PM Lee holds dialogue on ISIS threat

Community support vital to fight terror threat: PM
Govt must protect S'pore by staying vigilant and taking swift action, he says
By Rachel Au-Yong, The Sunday Times, 30 Nov 2014

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the ongoing conflict in Syria and Iraq had seen terrorist elements in South-east Asia regroup and become more active, and it was naive to think that Singapore can keep its head low and the threat will pass.

The Government had to do what was necessary to protect Singapore, he told 300 religious and community leaders of various faiths at the start of a closed-door dialogue on the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group.

Doing the necessary includes getting the support of the community, being vigilant domestically, and "taking swift action to neutralise threats to Singapore, or people who may get themselves in trouble".

Singapore has also contributed to the international effort to tackle the threat at its source, he noted.

"The threat of terrorism can cause doubts and sow divisions among communities, but we have avoided this danger because our people are rational, they have looked at facts squarely and forthrightly condemned extremists," he said.

Similar dialogues, involving briefings by Singapore's security agencies, have been held since the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States and the discovery of a Jemaah Islamiah (JI) cell planning attacks in Singapore later that year.

These sessions cover items that are not made public, but which would help community leaders connect the dots so that they can better understand what was happening and the Government's thinking and actions, Mr Lee said.

The last such dialogue was in 2011, when JI was reviving its regional network. Since then, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed and successful counter-terrorism operations have neutralised some groups.

But the threat has worsened recently, Mr Lee added.

Before the dialogue began, he spoke in Malay, Mandarin and English, while Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam spoke in Tamil.

Mr Lee noted that thousands of fighters from across the globe have flocked to join ISIS, including hundreds from South-east Asia. Former JI leader Abu Bakar Bashir has sworn allegiance, and his followers have given funds and support to the group.

Malaysia had last week also put out a White Paper on its strategies to tackle its citizens who return after joining the group.

Several Singaporeans have also become radicalised, with a few who have gone to Syria and Iraq.

The Singapore Armed Forces is joining more than 60 other countries, including Muslim countries, in the coalition fighting against ISIS, sending liaison and planning officers, a tanker aircraft for refuelling and an imagery analysis team.

Mr Lee said he was particularly grateful to the Malay-Muslim community, highlighting the work of the Mufti and the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), who have "done a lot to counter the ideological propaganda of ISIS".

The RRG, made up of Islamic religious leaders who counsel terror detainees, have put out brochures and online videos pointing out fallacies of ISIS' caliphate and why its brutal methods go against Islam.

Muslim groups as well as others like the Singapore Buddhist Lodge, Taoist Federation and Bright Hill Temple have also chipped in to help Syrian refugees.

Also at the dialogue were Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim and Culture, Community and Youth Minister Lawrence Wong.

Mr Teo said in a Facebook post: "Very glad to see the Malay-Muslim community stepping forward to tackle this issue proactively and other communities have shown strong support for their good work."

Mr Lee said: "Eradicating terrorism will be a difficult and long-term fight, and we have to continue doing it. Provided we work together and be open with each other and share and come closer together, we will prevail."

'Not just the job of Muslims'
By Rachel Au-Yong, The Sunday Times, 30 Nov 2014

When inter-racial confidence circles (IRCCs) were set up after the first wave of Jemaah Islamiah arrests in Singapore in 2001, Joo Chiat grassroots leader Abdullah Shafiie helped explain that Muslims were as opposed to terrorism as other citizens.

With militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on the rise and a renewed terror threat in the region, Mr Abdullah, who now heads the Joo Chiat IRCC, hopes Malay-Muslim groups would come together to deter youth from being influenced by ISIS' ideas.

"Not just the Religious Rehabilitation Group, but all Malay-Muslim organisations, whether sports, social or education, should work together to organise more outreach programmes," he told reporters after a closed-door dialogue that 300 religious and community leaders had with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the ISIS threat.



In a Facebook post, Mr Lee said the leaders shared views on what could be done to protect Singapore from terrorism.

Ustaz Muhammad Zahid Zin, secretary for religious teachers association Pergas, said he welcomed people asking him about Syria, which he visited in April on a humanitarian mission for non-profit group Bapa. "I have seen atrocities and terrible things, and I wasn't radicalised, so it's not impossible for someone to not be radicalised by those things," he said.

Mr Thomas Pek, a council member of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Assocations, said combating extremist views was not just the job of Muslims.

Buddhist Federation president Seck Kwang Ping said Singaporeans had to remember how to discuss things peacefully.

"No religion wants harm to come to any life. Even with different views, let's see how we can reconcile different opinions without using force, because harm will only bring grief," he said.

