Committee of Supply Debate 2026 on “A High Performing Home Team, Keeping Singapore Safe and Secure” – Speech by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs

Introduction

1. Mr Chairman, first, I would like to start by thanking members who spoke on your support of the Home Team’s work.

2. Sir, Singapore remains one of the safest and most secure countries in the world.

3. In Gallup’s 2025 Global Safety Report, Singapore was ranked the world’s safest country for the 12th time.

4. 98% of the respondents said they felt safe walking home, walking alone at night.

5. In a public perception survey conducted last year, 94.9% of the respondents had confidence in the Home Team’s ability to keep Singapore safe and secure.

6. This was the highest level of confidence in the Home Team over the past decade.

Challenges

7. But we cannot, for a moment, rest on our laurels.

8. The threat environment, as Members have pointed out, is constantly evolving, and the Home Team must keep pace.

9. There are three areas of concern which we have been particularly monitoring.

10. First, external threats.

11. Singapore thrives by being open to information, and welcoming to foreign talent, capital, goods, and ideas.

12. We are highly digitally connected. It is commonplace for Singaporeans to consume information and perform transactions online.

13. These are our strengths, but it also means that we are more exposed to risks that originate from abroad.

14. Security threats such as radicalisation, foreign interference, scams, and drugs, are very much driven by external factors.

15. These risks increase when the geopolitical environment becomes more fragmented and disorderly.

16. Second, public safety.

17. We see one too many instances of careless and irresponsible behaviour, which have caused injuries and cost lives.

18. Road traffic fatalities have hit a 10-year high since 2016.

19. Speeding violations last year rose by 26% compared to 2024, and a 27% increase was observed for red-light running related incidents and accidents.

20. Fires involving active mobility devices (AMDs) accounted for almost 20% of fire-related injuries and more than 25% of fatalities.

21. Many of such fires stemmed from non-compliant devices and improper charging practices.

22. We will continue to review our laws, policies, and operations to ensure that they shape the behaviour and outcomes society wants to see, by enabling the authorities to be able to adequately deal with those who pose a danger to others through their behaviour.

23. Third, resource constraints.

24. Demands on Home Team officers have increased, and will continue to increase, in both volume and complexity.

25. In 2025, traveller volumes through Singapore’s checkpoints were up by 13% from 2019, before COVID-19.

26. Calls for emergency medical services have increased by 35% from 2020, at the height of COVID-19.

27. The number of scam cases have more than doubled from 2020, and the total amount lost to scams more than tripled.

28. Innovation and technology can help overcome our constraints, to some extent.

Overview of MHA’s COS

29. My colleagues and I will therefore speak on how the Home Team is addressing these challenges.

30. SMS Faishal will cover the need to maintain our tough stance against drugs.

31. SMS Sim Ann will speak about technology adoption, including artificial intelligence; as well as road safety.

32. Minister of State Goh Pei Ming will speak about our plans to fight scams.

33. In the rest of this speech, I will speak about our efforts to address radicalisation, foreign interference, and fire safety.

Radicalisation

34. Sir, recent overseas attacks remind us that terrorism and violent extremism can strike anywhere, at any time.

35. In November last year, a 17-year-old student detonated four explosive devices at a school mosque in Jakarta, injuring nearly 100 people. The perpetrator was said to have been inspired by far-right extremists.

36. A month later, during a gathering for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach in Sydney, two gunmen with anti-Semitic beliefs killed 15 people and injured many others.

37. We cannot discount the possibility of similar attacks here.

38. Since 2015, ISD has dealt with 62 self-radicalised individuals.

39. Several of them had articulated an intention of carrying out attacks in Singapore.

40. They were largely inspired by foreign conflicts, Islamist terrorist organisations such as ISIS, and far-right extremism.

41. The Internet has enabled such ideologies to proliferate and reach Singaporeans on their screens.

42. As Mr Vikram Nair has noted, youths are particularly susceptible. They are digital natives, and many find belonging and purpose in virtual communities.

43. In the last two years, three 14-year-olds have been dealt with for terrorism-related activities, under the Internal Security Act.

