Launch of SGSecure Music Video and Instagram Account – Speech by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Good afternoon.

2. I am happy to join you here today at this SGSecure Roadshow, together with all our partners.

3. There has been good interest in our roadshows. Some changes were made in September of last year, and since then, we’ve noticed that there has been an uptick in the number of people interested. And we’ve had close to 13,000 visitors.

Terror Threat Persists

4. We do this because it is important for us to continue to engage the public on SGSecure.

5. What it means, what is their role, and why it is important.

6. For those of us who follow the news around the world, there has been an increase in the number of terrorist incidents around the world.

7. In March this year, there was a major concert hall attack in Moscow.

8. More than 140 people were killed.

9. In April, less than a month later, a 16-year-old boy in Sydney attacked the bishop of a church with a knife.

10. I’m just mentioning two incidents, there are many. We also had an incident in Malaysia, where a man killed two police officers and injured a third at a police station in Ulu Tiram in Johor.

11. I spoke about this last month.

12. The attacker’s father and brother have been charged for supporting ISIS and for inciting terrorism.

13. Following the attack, the Malaysian authorities arrested at least 15 persons with suspected links to ISIS.

14. The ultimate aim of the terrorists was to cause mayhem, kill a lot of people and topple the government.

15. In Singapore, the Internal Security Department (ISD) has just released the annual Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report on Thursday, a few days ago.

16. Their assessment is that the terrorism threat to Singapore remains high.

17. ISIS-linked or inspired attacks have continued all over Southeast Asia.

18. Meanwhile, Al Qaeda and JI continue to pose a significant threat.

19. Terrorist groups, as a whole, have exploited overseas conflicts, including the ongoing Israel-HAMAS conflict, to radicalise, recruit, and also encourage violence.

20. Singapore remains an important target for terrorists.

21. Online self-radicalisation continues to be a significant threat for us, like many other places in the world.

22. Since 2015, 52 self-radicalised individuals, 40 of them Singaporeans and 12 foreigners – they have been dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

23. 13 of the 52 were youths aged 20 or below.

24. This youth radicalisation is a cause of concern.

Everyone Plays a Role

25. We have kept Singapore safe and secure so far.

26. So as a result, people don’t think that there will be a terror attack, it’s not in people’s minds.

27. But that doesn’t mean an attack won’t happen here.

28. We have to continue to do our best together with the agencies to detect and prevent any terrorist attack.

29. And, in the event of a successful attack, to manage the fallout.

30. But the community as a whole have a big role to play.

31. Each of us can do our part in many ways.

32. First, Stay Alert.

33. Be vigilant – report any suspicious activities and any signs of radicalisation to the authorities.

34. Second, Stay Strong.

35. Be equipped with skills, such as first aid and CPR-AED, other skills that can help to save lives in an emergency.

36. And third, Stay United.

37. Make the effort to know our neighbours, celebrate our multi-culturalism, engage in respectful discussions when there are differences in opinion.

38. These sort of initiatives can go a long way towards strengthening our social fabric and help us withstand any kinds of attack.

SGSecure Digital Strategies

39. In closing, let me speak about our plans to increase public engagement on SGSecure even more.

40. The SGSecure Programme Office will be improving its digital engagement strategies, to create content that the public may find easier to relate to, to raise awareness of SGSecure messages.

41. For example, we have collaborated with local singer-songwriter, Mr Nathan Hartono, to produce a music video, which will be screened shortly.

42. As you watch the video, I urge you to pay close attention to the messages there, and to keep them in mind even after this event.

43. With that, I will now leave you to enjoy the video.

44. Thank you very much.