DPM Wong's comments at the Bishan East Emergency Preparedness Day on 8 July 2007
11 July 2007
Photos taken by the CEP Secretariat:
Learning all about emergency preparedness
Residents checking out the CEP booth which showcased public outreach materials relating to CEP
Channel NewsAsia - Be careful not to fix profiles on terrorists: DPM Wong
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 08 July 2007 1455 hrs
SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng says Singapore should be careful not to fix profiles on terrorists or to stereotype them.
Otherwise, attention will be focused only on certain types of people and this would be a wrong move.
DPM Wong was speaking at an emergency drill at Bishan on Sunday.
A 'fire' in a third-floor flat but people were evacuated safely in the exercise, with the help of neighbours and community leaders.
Singapore has fortunately been spared from the kind of emergency evacuations seen after recent terror attacks in London and Glasgow.
Still, DPM Wong said, Singaporeans must remain vigilant and they should not stereotype terrorists.
He said: "There isn't a fixed profile, there is no stereotyping of a terrorist. What we know is that those who want to seek religious knowledge and do not go to the right sources.....the correct teachers, and they go and consult or learn from extremist or radical teachers, then they'll learn the wrong thing, and therefore they become vulnerable. So you must be careful not to go and fix the profile on terrorists."
He added: "If we tell you a particular profile of people fits a terrorist, then you only look for certain types of people, which would be wrong. They could be just very ordinary looking person, could well be a neighbour who learnt the wrong stuff from the wrong teacher and eventually become a terrorist.
"The recent incidents again highlighted the danger of hate crime, which means that one group of people taking extreme measures against another. We must guard against such hate crimes happening in Singapore should there be a terrorist incident."
On reports that a suspect linked to the terror plots in the UK could have been on his way to or had planned to transit in Singapore before his arrest in Australia, Mr Wong assured that border checks in Singapore are tight.
DPM Wong also said that fighting terrorism is a never-ending task.
So it is important to constantly remind Singaporeans with events like exercises and exhibitions on what to do during emergencies like a chemical or bomb attack.
And based on the recent attacks in London and Glasgow, Mr Wong reiterated the need to maintain racial and religious harmony in Singapore. - CNA/ir
