The Straits Times - Yes to freedom, but only if no one gets hurt: DPM
21 October 2007
Emphasis is on racial and religious harmony
By Lynn Lee
YOU are free to stretch out your hand and throw a punch in Singapore. But only if you do not end up hitting someone's nose.
This is Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng's take on freedom here: people can say what they want, as long as they do not violate another person's space, or disrupt harmony.
'What's sensitive to us are comments relating to race and religion,' he said on Sunday, reiterating the Government's emphasis on racial and religious harmony.
Every society needs order to prosper, he added, and even though some foreigners and Singaporeans talked about the lack of freedom here, the country's safety draws foreigners here.
As Singapore's melting pot of cultures and ethnicities expands with an influx of new citizens, it is crucial to ensure that 'minor misunderstandings' do not escalate and damage social cohesion, he said.
And this is where schemes like the Government's Community Engagement Programme come in, he said, noting that Singapore has learnt the 'very hard way' through two racial riots of 1964.
The programme was launched last February to boost ties and understanding between different ethnic and religious groups.
Mr Wong, who is also Minister for Home Affairs, was speaking at a 90-minute dialogue on international terrorism and its impact on racial and religious harmony here.
While he stressed repeatedly that attitudes that 'stoke fires among different communities' would not be tolerated, he noted that things were not set in stone when it came to other forms of freedom of expression.
As society evolves, norms will change, and Singapore, as a dynamic society, will have to strike a balance between having more space for expression, without sacrificing order, he said.
However, loosening up comes with its own can of worms, he told the 200 Bishan residents, students and community leaders present.
It could lead to riots and innocent bystanders may be hurt, he said.
Twelve questions came from the floor, including three on how prepared the Government and people are to handle a potential terror attack.
Mr Wong assured that while not everything planned has been tested, mechanism to handle such incidents are in place.
'Now we will be doing it at the individual cluster level. With this preparation, we hope that we can be better prepared before any incident.'
He noted, in response to a question on how to better prepare young people to react in such an event, that not all of Singapore's four million inhabitants could go through simulated emergency exercises.
But workplaces, schools and community groups were reaching out to their members, and there were handbooks available on how to handle emergencies.
'If it happens, we will have to learn how to cope with it, stay calm, look at instructions and directions and listen to those who are in charge and follow what they say about safe evacuation.'
Tackling terror fallout
Government leaders will step in to restore calm and update Singaporeans on the situation.
Agencies, such as the police, Singapore Civil Defence Force, hospitals and social service organisations, will deal with ground problems.
The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports will work with community and religious leaders. In turn, they and grassroots groups will reach out to HDB heartlanders and share with them what needs to be done.
The Education Ministry will lead efforts to make sure students do not misunderstand each other as a result of the incident.
The Manpower Ministry will work with unions and companies to ensure calm in the workplace.
Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH.
The Straits Times - Terror bait: Web games, tunes
22 October 2007
MESSAGES of hate and photos glorifying suicide bombers are no longer enough for Muslim extremist websites looking to recruit young people.
Now, there are online video games and catchy hip-hop tunes that spread the message that Islam is under attack, said Ustaz Mohamed Ali, a research analyst at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, yesterday.
This ups the prospect of youngsters becoming radicalised and is a disturbing phenomenon, he said.
'Self-radicalisation is harder to detect and disrupt,' he added at a dialogue on terrorism and religious harmony.
This is because recruitment, done in chatrooms, cannot be tracked. And with identities masked, people tend to express more violence than they actually feel.
New media is a boon to terrorists, he cautioned, as it lets them reach those outside terror organisations. Already, some 6,000 websites promoting religious extremism exist.
Indeed, online propaganda had heavily influenced law graduate Abdul Basheer Abdul Kader, 28, who was detained in February for planning terror activities.
Individuals who get hooked are typically 'young and action-oriented', who may be searching for an identity, said Ustaz Mohamed.
