PM Goh Chok Tong’s Opening Remarks at Dialogue with Community Leaders

PRIME MINISTER GOH CHOK TONG'S OPENING REMARKS AT DIALOGUE WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS ON IMPACT OF ARREST OF JEMAAH ISLAMIAH OPERATIVES, ON MONDAY, 28 JANUARY 2002, AT 8.00 PM AT THE KALLANG THEATRE

I was worried about the consequences of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, and the ensuing war in Afghanistan, on our social cohesion. Fortunately, Singaporeans of all races and religions reacted responsibly and maturely to the events. Though the attacks were committed by a group of people professing to be fighting for the interests of Islam, non-Muslim Singaporeans did not put the blame on Islam or our Muslim community. They did not suspect our Muslims to be sympathisers of Osama bin Laden. Malay/Muslim Singaporeans came out strongly and unequivocally to condemn the attacks. They understood that the war in Afghanistan was against terrorism, not Islam.

We did not know then that Osama’s Al Qaeda network had already penetrated Singapore. So Singaporeans were shocked when they learnt earlier this month, of the arrest of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) operatives.

The JI episode has worrying implications for our multi-racial and multi-religious society.

What will our Chinese and Indians now think of our Malay/Muslims, since the JI operatives carried out their activities in the name of Islam?

How will our Malay/Muslims react to such suspicions?

How do we prevent distrust between the different racial and religious communities from arising, should a terrorist act by some Malay/Muslim Singaporeans take place in the future?

These are questions I want to discuss tonight. We should do so openly and candidly. It does not matter if we see things differently. The primary objective is to get our irrational fears off our chest, and get to know each other better. In this spirit, we should not take offence if out of ignorance, questions or comments are made in an insensitive manner.

Reactions of Non-Muslims

First, the reactions of non-Muslim Singaporeans. We cannot deny that some non-Muslims may misunderstand and distrust our Malay/Muslim community as a result of this JI episode. They may wrongly associate the values and beliefs of the JI operatives with our Malay/Muslim community.

A Chinese senior civil servant told me that his mother, in her late sixties, called him immediately after news of the arrests broke out. She had discussed the issue with her friend, who proclaimed that henceforth, she would not get into the same lift with a Malay!

Such a reaction is irrational, and of course, wrong. But it is not totally unexpected. I know of others who felt that way. We have to check and correct such misgivings. Non-Muslim Singaporeans should not allow suspicion and distrust to infect our relations with our Malay/Muslim community just because of the acts of a few extremists.

Our Malay/Muslim community are good, loyal Singaporeans. They want to live in a peaceful and secure society. They are against terrorism and the evil deeds of the JI operatives, and have come out openly to condemn them. They have also criticised the wild and extreme views of Zulfikar, the ex-CEO of Fateha.

On the other hand, the JI operatives are a small, isolated group of misguided Muslims. They were made use of in subordinate jobs by foreign terrorists. They did only the reconnaissance work. The final hi-tech explosions were going to be carried out by foreign experts.

True, many of our Malay/Muslims are becoming more religious in their practice of Islam. This is a worldwide phenomenon among Muslims. It started from the Middle East and has now become global through personal interaction, travel, TV and the Internet. But this does not mean that our Malay/Muslims support violence and terrorism.

The Government will therefore not allow any Singaporean to discriminate against and blame our Malay/Muslim community for the acts of these few extremists. In fact, we must assure our Malay/Muslim community of their security. They are safe in Singapore because the Government will not allow them to be made scapegoats. We must all work together to prevent any distrust from building up between the different races and religions.

For example, some Chinese companies may shun employing Malay/Muslims henceforth. This would be terribly wrong. It would only aggravate the matter and divide our society. That is why I have invited business leaders to tonight’s dialogue as well. I would like them to make greater efforts than before to ensure that there are no such discriminatory attitudes among employers.

But non-Muslim Singaporeans must go beyond simply refraining from letting suspicion and distrust affect their relations with our Malay/Muslim community. We must pro-actively reach out to our Malay/Muslim community. We must get to know them better. This way, we will develop greater confidence, friendship and trust with each other. We can then better build a successful, multi-racial, multi-religious society.

Take the example of our Malay MPs, my Malay grassroots leaders in Marine Parade, and my old Malay school friends. I know them personally. I trust them. I respect their religious beliefs and practices. Because of my rapport and friendship with them, we have been able to discuss the implications of the JI episode and other racially sensitive issues openly and frankly.

Likewise, you must reach out to your Malay/Muslim neighbours. That may take a while to achieve, but you must make the effort. What we can also do is to establish mechanisms for MPs and grassroots leaders to get to know the mosque committees and the local leaders of Malay/Muslim organisations in their constituencies. This will be critical in the trauma after a terror attack. If the religious and local leaders of the various communities know and have strong rapport with each other, then they will be able to work together to manage the inevitable emotional outbursts from the ground. They will be able to quickly restore confidence among the communities. We cannot afford a repeat of the panic and irrational fear that led to segregation of the races after the two riots of 1964.

I hope Malay/Muslims will also make an effort to participate more actively in non-Malay/Muslim activities. Many Malay/Muslim leaders are very active in the mosque committees. They are less active in non-mosque grassroots activities. They should now be active in both spheres.

