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ENVIED INTERNATIONALLY: According to the MHA, the Whitley Road Detention Centre was not only the scene of Mas Selamat's escape but also the setting for the rehabilitation of many JI detainees, half of whom have already been released after counselling. -- ST FILE PHOTO
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THE Internal Security Department (ISD) is envied by its European and American counterparts for having the support of the Muslim community and its religious leaders in the fight against terrorism, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.
The religious leaders counsel the detainees to guide them back on the right path and help look after their families.
Yet these leaders stand tall in the community and are 'seen to be standing up for the community and not just doing the bidding of the Government', Mr Lee told Parliament yesterday.
He was speaking on government responsibility following Monday's debate on the findings of a Committee of Inquiry on the escape of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader Mas Selamat Kastari.
The community's support did not happen by chance, he added.Winning it and international respect was the result of 'years of patient effort'.
'They reflect the professional competence of the leadership of the ISD and the senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) working under Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and the director of the ISD, and that is why I have confidence in them,' said Mr Lee.
He urged people to see the ISD's work in perspective in spite of the major lapse in the form of Mas Selamat's escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Feb 27.
The escape has led to public criticism of the ISD and Mr Wong, who is also Home Affairs Minister.
But, Mr Lee said, the ISD, as Singapore's leading agency in the fight against terrorism, has done 'sterling work' in keeping Singapore safe.
It won international respect for its vigilance and competence in detecting and detaining JI terrorists in 2001 before they could carry out attacks here.
Security agencies from the United States and Europe had also come here to compare experiences with the ISD and study Singapore's methods in fighting Islamist terrorism.
'These agencies have been especially impressed by our success in winning the support of our Muslim community...and by the religious rehabilitation efforts of our ulamas (religious scholars) to try to guide the detainees back onto the right path,' he said.
Some 30 Islamic religious teachers make up the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), which works to steer detainees away from the JI's distortions of Islam.
The group started when a handful of senior religious leaders were approached in 2003 to help counsel the detainees. They roped others in, embarked on a study of JI teachings and how to counter them, and began counselling in April 2004.
Since then, religious counselling has been a key part of the rehabilitation process for these detainees. Last week, the MHA said that results had been encouraging, with a fair number turning their back on JI views.
Without giving numbers, the MHA also said that half the men have been assessed, found to be rehabilitated and released.
Replying to Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim, Mr Lee recounted what visiting foreign dignitaries told him: 'They said to me, 'We envy you', because of what we have been able to do: dealing with the threat, reaching out to the community and keeping the community on our side while excising the cancer cells.'
Ms Lim had also asked about the MHA's oversight of the ISD.
Mr Lee said that the ISD is subordinate to the MHA, reports to it and is accountable to it for its performance.
The ISD's role is to identify security threats, pre-empt them, neutralise them and hold Internal Security Act detainees.
'MHA monitors ISD by tracking whether Singapore stays safe: Do threats get caught in time? Do we know what's going on? Are we able to react?' Mr Lee said.
But he added: 'There is no 100 per cent guarantee we will be there all the time.'
zakirh@sph.com.sg
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