Addendum to the President’s Address 2025

Mr K Shanmugam

Minister for Home Affairs

1. Singapore remains one of the safest countries in the world. But the global security environment is increasingly volatile. Contestations between global powers and ongoing conflicts, such as those in the Middle East, have deepened geopolitical divisions, heightened the risks of racial and religious polarisation, and raised the threat of foreign interference. Terrorists and extremists have also exploited the conflicts to radicalise and recruit, and incite violence.

2. At the same time, transnational and cyber-enabled crimes continue to grow in scale and sophistication. Drug trafficking remains a huge concern, while scams and cybercrimes pose an unprecedented challenge to law enforcement.

3. To respond to these threats, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will continue to strengthen our laws, deepen partnerships, and harness technology aggressively.

Effective Laws

4. Singapore’s approach to criminal justice rests on three key thrusts: certainty of law, certainty of enforcement, and certainty of punishment. Underpinning these is a set of laws that allows us to effectively deter, detect, and enforce against crime. We will regularly review our laws to ensure that they remain fit-for-purpose, to deal with emerging threats and evolving criminal tactics.

5. Later this year, we will introduce the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, to further rationalise our criminal laws, better protect vulnerable victims, and tackle emerging crime trends. We plan to amend the Road Traffic Act to deal with the worsening road safety situation, and the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act to address evolving foreign interference tactics. We are also working on strengthening legislation to deal with challenges such as scams and drugs.

Strong Partnerships

6. MHA leverages partnerships to extend the Home Team’s effectiveness and impact. For example, to tackle the growing threat of youth self-radicalisation, the Internal Security Department and SGSecure Programme Office are working with the Ministry of Education to sensitise students and school staff to the terror threat, indicators of radicalisation, and importance of early reporting.

7. MHA is working closely with other agencies to counter increasingly permissive attitudes worldwide towards drugs, such as through strengthening preventive drug education initiatives. MHA will also support the Ministry of Health in tackling the growing threat of etomidate-laced vapes.

8. To support the rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates and ex-offenders, the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) and Yellow Ribbon Singapore will partner other government agencies, employers, and community organisations under the ambit of the Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders (CARE) Network, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.

Technology-Enabled Home Team

9. Technology is critical to the Home Team. Working with the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), Home Team Departments will step up efforts to harness technology as a force multiplier. In particular, we are investing heavily in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and have launched a dedicated HTxAI movement to ramp up our capabilities.

10. Technology investments have also improved the Home Team’s delivery of services to Singaporeans. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority put in place automated gates, equipped with forgery detection and multi-modal biometrics screening systems, to allow for more secure border control while providing a seamless clearance experience. SPS is trialling an Autonomous Televisit System to make inmate visits more accessible to families, with secure identity verification through facial recognition technology.

11. The Singapore Police Force (SPF) leverages drones and AI to support major security deployments. During the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2025, SPF and HTX used AI to analyse real-time drone footage, assess crowd sizes, and improve operational responses.

12. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will be launching TruCerts, a blockchain-based system that enhances the tracking and verification of fire safety certificates for SCDF-regulated products, and resolves compliance issues more quickly and accurately.

13. The Central Narcotics Bureau’s (CNB) Next-Generation Reporting Centre will streamline urine testing through automation, strengthening the robustness of the urine testing process, and reducing biohazard risks for CNB officers.

14. Most importantly, MHA will continue to build and maintain public trust in the Home Team. In the 2024 Home Team Public Perception Survey, 93.1% of respondents said they personally trusted the Home Team, while 94.3% said they had confidence in the Home Team’s ability to keep Singapore safe and secure. With strong public trust, and by working together as One Home Team, we can confront emerging and evolving threats, and keep Singapore safe and secure.