44. Even video games have been exploited to promote extremism.

45. In a recent case, the individual posted pro-ISIS footage from online gaming platforms, such as Roblox and Gorebox, in which he role-played as a fighter for ISIS, and recreated ISIS attacks and executions.

46. So we agree with Mr Nair on the need for early upstream intervention.

47. We are therefore intensifying our outreach efforts to inoculate youths against extremist ideologies, and to sensitise the public to the telltale signs of radicalisation.

48. And these include interactive activities at SGSecure roadshows and other touchpoints, as well as digital engagement through our SGSecure Instagram, Facebook and TikTok accounts – places where you might typically find most of the youths

49. To help youths and educators recognise the signs of radicalisation, we organise workshops and forums with secondary schools, junior colleges, madrasahs, and institutes of higher learning (IHLs). and we are extending such workshops to educators in all primary schools, as well as to student leaders and educators in all IHLs.

50. But another important question is: when an incident happens, how prepared are Singaporeans?

51. Since its inception 10 years ago, SGSecure has made good progress in preparing the community with emergency preparedness skills.

52. In 2025, 69% of Singaporeans said that they were familiar with or have been trained in emergency preparedness skills, compared to 40% in 2017.

53. We now have about 250,000 Community Responders, who can be mobilised to respond and help one another when a crisis strikes.

54. Nonetheless, we still have some way to go when it comes to public vigilance.

55. In several social experiments conducted last year, only 17% of those who walked past suspicious objects noticed anything amiss, and even then, only 6% of them attempted to inform the authorities.

56. There is therefore a need for Singaporeans to go beyond knowing what to do, to active vigilance.

57. Next week, we will launch a refreshed SGSecure campaign and series of roadshows that will shift the focus towards actions Singaporeans can take before, during, and after a terrorist attack.

58. We hope that Singaporeans will respond to the call to action, stay vigilant, and pick up skills and knowledge to help keep ourselves and fellow Singaporeans, and those around us, safe.

Foreign Interference

59. Earlier, SMS for Foreign Affairs Sim Ann spoke about foreign interference in our domestic politics, and how this is not a new threat, but has been supercharged in today’s contested global landscape and by advanced digital tools.

60. In this landscape, as Dr Neo Kok Beng and Mr Christopher de Souza have pointed out, emotive and sensitive issues, such as race and religion, can be even more easily exploited by foreign actors to deepen fault lines within our society, and manipulate Singaporeans to be aligned with foreign interests, at the expense of our own interests.

61. We must therefore continue to strengthen our safeguards against foreign interference.

62. Under the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act (RHA), we will be designating race-based entities that are assessed to have higher potential of being vectors for malicious foreign influence.

63. In the first instance, we will designate clan associations and business associations linked to the Chinese, Malay, and Indian races. These entities will need to disclose foreign donations and affiliations, and meet leadership composition requirements.

64. My Ministry is planning to bring RHA, including these measures, into force by end-2026.

65. We also need to guard against evolving foreign interference tactics, which are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and therefore harder to detect.

66. One such example is inauthentic websites masquerading as credible sources, to launch hostile information campaigns (HICs).

67. In 2024, we identified ten such websites, set up by foreign actors, that were masquerading as Singapore websites. They did so by using terms and images associated with Singapore to appear more local.

68. Most of the websites were associated with global networks of inauthentic news websites that had been reported by researchers to have conducted influence operations in other countries.

69. As there are currently no provisions in the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA) to pre-emptively act against inauthentic websites, we relied on levers under the Broadcasting Act to geo-block these websites. This was not as timely as it should be.

70. We will therefore amend FICA so that our legislation can be more effective against such threats.

71. We will propose to allow the Government to issue anticipatory directions against mediums of online communications, including websites and mobile applications, should there be indications that they may be used to mount an HIC against Singapore, before they cause actual harm.

Fire Safety

72. I turn now to fire safety.

73. The overall fire incidence rate in Singapore remains stable and low by international standards, at about 2,000 incidents per year in the past five years.

74. This is in no small part due to our rigorous fire safety requirements and industry cooperation.

75. Over the past three years, over 98% of the buildings which require a Fire Certificate (FC) have ensured that their fire protection systems remain reliable.

76. Let me just say that again – over 98% of the buildings, which require a Fire Certificate, have ensured that their fire protection systems remain reliable.