Reactions of Malay/Muslims

Next, the reactions of Malay/Muslims. Our Malay/Muslims may become more sensitive as to how the other communities now look at them. But they must not over-react and jump to the wrong conclusion, that they are being watched with suspicion and discriminated against.

A Malay executive from MediaCorp recounted to me what his Malay friend had told him. His friend had observed that at a Police roadblock recently, it seemed that the Police pulled over only Malay motorists. Motorists of other races were allowed to go past. The Malay friend felt that the Police were now targeting Malays because of heightened suspicion of the community following the JI arrests.

I told the Mediacorp executive that there was probably a logical, operational reason for this. The Police were probably looking for a Malay suspect. As such, there was no reason for them to stop Chinese and Indian motorists. I gave him an example of the Police looking for a stolen Honda car. They would not stop the Mercedes, BMWs, Suzukis or cars of other make.

What Can We Do?

These two incidents, the reactions of the elderly Chinese woman and the Malay friend of the Mediacorp executive, highlight the problems the JI episode poses to our inter-racial and inter-religious relations. If we do not check such attitudes, mutual suspicion and distrust will soon set in.

I am especially concerned about inter-racial and inter-religious relations at the ground level. At the leadership level, I am confident that good sense will prevail when dealing with racial and religious incidents. Reactions will be calm, considered, and based on facts. People on the ground, however, tend to react emotionally based on rumours, hearsay and prejudices. Their reactions could well be irrational, and from the gut. A minor incident could blow up into a major confrontation between the races and religions. We must prevent this.

I do not want to alarm you, but it is prudent for us to work on the assumption that a bomb may go off somewhere in Singapore, someday.

This is because some of the JI operatives have fled Singapore. They may regroup outside Singapore, to plan how they might continue their operations. There may also be terrorist elements in Singapore, besides the 15 JI operatives, whom we have not yet identified. And even if we do catch all current operatives, there is no guarantee that no new terrorist cells would be formed in the future. There are, after all, several terrorist groups in our region. They have links with one another. We can expect radical and militant terrorists in the region, especially where they have not been put on the run, to try and hit out at American targets in Singapore, or even Singapore targets.

In fact, we have given intelligence information on terrorist suspects to Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Malaysia and the Philippines have acted on our information. They have arrested the terrorist suspects. We hope the Indonesians will also find the intelligence useful in checking the terrorist networks in their territory.

Should a bomb go off, and dozens of Chinese and Indians are killed or injured, I dare not imagine the anger of the Chinese and Indians against our Malay/Muslims. But if community leaders know one another well, and we have already developed confidence, friendship and trust among the different races and religions, then we will be able to move in together and contain the emotional ground reaction immediately.

I intend, therefore, to take immediate steps to enhance interaction among the different communities at the ground level. I have asked the People's Association to get the CCCs to set up "Inter-Racial Confidence Circles" or "IRCCs" in every constituency. IRCCs will comprise leaders of the various racial, religious, social, educational and business groups and organisations in each constituency.

The objective of the IRCCs is to provide a platform for confidence-building among the different communities, as a basis for developing, in time, deeper friendships and trust. Regular interactions will build up inter-racial and inter-religious rapport. They will also provide opportunities for all parties to address immediately racial and religious problems on the ground.

It is not difficult to imagine circumstances under which a terrorist act could turn into a full-blown racial confrontation. I am not speaking in the abstract - many of us here have lived through the 1964 racial riots. However, I believe that if the different communities have had the opportunity to regularly discuss sensitive issues and come to know and trust one another, we can avoid over-reaction when divisive incidents occur. We can prevent a rupture in inter-racial and inter-religious relations.

Let me give you an example of how people react to strangers and friends.

One of my Muslim Marine Parade grassroots leaders used to take a walk in the mornings in his sarong. He was a burly chap. He told me that after the arrest of the JI operatives, some Chinese Singaporeans avoided him when they saw him walking towards them in his sarong. I asked him if that were so even for the Chinese who knew him. He replied that they treated him like before. This goes to show how important it is for racial and religious harmony, that we get to know each other personally.

Nevertheless, this grassroots leader has decided to wear pants when he goes for his morning walks.

Conclusion

Let me summarise the immediate challenges facing us.

First, we have a security challenge. The Police are on top of this. They have poured in ample resources. They have good intelligence of what is happening in Singapore and in the region. They are working closely with their counterparts in other countries.

But this security challenge is not one that can be fully addressed by the Police alone. All Singaporeans have a part to play. You should be vigilant. It does not mean that you should see shadows everywhere, and suspect everyone and anyone. But if you do see someone lurking furtively and taking photographs of sensitive installations, do give the Police a call.

My second and more pressing worry concerns our inter-racial and inter-religious relations. As leaders of various groups and organisations, we should set the example for our members, by responding to the JI arrests in a level-headed and rational way. We should speak in one voice as citizens of Singapore, rather than from a coloured perspective as members of the different ethnic and religious communities. We should begin to lay a framework to build up confidence, friendship and trust among Singaporeans of different races and religions. We should go out and mix with our neighbours, colleagues and classmates of other races and religions. We should not just make friends with our own kind.

Let us turn this JI episode into something positive. Let us use the opportunity to strengthen inter-racial and inter-religious relations in Singapore. Let us have a heart-to-heart exchange on any unease and concerns we may have. I want all of us to establish rapport and understanding before we leave this place tonight.