SINGAPORE – By next year, student ambassadors at all junior colleges would have attended counter-radicalisation workshops to help them identify the threat of terrorism among youth.
These workshops, facilitated by the Internal Security Department (ISD), are part of efforts to protect young people from the growing risk of online radicalisation, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing on Friday.
The workshops were piloted in junior colleges in 2022 and are being rolled out in 2023.
Speaking at the SGSecure Public Service Mobilisers conference at The Treasury, Mr Chan, who is also Minister-in-charge of the Public Service, said there are plans to pilot these workshops at the upper-secondary level in 2024.
The workshops will teach students and educators to identify signs of radicalisation in an individual, such as sharing his or her extremist views with friends and relatives, or making remarks that promote ill will towards those of other races or religions.
They will also learn how to react if they encounter a radicalised individual, such as by looking for a trusted adult, like a teacher, for help.
Mr Chan said self-radicalised individuals here are getting younger, with 11 out of 37 Singaporeans dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since 2015 being below 21 years old.
He said: “Extremist groups are becoming increasingly skilful at using digital media to indoctrinate and recruit people... Five (of the 11 youths) had planned to carry out attacks in Singapore and the youngest detainee was aged 15.
“The threat (of self-radicalisation) to Singapore remains high and we cannot be complacent.”
Between December 2022 and January 2023, two Singaporeans aged 15 and 16 were detained by the ISD for terrorism-related activities. They were both inspired by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propaganda.
The 15-year-old had planned to carry out knife attacks and behead non-Muslims in popular tourist areas here, and become a suicide bomber.
The 16-year-old joined many ISIS-themed servers on online gaming platform Roblox, where he virtually shot and killed ISIS “enemies”.
In December 2022, a self-radicalised 18-year-old student was detained after making plans to take part in armed violence in Singapore and abroad in support of ISIS.
He had plans to stab and kill non-believers in dark alleys here, carry out a mass-casualty attack at Amoy Quee Camp by recruiting a suicide car bomber, and construct a C4 explosive device to bomb the Keramat Habib Noh grave site at Haji Muhammad Salleh Mosque in Tanjong Pagar.
In his speech, Mr Chan said the public service, as Singapore’s biggest employer, must lead by example in the nation’s fight against terrorism. He urged the public service to equip staff with emergency preparedness skills and keep contingency plans proper.
He added that it is important to think ahead on how to prevent terrorist attacks, such as by designing workplaces and system processes to be more secure.
Mr Chan cited a survey done by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2022 where 60 per cent of respondents said their workplaces were prepared to handle a terrorist incident. The same figure was reported in 2018.
He said: “More can and should be done to ready our workplaces for security incidents. Our ability to respond well in critical moments can make the difference between life and death.”
In the event of a terrorist attack, Mr Chan said it is important for Singapore to be able to bring society back to normality as quickly as possible.
“If the terrorists know that no matter what they do, we are able to return life to normal as quickly as possible, then it will reduce their incentive (to attack),” he added.
At the conference, MHA launched a series of SGSecure roadshows with interactive exhibits to encourage the public to play its part in keeping Singapore safe from terrorism.
The roadshow kicked off on Friday at Funan mall, where it runs till Sunday, and will move to other locations till 2025.
MHA also updated the SGSecure app to improve user experience, such as repositioning the SOS button for easier activation.
