Religious Rehabilitation Group Retreat – Speech by Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs

RRG Co-Chairmen,

Ustaz Mohamed Hasbi Hassan and

Ustaz Dr Mohamed Ali;

President MUIS,

Chief Executive MUIS,

Mufti,

RRG members,

ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

1. A very good afternoon to everyone here.

2. We are all happy to be here, including myself. This has become an institutionalised gathering, which we all look forward to, I think particularly the families.

3. You have heard the people here, many are familiar faces. Before me, Senior Minister Teo; and before him, Deputy Prime Minister Wong; various people, Prime Ministers, have come and spoken with you on the very important, critical role that the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) plays in countering terrorism and violent extremism.

4. You provide religious guidance, which is credible, and you help counter the distorted interpretations of Islam that is out there in some parts.

5. Second, you engage with the individuals directly. And you do so with empathy, and you do so with understanding, and you build trust and friendship with the individuals who have taken the wrong path.

6. You bring the credibility - if we try doing it, the Government try doing it, it won’t have the credibility. You bring the credibility and you do it directly. You don’t do it because we ask you to do it.

7. Because of your efforts, what are the consequences? You see in other countries, young men, sometimes young women, they die. They go overseas and fight and they die, their families suffer; they die in their own countries, in the process, they also kill tens of other people. So many that we have stopped listing them.

8. Here; first, you save the lives of the individuals concerned, because you stop them from killing themselves. Second, you save more lives because you stop them from killing other people. Third, you help them understand the religion much better. Fourth, they then go out once they are released to lead meaningful lives.

9. You are saving tremendous number of lives and making a very meaningful differences to the people involved. They then are able to live as free men and women.

10. It is not easy work. It requires patience, courage, and conviction.

11. So really, thank you for doing this, year after year after year. Staying the course to help keep our fellow Singaporeans safe and secure, and saving lives.

Evolving Threat Landscape

12. RRG was set up in the early 2000s. Focus then was on counselling the JI detainees.

13. Since then, the nature of the threats has changed significantly. And there are two primary reasons; there are many reasons why there has been a change, but two primary reasons: One, the world has changed, it’s as simple as that; and second, technology has changed.

14. If you look at the world, Middle East was unstable then in the early 2000s, but it is far more unstable now, and at least two active wars are going on. And a lot of divisions, both between Iran and the others – but even within the Sunni Arab countries, there are divisions – and of course, Israel on one side with the war.

15. So, many many conflicts, endless potential for people to get angry. Many areas where extremists can exploit, and they use those conflicts to advance their propaganda and they frame these conflicts along racial lines, along religious lines, along community lines. And very complex historical situations are broken down into very simple emotional narratives, soundbites.

16. It is much more than that. There are many actors, there are many people to blame, there are many problems, very few people there that are lead actors can say they are honourable. But for their own purposes, the individuals will frame it into very simple emotional narratives. And that appeals to people, including young people.

17. Since October 2023, we have issued Restriction Orders and Orders of Detention under the Internal Security Act to six Singaporeans because they have made preparations, wanted to make preparations, to go and engage in armed conflict in Gaza or Iran.

18. One of them was a 14-year-old boy. He wanted to conduct attacks against non-Muslims in Singapore.

19. We also see the rise of what we call “salad bar” radicalisation. Individuals, particularly young people, some of them is not just religion or one aspect - If you go onto the internet, there is a range of options to be violent. Some of them are contradictory, some of them are religious, some of them are not religious, some of them are just violent. And some of these young people – it's why we call it a “salad bar” -- they choose. So, it’s not based on religion, just that they are angry and they go into the internet and they find different things, and it allows them to attack somebody and appeals to them.

20. For example, there is a rise in Philippines and Malaysia, people, they are bullied in school. They come out, they look on the internet, they get emboldened, and because they felt bullied, they want to take revenge. Nothing to do with religion, they just want to go back and kill others. On the internet, you get this too. So “salad bar”, different ways.

21. You see, in human beings, any society, whether Singapore or America, or anywhere else, there will be 90 to 95% who are okay, 5% who are not so okay. Schools have bullying, sometimes the home situation is not easy - you will have a wide variety of situations. For most of us, we were trained to deal with it, and we deal with it. Today, the online offers you a quick escape. It tells you that there are other ways of dealing with it. You can get a gun and go and shoot people. You can take a knife and go and kill people. If you are in the US, guns are easy; if you are in Singapore, Malaysia, guns are not so easy, then you go for knives.

