Home team promotion ceremony 2026 – Speech by Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs

My fellow Ministers

Home Team colleagues

Ladies and gentlemen

I. Introduction

1. Very good evening to all of you.

2. Let me start off by congratulating all our promotees.

3. Everyone of you and all your colleagues contribute everyday to the success of the Home Team.

4. We deeply value your work. We rely on it. Singaporeans rely on it.

5. As I have said, almost on every such occasion, it is important that we have good people like you joining the Home Team, progressing through the ranks and keeping our country safe and secure.

6. So thank you for your service, for your dedication, and for your years of hard work.

II. Situation in the Middle East

7. Today supposed to be a joyous occasion – promotion – but I have a habit of speaking my mind, and as I have done on other occasions, I do want to share with you some thoughts on a broader topic, because we cannot ignore the world outside of Singapore.

8. Because it is important that as senior leaders in the Home Team, you understand what is going on, because it has implications on all of our work.

9. So I would like to spend some time talking about the Middle East situation and the impact on us.

10. On the 28th of February, the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran.

11. Now, the first significant point about it is this was the first time the US had jointly initiated military action in the Middle East with Israel.

12. In setting out its war goals, Israel said “the terrorist regime in Iran” posed an “existential threat” that had to be removed. The campaign would, I quote, “create the conditions for the Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”

13. The US set out similar reasons for their military operation. They said:

(a) One, to ensure that Iran “will never have a nuclear weapon”.

(b) Two, to “raze [Iran’s] missile industry to the ground” to remove the threat to European allies and US troops overseas.

(c) Three, to back Iranians, Iranian people, “with overwhelming strength and devastating force” to “take over [their] government”.

14. So if you followed the events, you would have seen that the the US has set out different objectives across past weeks.

15. From available reports, more than 3,000 people in Iran have died in the conflict.

16. That includes senior administration and military leaders, such as:

(a) The Head of State, Ayatollah Ali Khameini,

(b) The Secretary of the National Security Council, Ali Larijani

(c) The defense minister, and

(d) The commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC).

17. Some in the US and Israel had claimed that Iran would surrender in a matter of days, at most weeks.

18. But the Iranian regime remains intact. It has even claimed victory just by virtue of its survival so far.

19. It was never going to be easy. Anyone looking at it would have known it’s never going to be as easy to force Iran to change its position on its nuclear programme, on its missile programme, or to achieve regime change through aerial bombardment alone.

20. The way the conflict has played out shows this.

21. Iran has now doubled down on securing its core interests of regime survival.

22. The IRGC and its proxies have been launching attacks on Israel and the Gulf States.

23. These proxies are not confined to the Middle East, and this is somethingthey are watching closely.

24. These are all the consequences of what has happened.

25. The first consequence. There are attacks around the world. There are threats of terrorism.

26. But since the war, there have been attacks targeting US, Jewish, Israeli institutions in various European countries.

27. There have also been serious reports for many years on the presence of Hamas operatives in countries near to us.

28. And this is a risk. It’s a serious risk. Last year alone, ICA cleared 245 million visitors through our checkpoints. 186 million of them came through our land checkpoints – an average of half a million people per day.

29. The Home Team has to try to counter this threat. ICA has increased security checks at our checkpoints. Police have stepped up patrols in areas of concern. So that is one risk and one consequence.

30. Two, the developments in the Strait of Hormuz are troubling for a number of reasons.

31. Before the conflict, one quarter of the world’s supply of seaborne oil and one-fifth of its gas went through that Strait.

32. Some have described the Strait of Hormuz as the “jugular vein” of the global energy flow.

33. Iran has now significantly disrupted that supply. There is a global market in oil. So when prices rise in one place due to supply shortages, prices will rise everywhere because people will want to sell to the person who pays the most.

34. Even the US, which is a net exporter of oil and refined products.. It has enough for itself.

35. But pump prices in the US have gone up, from about two US dollars to four US dollars per gallon. When prices go up in other places, suppliers in America also raise their prices.

36. This is a very sensitive time for the US administration. Elections for seats in Congress will take place in November. Campaigning has already begun. If pump prices do not come down, it can affect the President’s party in the upcoming elections.

37. So the US has recently decided to pursue a ceasefire with Iran. But you would have noticed or you would have read. They did not manage to reach agreement during the recent negotiations.

38. There are no signs that Iran will stop its effective closure of the Strait. In the first statement issued by Iran’s new Supreme Leader, he said Iran will continue to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and it will raise the global cost of the war.

39. Iran has attacked close to 20 civilian vessels attempting to pass through the Strait. It has also mined the Strait, and it is always easier to place mines than to remove those mines.

40. In fact, Iran has now seen in practice the leverage it can wield, and how it can hold the world to ransom, by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

41. There are reports of ships paying the Iranian authorities tolls for safe passage. Up to $2 million.

42. Before the conflict, 80 ships passed through the Strait daily. If all of them paid that toll that would be $160 million per day.

43. Iran has said that if there is any permanent peace agreement, it must be allowed to impose transit fees on all ships passing through the Strait.