77. Given this strong track record of industry compliance, SCDF will extend the validity of FCs from one year to three years, effective from 1 April 2026.

78. Adequate safeguards, such as mandatory annual inspections, will still be retained under the three-year FC regime, to ensure that the buildings’ fire protection systems remain functional.

79. Non-compliant buildings, however, will remain on a one-year FC regime.

80. This is to incentivise good fire safety management and behaviour, while at the same time, lowering administrative and processing costs for compliant building owners and occupiers.

Lessons from HK Fire

81. Tragic fires, like the Wang Fuk Court fire in Hong Kong, provide a sobering reminder as to why we must always be on our guard, and need the industry to strictly comply with SCDF’s fire safety regulations.

82. Dr Neo has asked if there are any lessons to be learnt.

83. Based on publicly available information, the Wang Fuk Court fire spread via the screening netting, which was mounted on the extensive bamboo scaffolding surrounding the building.

84. The spread was accelerated to catastrophic levels by flammable styrofoam panels that were used to cover the windows of the apartment units.

85. In Singapore, we have stringent controls to mitigate the spread of fires.

86. At building and construction sites, bamboo scaffolds are not permitted.

87. The Fire Code stipulates that materials installed on the exterior of buildings must meet fire safety standards to prevent rapid spread of flames.

88. Nevertheless, the authorities are thoroughly reviewing our scaffolds and netting safety regimes.

Early Detection

89. In addition to fire safety regulations, early fire detection is key.

90. It means more time to act, be it to extinguish fires or evacuate safely.

91. In that vein, Ms Rachel Ong spoke about subsidising technology-enabled devices like stove sensors, especially for seniors.

92. The Government indeed recognises the importance of leveraging appropriate technology to enhance fire safety.

93. That is why, since June 2018, Home Fire Alarm Devices (HFADs) have been required for all new residential premises, and existing premises undergoing fire safety works.

94. HFADs provide early warning of smoke or heat by sounding an alarm. This is really a simple and effective solution.

95. We strongly encourage all homeowners to install HFADs at the earliest opportunity.

96. We have various schemes to assist the elderly to install HFADs.

97. Through HDB’s Enhancement for Active Seniors programme, we provide subsidies of up to 95% for HFADs, with seniors paying as little as $6 out of pocket.

98. Those staying in public rental flats, many of whom are elderly, are also provided HFADs for free. And members would know that my colleague, Minister for National Development, announced the extension of the EASE programme to the private estate as well.

99. Besides HFADs, we will continue to explore other technologies for our elderly, and incorporate them where appropriate.

Emerging Risks

100. Our regulatory frameworks also need to address emerging fire safety risks.

101. For instance, while research has shown that fires in electric vehicles (EVs) are less likely than in internal combustion engine vehicles, EVs pose different risks when they catch fire, and therefore require a different management approach.

102. MHA and MOT are therefore studying the use of differentiated licence plates for EVs, as has been done in other countries.

103. More information will be shared later this year.

104. This can help SCDF responders more easily identify whether a vehicle is an EV, and adopt specialised procedures during an incident.

105. This includes establishing a wider safety cordon to account for more intense flames.

106. And members of the public can also more readily identify that an affected vehicle is an EV, and take precautions to stay away.

107. We are also dealing with fire safety risks from AMDs.

108. All recorded AMD fatalities to date have involved personal mobility devices which did not comply with UL-2272 standards.

109. From 1 June 2026, keeping such non-compliant devices at home or anywhere else will be an offence.

110. Later this year, MOT plans to strengthen regulations on online sales and advertising of AMDs.

111. The broader point here, Sir, is that powerful lithium-ion batteries are becoming more common.

112. Today, they are present in many mobility devices and vehicles; tomorrow they may start appearing in more consumer goods.

113. We will continue to educate the public on how to properly use and maintain such batteries, and how to respond when an incident occurs.

Conclusion

114. Mr Chairman, a high level of safety and security has enabled Singapore to thrive and succeed as a nation.

115. The Home Team will continue to anticipate and prepare for new and evolving challenges, and take strong and decisive action to protect and unite Singaporeans, in these turbulent times.

116. Thank you, Mr Chairman.