22. Since the beginning of last year, ISD had to deal with four of these cases involving young people.

23. One of them was 14 years old. He was issued with a Restriction Order in September last year. He had gone and looked at a lot of extremist material from many different sources. He looked at ISIS, and then he looked at far-right extremism, and then he looked at far-left extremism, anything that is violent.

24. So, the world has changed, what is available has changed. We all grow up and sometimes you are angry. Now, if you are angry, there are things that you can do, because the internet tells you that you can go and kill some people. Depends a lot on the parents, on schools, but the internet in these ways is important.

25. Second is of course, technology in the way I’ve spoken about it.

26. The digital platforms have increased interactivity. The algorithms feed you, if you look at certain things, the algorithms keep feeding you more of the same stuff.

27. Content, extremist content, is now very directed, it’s very personalised, it’s very engaging, and it’s available plentiful.

28. So, it has accelerated the speed at which radicalisation happens.

29. If you look at the average speed over the last 10 years, used to be two years, now it is one year. But for some, it can be a matter of days. And now, with artificial intelligence, these risks are increasing even more.

30. In August 2024, we arrested a 17-year-old.

31. He was a few weeks away – he had made all his preparations, including buying the knives. He was going to carry out a stabbing attack, and he used AI to prepare his attack manifesto and to pledge his allegiance to ISIS.

32. Last year, ISD detained another 17-year-old. This time, a far-right extremist.

33. He also used technology. He wanted to conduct a shooting attack in mosques. So, can’t get guns in Singapore, there are strict laws. But with technology, now you can print 3D guns if you know how to do it. So, he was planning to print 3D guns, take it, go to a mosque, and kill Muslims.

Response by RRG

34. So, you can see your work is getting more challenging, because of all these things. It is more important than ever, however, the work. We have to keep our young people safe, as safe as we can.

35. It is a whole-of-society effort.

36. We launched SGSecure 2026 earlier this year.

37. The message is very simple: it’s not just the Police, it’s not just Internal Security Department, it’s not just RRG - everyone in society has a role to play. We have to get our citizens to believe and understand that parents, teachers, everyone – need to be on the lookout and they need to tell us. I keep telling parents and teachers to come forward and tell us when you see something which is not usual. Sometimes parents worry that if tell, my son might be detained. But actually, that is better than him killing some people. If he is underage, he will be detained for a very long time. If he is above the legal age, he will face the death penalty, which is worse. If he comes in, we pick him up, he gets counselling, and he actually becomes better in religion. We give him tuition, he gets to finish his schooling, and then he goes out and he gets a job. This is the message we emphasise to parents.

38. And in this ecosystem of everyone having a role, the RRG plays a critical role.

39. The religious leaders and groups are critical in bringing communities together in keeping Singaporeans united.

40. Last year, we saw some cases of Islamophobia and at the same time some anti-Semitism.

41. I spoke about this in November. RRG issued a statement.

42. It called on the community to remember the tenets of Islam: compassion, justice, and respect for all.

43. As the nature of danger and threat has changed, your role has also been changing and evolving with continuous workshops, experts from different fields coming and talking to you, and you keeping in touch with the changing demands and nature of the community.

44. You have been building capabilities to understand how AI and digital platforms affect our people.

45. You are looking at the links between online behaviour and offline conduct, the impact on one another.

46. It is good that you are continuing to build on your community networks, working with a wider range of partners, and addressing the psycho-social dimensions of young people’s vulnerabilities.

47. Today, the partners and speakers you have heard from, Ustaz Ali, Dr N Ganapathy from NUS, Mr Jeff Salleh who is an enterprise AI services practitioner, Singapore Children’s Society, and the guest speaker from Indonesia, Dr Sukabdi. She is a forensic psychologist and Countering Violent Extremism practitioner from Indonesia. I think her perspectives on radicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration would be useful.

48. We need to share best practices – our practices and international practices – in our fight against extremism and radicalisation.

49. Last month, you also launched a WhatsApp channel. Everybody uses WhatsApp, so you have to be there.

50. I am told your channel will feature religious reflections and reminders, educational content on religious concepts, and commentary on current affairs affecting the community.

51. There will also be, I am told, bite-sized content to strengthen awareness on the dangers of extremist narratives and misinformation online.

Conclusion

52. To conclude, the RRG is a key partner in our nation’s counter-radicalisation efforts.

53. You have contributed immensely to make Singapore safer.

54. Let us continue to work together: Government, community, families; to ensure that our future remains secure.

55. I wish everyone a fruitful Retreat.

56. Thank you.