Extremist terrorism is a serious, long-term problem. Met community and religious leaders this morning to discuss the...
Posted by Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday, November 29, 2014

PM Lee holds dialogue with religious, community leaders on Islamic State threat
By Olivia Siong, Channel NewsAsia, 29 Nov 2014

The threat of terrorism can cause doubts and sow division between communities - but Singapore has avoided this danger because its people are rational and have looked at the facts squarely and forthrightly condemned extremists, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. This has allowed trust to be maintained in the country, he said on Saturday (Nov 29).

Mr Lee said he is particularly grateful to the Malay-Muslim community, especially its leaders, who have maintained this position.

"This threat of terrorism can sow doubts and dissension amongst our communities," said Mr Lee. "And we have avoided this danger because our people are rational, because they have looked at facts squarely and they forthrightly condemned the extremists.

"And so we maintained the trust amongst ourselves. I'm particularly grateful to the Malay-Muslim community who have maintained this position and especially the leaders."

He also noted that the Mufti and the Religious Rehabilitation Group have done a lot to counter the ideological propaganda of Islamic State (IS). This includes producing a brochure titled "The Fallacies of ISIS Islamic Caliphate" in English, Malay and Tamil, as well as two online videos to point out these fallacies and why the brutal methods employed by ISIS are against the teachings of Islam.

Mr Lee was speaking at a dialogue with religious and community leaders on Saturday, on Singapore's participation in the multinational coalition against IS. He noted that such dialogues have been held from time to time since the Sep 11 attacks, 13 years ago.

EXTREMIST TERRORISM A DIFFICULT, LONG-TERM PROBLEM

Mr Lee stressed that extremist terrorism is a serious and difficult long-term problem, especially for Singapore's multi-racial and multi-religious society.

The last such dialogue was held in 2011. Mr Lee noted that Jemaah Islamiyah had been reviving its network in the region at that time. He said that, since then, Osama Bin Laden has been killed and successful counter-terrorism operations in the region have neutralised some groups, but terrorism remains a problem and the threat has worsened recently.

"You must know that eradicating terrorism is going to be a difficult and long-term fight," said Mr Lee. "We have to carry on doing it and provided we continue to work together, and we are open to each other, and we share and we come closer together, we will prevail."

Mr Lee said that terrorist elements in Southeast Asia are regrouping and getting more active, as the conflict in Syria and Iraq morphs into a civil war. He added that IS has also emerged, claiming to be fighting to establish a Islamic caliphate. There are also links between Southeast Asian groups and IS. People from Southeast Asia and around the world, including a few from Singapore, are also travelling to Iraq and Syria, to join IS.

IS CONFLICT AFFECTS SINGAPORE

Mr Lee stressed that although Syria and Iraq may seem faraway, the conflict and activities of IS affect Singapore. "It is naive for us to think that we can keep our heads low, and the problems will pass over us," said Mr Lee. "We have got to do what is necessary in order to protect Singapore and Singaporeans." He said this includes getting the support of the community, being vigilant domestically, and taking swift action to neutralise threats in Singapore.

Singapore will also join over 60 countries, including many Muslim countries, in the coalition fight against IS. It will contribute liaison and planning officers, a KC-135R tanker aircraft for air-to-air refuelling and an Imagery Analysis Team.

Mr Lee said he is also glad that community groups, Malay-Muslim organisations and other religious organisations, like the Singapore Buddhist Lodge, Taoist Federation of Singapore and the Bright Hill Temple have contributed towards humanitarian efforts to help Syrian refugees.

"IS A DEVIANT GROUP": MINISTER YAACOB

Also present at the event was Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, who said his greatest fear is that joining groups like the Islamic State becomes fashionable. He said the most important thing is to ensure the group is not normalised in the minds of Muslims in the region.

"My greatest fear is that this becomes normalised; that it is ok to support them because they are fighting a tyrant like Bashar Al-Assad," said Dr Yaacob. "But then not recognising that this is not just about fighting Bashar, but basically it's a long-term agenda to dominate the whole world. I think we need to continue to drum the message that (the Islamic State) is deviant group; this is basically not Islam."

Dr Yaacob also called for a regional voice to condemn IS. He stressed that at the people-to-people level, regional harmony needs to continue to be strengthened - essentially, to combat the threat posed by the terrorist group.

"There has been a global voice, but I think it's good to have a regional voice also because it is going to affect the region, with over 300 fighters coming back, people have expressed concern," he said. "We are concerned, the Indonesians are concerned, the Malaysians are concerned."

Dr Yaacob also noted concerns over whether the young appreciate the threat IS poses to Singapore and society over the long term. He said various platforms are needed to reach out to them, in ways that appeal to the younger generation.

Post by Yaacob Ibrahim.