Transcript of Media Doorstop by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, on Terrorism-Related Developments in Malaysia

1. The attack took place on 17 May. There were some arrests and earlier this week, some other arrests were announced by Malaysia.

2. The attack on the police station on 17 May and the other arrests show the need to be very alert, both in Malaysia and Singapore.

3. The attacker was Radin Luqman. His father and brother are reported to be ISIS supporters.

4. The attack was likely ISIS-inspired.

5. Luqman killed two police officers and he wounded another police officer.

6. It was a brazen attack on a police station.

7. Luqman had come with a bag filled with metal sheets and other objects, like a bulletproof vest across his chest. Obviously, the attack seems to have been pre-planned and pre-prepared.

8. The father of Luqman, Radin Imran, was previously associated with Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), another terrorist group.

9. He is said to have moved now to supporting ISIS, and is said to have radicalised his family members.

10. Radin Imran also had four homemade air rifles in his residence. It is a possible indication that the family could have been planning for more attacks to be carried out.

11. The Ulu Tiram attack was carried out with easily available weapons like a machete.

12. It shows how attackers can use easily available items to carry out attacks.

13. We have seen this around the world. Terrorists using knives, other items, taking cars to run down pedestrians.

14. The Malaysian authorities have also arrested the attacker’s family, and they have arrested at least 15 other pro-ISIS suspects in May and June this year.

15. The ultimate aim of the terrorists was to topple the Malaysian government.

16. The Malaysian Home Affairs Minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, has said that there were threats of attacks against His Majesty the Agong, the Malaysian Prime Minister, and senior members of the Malaysian Police Force.

17. ISIS’s violent ideology continues to resonate in this region, and is fuelled by a virtual network of supporters.

18. Extremist narratives have radicalised many individuals, including here in Singapore. As long as these ideologies persist, it will continue to inspire attacks.

19. Our security is closely linked to Malaysia’s security. Due to proximity, what happens in Malaysia will have an impact on our security landscape.

20. This was our past experience with the JI.

21. JI members had met in Malaysia. After we had conducted the first wave of arrests in Singapore in December 2001. They wanted to plan retaliatory attacks against Singapore.

22. We remain a very important target for terrorists.

23. The Malaysian Special Branch (MSB)’s actions against the terrorist suspects help significantly to mitigate the threat to Singapore and the region.

Question from CNA Digital: Singapore and Malaysia are very interconnected - the Causeway marks its centenary today, and we also have the upcoming RTS Link. If such threats constantly emerge just next door, how do we ensure our security, especially with a greater movement of people expected?

24. We now have more than 460,000 travellers crossing every day between Singapore and Malaysia through the two Causeways, in addition to other forms of travel.

25. We deal with this in two ways.

26. First , ICA conducts checks at the borders. So sometimes when the checks take some time, people have to understand that this is a matter of security and is serious.

27. Second , we have a very close cooperation and intelligence sharing with a variety of foreign partners, including MSB.

28. That is very important to deal with current and emerging terrorist threats.

29. ISD has always been and continues to be in close contact with MSB.

Qn from CNA TV: Has there been recent reports or cases where Singapore has been identified as a target for terrorism?

30. Now there have been no specific threats that we have picked up to Singapore.

31. But if we go back, since 2015 – we have a zero-tolerance policy - we move in very early, we don’t wait for the threat to materialise, or about to materialise, and we don’t take chances.

32. We have picked up 50 self-radicalised individuals since 2015, in the last nine years or so. 38 Singaporeans and 12 foreigners have been issued with ISA orders.

33. As I said, zero-tolerance approach when we deal with terrorism and violent extremism.

Question from CNA TV: What is your message for Singaporeans?

34. My basic message is the same and we have said it for many years: We have to be alert as Singaporeans .

35. The agencies, ISD, the Police, and others, will do our best to detect and prevent any terrorist attack.

36. But we need everyone in society to play their part: to be vigilant, to look out for suspicious behaviour and activities, take part and enrol in SGSecure, if you find anything, report them to the authorities.

Question from ST: Can we understand whether your assessment of Singapore’s terror threat has shifted given the latest development and Ulu Tiram attacks?

37. We make regular assessments – the ISD makes regular assessments – and what has happened is something that has to be factored in (our assessments), but I won’t say that it has come as a big shock. If you look around the region, ISIS ideology is prevalent in many countries, and this must be seen in that context.

38. Thank you.