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'Car bomb' tests responseDate : 10 November 2010 The Straits Times - 'Car bomb' tests response 10 November 2010 The result: Only a few are alert enough to call 999 immediately By Jeremy Au Yong MORNING rush hour in Shenton Way. A heavily laden car is parked in an area of high traffic. Wires stick out from a door. Gas cylinders in the back seat are wired to a device. A ticking sound can be heard. Suddenly, white smoke wafts from the boot. What would Singaporeans do should they come across such a car? Would they even notice it? Would they call 999 to report a possible bomb? On Nov 2, the police conducted a mock terror attack to get answers to those questions. From 8am to 7pm, they parked 'suspicious'-looking cars at nine locations, including Shenton Way, Orchard Road and Marina Bay. Then they watched the people going by. Out of 7,200 who came within 10m of the cars, only 260, or 3.6 per cent, noticed something was amiss. Of these, 52 called the police or Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) immediately or told security guards of nearby buildings. Another 97 said they intended to make a report after moving away from the car. And a handful who stopped did so only to take pictures or pose beside the car. Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng revealed the details of the exercise and its results at the annual National Security Seminar yesterday. Codenamed 'Times Square', it was modelled on an attempted attack in New York this year. Police there discovered the bomb and defused it after street vendors alerted them to a smoking vehicle. Mr Wong said the results suggest that people are generally complacent about the possibility of a terror incident occurring here. 'However, the fact that there were those who were alert and noticed the suspicious vehicle quickly and acted on it, by informing the police or SCDF, gives us cause for some satisfaction,' he added. His speech to 350 civil servants at the Civil Service College was his first as Coordinating Minister for National Security. He also noted that over time, people tend to become less vigilant - not only in Singapore, which has not had any recent terrorist incident, but also in places traumatised by such events. 'This is perhaps inevitable and natural because a community needs to get on with life and not live perpetually in the clutches of fear that a traumatic terror incident provokes,' he said. The challenge, then, is to find a level of readiness that would help make the country a hard target and a resilient one. It would mean viewing preparedness in terms of nurturing a few vigilant activists, rather than trying to get the whole population to the same heightened level. He highlighted the Community Engagement Programme as a valuable instrument. At the grassroots level, it develops a small but active pool of grassroots cadres in each ward who develop contingency plans, exercise these plans, and are ready to be mobilised. Last week's mock car bomb test was not the first simulated terror threat, but it focused on the response of the public rather than of government agencies. Among those who reacted quickly was Mr Johanis Rifaeh, 36, who works in the IT industry. He was heading for breakfast near One Raffles Link when he peered into a car that was parked illegally. 'I saw two gas tanks inside and a bunch of wires sticking out from the door. I was puzzled. I realised there was something fishy, but it took, like, five seconds for it to sink in that this might be a bomb,' he said. As he whipped out his phone to report it, police officers observing the scene approached him to explain the exercise. Dr Alan Chong, an associate professor of political science at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, found the results unsurprising as Singapore has no ingrained history of terrorism. 'You cannot expect the public to react the way an Israeli, American or Briton might react,' he said, noting that previous terrorist incidents here - the hijacking of the Laju ferry in 1974 and of Singapore Airlines Flight 117 in 1991 - were 'far apart and cannot be compared' to the scale of atrocities elsewhere. The police have this advice for anyone who comes across suspicious items or activities: Move to a safe spot and call 999. (With thanks to SPH - StraitsTimes.com) Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH. Berita Harian - Kan Seng: Many are Complacent about Terror Threats10 November 2010 Translation (Summary) Singaporeans are generally complacent about the possibility of a terror incident occurring here, said Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng. The conclusion was reached based on an exercise conducted by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Nov 2. It had been found that out of about 7,200 people who passed by cars rigged with tell-tale signs of a bomb deliberately parked in areas of high traffic, only 260 or 3.6 per cent detected something amiss. “However, the fact that there were those who were alert and noticed the suspicious vehicle quickly and acted on it by informing the police or SCDF, gives us some cause for satisfaction,” said Mr Wong. In his speech at the National Security Seminar 2010, his first as Coordinating Minister for National Security, held at the Civil Service College yesterday, Mr Wong noted that the lack of vigilance has been observed not only in Singapore, which has not had any recent terrorist incident, but also in places traumatised by such events. “This is perhaps inevitable and natural because a community needs to get on with life and not live perpetually in the clutches of fear that a traumatic terror incident provokes,” explained Mr Wong. In this respect, he cited the Community Engagement Programme (CEP), started four years ago at grassroots, ministerial and community levels, as an effective way in developing preparedness. In the exercise modelled after the foiled car bomb plot at Times Square, New York, which was aimed at testing the public’s level of vigilance, three cars were left parked at nine locations, including Boat Quay, Orchard Road, Harbourfront, Marina Bay and Shenton Way. Each car had suspicious tell-tale signs including wires sticking out from the car, ticking sounds and smoke wafting from the boot. The public’s response was then observed by Exercise Officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and SPF. Mr Wong also cautioned the authorities against becoming “overly preoccupied” with the latest terror attack, and neglecting to place them in context of past terrorist incidents. The fact is, terror threats, he added, are seldom completely brand new. Often they are revisions of past efforts in the same vein. In this respect, Mr Wong said terrorism researches and academics may offer valuable insight into how future threats may evolve. The seminar also featured talks by Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research executive director Professor Rommel Banlaoi and International Crisis Group senior advisor Sidney Jones.