44. Iran has also said that it was drawing up a protocol with Oman, which is the other country in the Strait. So all ships may be required to obtain permits and licenses in order to pass through the Strait.

45. How does the US react? They have just announced that they will blockade the Strait.

46. All these have significant consequences for Singapore.

47. First of course, the economic impact. Some of you may have seen the Ministerial Statements on this in Parliament last week.

48. We are a small and very open economy. We import nearly all our energy.

49. Fuel and electricity costs will go up, because everything depends on fuel and energy, and therefore pretty much everything will be affected. But at least the lights are on.

50. You have seen in other countries, some other countries, rationing has started.

51. We do not know how long these disruptions will last.

52. Even if the Strait were to fully reopen tomorrow, it will take time to repair the damaged oil infrastructure across the Middle East. Some measurements are that it will take years.

53. The Government has announced support measures for Singaporeans. We are continuing to monitor the situation closely.

54. We will need to brace ourselves for a bumpy ride.

55. So for the first consequence: terrorism threats have increased. The second consequence, disrupting of oil and energy flows. Follow on consequence from that, prices rising.

56. Next consequence, a continuation of a new phenomena in world order. Not so new, but an assertion of a phenomena that has started in the last few years, which is that: “if I am strong, I get to do what I like to do”, “might is right”, where “the strong will do what they can; and the weak will suffer what they must”. It creates a very serious situation for small countries like Singapore.

57. Third, and what is particularly concerning, is the implications of blockade on Strait of Hormuz or straits used in other parts of the world for international navigation.

58. Our position is: under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, and customary international law, there is free right to transit passage across such straits, and that no one can impose tolls or selectively decide whose ships gets access to these waters.

59. And we are very wary when other countries treat navigational rights and freedoms as discretionary privileges to be negotiated or paid for.

60. Look at the Strait of Malacca. It connects the Indian Ocean to the west, and the Singapore Strait leading to the South China Sea in the east. 30% of the world’s global trade flows through it. It sustains the maritime sector in Singapore, which accounts for 7% of our annual GDP and employs over 170,000 people.

61. The narrowest point of the Strait of Malacca is less than two nautical miles. For comparison, the narrowest point in the Strait of Hormuz is 21 nautical miles. So this is ten times narrower, or Strait of Hormuz is ten times bigger.

62. So how should we respond when someone says: civilian ships have to pay a toll to pass through the Strait of Malacca, otherwise, they face missiles, mines or drone strikes?

63. This is why Minister Vivian said in Parliament: we cannot engage in negotiations for safe passage of ships or negotiate on toll rates in the Strait of Hormuz.

64. There were some immediate reactions.

65. Ms Nurul Izzah, deputy president of the PKR, said the remarks reflect “a narrow strategic posture that prioritises alignment over regional responsibility and international law.” Iran was “the target of war crimes” and “controls on the straits are an attempt to seek a durable peace”. Minister Vivian was “echoing the strategic preferences of external powers, whose interests do not always align with our region.”

66. Mr Syahredzan Johan, the Vice President of the DAP, said the Malaysian “Government will do what is needed to protect the people of Malaysia, including negotiating for passage through the Straits of Hormuz”. This was in response to another commentator.

67. PM Anwar has acknowledged that Singapore’s position was our matter and it was important for Singapore and Malaysia to maintain their friendship.

68. We appreciate his statement.

69. This is not a case of Singapore siding with the US or Western countries.

70. We have said what we have said in our own strategic interest – consistent with international law.

71. It is a core interest for Singapore.

III. Impact on the Home Team

72. Now let me turn to the Home Team again.

73. We at the Home Team has continued to do well over the past year.

74. Time and again, we have demonstrated our ability to act swiftly, decisively, and reliably.

75. Let me cite a few examples.

76. In March of last year, an earthquake struck Myanmar.

77. The very next day, a SCDF team landed in Myanmar to assist with search and rescue efforts and provide medical aid. They successfully rescued people and aided over a hundred locals.

78. Just last month, a video was circulated online of a man stepping on the Quran.

79. Within days, Home Team officers disabled access to the content and they found the likely culprit.

80. At the same time, they put out clear public comms to prevent speculation. This quick swift response prevented the incident from blowing up.

81. The Home Team’s good work has been recognised by Singaporeans.

82. In a survey conducted last year by MHA, nearly 95% of Singapore residents favourably rated the Home Team’s performance in keeping Singapore safe and secure. This was the highest proportion in the past decade.

83. A key enabler for success as a Home Team leader is the ability to understand domestic and global developments, analyse how it affects our security, and then anticipate what needs to be done.

84. That is why I have spent some time today to share some perspective on the conflict .

85. I hope that each of you will continue to reflect on how it may affect your work and our collective mission to keep Singapore safe and secure.

86. As leaders, you also have a duty to invest in the development and growth of your officers.

87. I hope that you will help them in turn to understand the situation and prepare them for the challenges that may arise, and that will ensure that they too can step up as leaders when their time comes.

88. It is through this continuous cycle of leadership renewal that the Home Team has successfully delivered strong results over the past decades.

89. I am confident that you will carry this torch forward.

90. My heartiest congratulations again to all our promotees.

91. Thank you very much.