing the Internet for jihadist propaganda and videos while studying in polytechnic, and had been seized with the urge to take part in an armed jihad overseas. He had also searched for information on bomb-making, and made a video glorifying martyrdom and justifying suicide bombing.

Such instances of people falling for extremist ideology are “likely to grow”, Mr Shanmugam warned, and any successful attack carried out by such individuals “would be disastrous in many ways, including for inter-ethnic harmony”.

The global trend of increasing religiosity is something Singapore is experiencing as well, and one threat to keep at bay is the Muslim population here growing somewhat more distant from the rest of society. Noting that influences from the Middle East have had an impact on Singapore’s Muslim population, he said the lines are being blurred over understanding religion and practising while remaining part of society.

For instance, sections of younger Muslims feel that that they should avoid offering those of other faiths Christmas or Deepavali greetings, or that it is wrong to recite the National pledge and National Anthem as it would “contradict the Muslim faith”, said Mr Shanmugam.

Should these sentiments become widespread, Singapore would have a Muslim community that grows apart from the mainstream, which is not good for both the Muslim community and Singapore. Pointing to “serious long term implications”, Mr Shanmugam said: "We are watching this closely, and will take some steps.”

Another serious risk would be the possible spread of Islamophobia among the rest of the population, which would "tear our society apart".

Mr Shanmugam pointed to the "daily, incessant" news coverage of attacks worldwide in further heightening suspicion of Muslims and Islam as a whole, and propagating possible hate crimes. He pointed to increasing reports of intolerance towards Muslims by non-Muslims. Singapore is not immune to such intolerance, he noted.

To guard against such threats, Mr Shanmugam urged for both the Government and the people to make a bigger collective effort to safeguard racial and religious harmony. Religious leaders would need to help people understand and see beyond the insidious messages perpetuated by terrorist ideology, and counter it "doctrinally", through ways like social media, for instance.

The Government would also need to continue efforts to be vigilant, he said.