Click on the link below to view the Berita Harian article (With thanks to SPH - Berita Harian) Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH. Lianhe Zaobao - 黄根成:多数人对"炸弹汽车"视若无睹 10 November 2010 国人对恐怖袭击警惕性低 ● 蔡添成 报道 当新加坡人在金融区等闹市看到非法停放路边的汽车疑藏有炸弹,而且还在冒烟时,多数会有什么反应？答案是:漠不关心。 警方本月2日模拟今年五月纽约时报广场发现一辆藏弹汽车的情景,先后把三辆让人怀疑藏有炸弹的汽车停放在闹市的九个地点,以测试民众对可疑恐怖袭击活动的警惕性,结果令人失望。 这些"炸弹汽车"的后座沉重、电线外露,行李箱甚至还在冒烟,先后停放在乌节、驳船码头、珊顿道、港湾城和滨海湾等地路边,以引起路过民众注意。没想到从上午8时至晚上7时之间,虽有约7200人路过时见到,却只有260人(3.6%)表示发现车子可疑,而其中只有52人即刻报警或拨打民防热线,或通知附近大厦的保安员,人数还不到百分之一。 测试结果也发现有97人表示他们是有意在远离车子之后才拨电报警,44人则表示他们虽觉察到车子有异样,但承认自己不准备向当局举报。 副总理兼国家安全统筹部长黄根成昨天在新加坡公共服务学院举行的第八届国家安全研讨会上讲话时,透露这项代号为"时报广场演习"的测试结果。当局当时也在现场访问167名注意到情况有异的民众,以向他们搜集更多资料,对群体行为加以分析。 "测试结果显示民众对新加坡发生恐怖攻击的可能性掉以轻心。然而,其中一些机警的民众很快便觉察到车子的可疑之处,并立即向当局报告,这让我们感到些许安慰。" 他为此提醒国人须认真看待恐怖主义威胁,并指出政府虽可削弱恐怖主义组织,但要确保国家安全,除了跨部门合作之外,社区的警惕性也同样重要。 一辆藏有炸弹装置的汽车五月初停放在纽约时报广场,幸好一名机警的街头摊贩及时报警,当局立即疏散群众和全面封锁街道,并出动拆爆队拆除炸弹,及时制止了一场炸弹攻击。 黄根成也提到人们对反恐出现松懈,几乎是世界各国的共同现象。即使在那些曾遭遇恐怖袭击的国家,时日一久,民众也会放松警惕。 "或许这是自然而然,难以避免的事。因为一个社会总须照常过日子,而不是长期生活在恐惧中。" 因此,他强调较务实的做法是作出可持续的准备及鼓励社区参与。比如四年前推行的社区参与计划,就证明能有效地结合社区各阶层民众的力量,为反恐制定应急措施。 他指出,恐怖分子的袭击手法层出不穷,必须谨慎应对。政府也须结合各方力量,才能有效打击恐怖主义。 "政府不能保证新加坡永远不会发生恐怖袭击,但我们会尽力而为,与学者、私人企业和公众合作,以设法阻止这类事件发生,确保国家安全。" 我国的安全也同区域安全形势息息相关。例如日前发生的恐怖分子通过快递公司把装有爆炸物的包裹从也门邮寄到美国,幸好被查获,事件发生后各国民航界的安全专家,包括新加坡都在加紧检讨安检程序,并研究新的应对方式。 黄根成指出,恐怖分子虽然不断改换攻击方式,但总是有迹可循。研究恐怖主义的专家学者可在这方面协助安全机构注意下一次可能出现的干案手法。 当局可加强联系的另一个对象是各专业领域,如建筑商、私人开发商或工商业者的参与都很重要。 对此,他提到也门炸弹包裹事件所带来的其中一个疑问是为何电子打印机是由也门运往美国。因为一般上这类产品都是从美国运到也门,可惜处理货运的人并没对此加以质疑。 "这显示除了应用科技之外,人的因素至少也是同等重要。" (With thanks to SPH - Lianhe Zaobao.com) Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH. Tamil Murasu - Danger of terrorist attack: Singaporeans complacent, says Minister Wong10 November 2010 Translation (Summary) The Singapore Police Force conducted a mock exercise, modelled after the foiled car bomb plot at New York Times Square, to get an answer to what Singaporeans would do should they come across a similar situation. Police had parked vehicles at nine locations including Orchard Road, Shenton Way and Marina Bay between 8 am and 7 pm, created tell-tale signs of car bombs and watched the public’s reactions. Of the 7,200 people who walked by the vehicles, only 52 Singaporeans called the police. In his first address as Coordinating Minister for National Security, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng revealed the results of “Exercise Times Square” at the National Security Seminar on Tuesday morning. Mr Wong said that the results of the exercise showed that the public is generally complacent about the possibility of a terrorist incident occurring in Singapore. However, the fact that at least some of them informed the police gives us some satisfaction, he added. Noting that security planners may have to rethink how best to engage the community to remain vigilant, he said that it may be more practical and sustainable to groom volunteers in certain sectors instead of expecting a uniform level of preparedness across society. In that respect, he said the Community Engagement Programme started in 2006 has been successful in developing a small but active pool of grassroots volunteers. He further said that a different approach to security is needed because, over time, people become less vigilant about security matters.
Click on the link below to view the Tamil Murasu article (With thanks to SPH - Tamil Murasu) Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH. For related speech, please click here. |
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