So a multi-pronged approach is needed to fight this threat, he added. This includes counselling - which is something the Religious Rehabilitation Group, made up of religious teachers, does.
Said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng at the start of the dialogue: 'Every individual radicalised through the Internet is not an easy problem to solve. That's why we have to be very vigilant in dealing with this.'
LYNN LEE
DPM Wong Kan Seng tackled a host of issues at yesterday's dialogue. Here are some of his responses.
ILLEGAL PARKING 'PRIVILEGES'
'It is not true that the police only enforces (the law) on those who park illegally at temples and not outside the mosques...
Many years ago when I heard this, I checked it up and was told there was no such thing.
The law applies equally to everyone.
When an organisation or group wants to hold a special event and they want some leeway to enable followers to park in a place, police will make an exception on a case by case basis.'
On a comment that Muslims receive special treatment for illegal parking outside mosques during Friday prayers, while Chinese going to temples are penalised
FIGHTS BETWEEN DIFFERENT GROUPS
'Whenever there is a fight...particularly between individuals and groups of different races, the first thing the police will do is make sure it's not racially motivated.
It may just be incidental that a person is of a different race...but that's the first thing the police will do and they will make sure that the case is followed through thoroughly.
As for individuals, who as a result of the other person's race, take matters into their own hands, the police will act quite seriously about this person who assaulted the other party.'
On how the police investigate fights to ensure they are not racially motivated
EXPLAINING NEW THREAT TO ELDERLY
That's where young people, in your communication and chats with your parents, can tell them a bit more.
'Surely they (the elderly) can also watch TV and listen to what the neighbours say about Madrid, New York, Bombay, London and so on...they may not know every detail...but I presume they are quite aware of the dangers of any communal problems.'
On how young people can help the older generation, who may not know English but who have been through past racial riots, to understand the new terrorism threat
THE insights into Islam were not those he could find readily available in the mass media.
And amid constant calls to maintain inter-racial harmony, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary student Benjamin Wong thinks that community dialogues that bring together religious leaders, terrorism experts and ordinary Singaporeans — such as the one held in Bishan yesterday — are worth their weight in building social cohesion.
With the growing spectre of international terrorism, one of the biggest challenges for Singapore has been the misrepresentation of Islam and the dangers of the Internet in spreading radicalism, said two speakers, Mr Atan Noor from the An-Nahdhah mosque in Bishan and Mr Mohamed Ali from the International Centre of Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
As a result, the problems of terrorism and individuals embracing radical ideas, or what is known as self-radicalisation, will not go away for a long time, said Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng, who also spoke at the two-hour session organised by the Bishan East Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle.
"It is not easy to police the Internet, but it is not so difficult to find the person so enchanted by radical ideas," he said.
As these extremists take to cyberspace to spread their ideas, Mr Mohamed urged Singaporeans to be more cautious and also called for more websites to counter these fundamentalist ideologies.
Mr Wong also stressed that it is up to the people and not the Government to bring about social and religious harmony.
Said Benjamin: "Our safety and security is very important, but as a young person, I feel Singaporean youth tend to take the situation for granted."
Nonetheless, the panelists were heartened by the questions asked by the crowd of 300 at Bishan Community Centre.
"It shows that they are concerned about the issues we spoke about. And I believe these are the set of people that we would be able to give more of an education and understanding as to what is the risk of terrorism activities," said Mr Atan.
"Such events will also help them to understand more about Islam ... to ensure the harmony of the community we have built remains intact."
Note : No reproduction or downloading of this article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from TODAY.
The New Paper - Speak freely, don't disrupt harmony
22 October 2007
SAY what you want - as long as you don't disrupt harmony, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said yesterday at a dialogue in international terrorism and its impact on racial and religious harmony here.
He said that as Singapore's ethnicities expand with an influx of new citizens, it is crucial to ensure that "minor misunderstandings" do not escalate and damage social cohesion.
As society evolves, norms will change, and Singapore, as a dynamic society, will have to strike a balance between having more space for expression, without sacrificing order, he added.
