Strategies to Identify Potential Radicalised Groups

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Home Affairs in light of the recent discovery of radicalised Bangladeshis in Singapore, what are our follow-up efforts and strategies in identifying more of such activities or groups with high potential or likelihood of such ideologies within our midst.

The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr K Shanmugam): Mdm Speaker, our security agencies will continue to monitor and investigate into signs of radicalisation in Singapore. These threats can come from within Singapore or from foreigners in Singapore. As part of the overall counter-terrorism effort, we also share intelligence with foreign security partners to deal with the transnational nature of the threats.

But it cannot just be the security agencies. The larger Singaporean society has also got to play a part in protecting us against this threat. Singaporeans need to help safeguard family and friends from becoming radicalised. Employers need to pay attention on what is going on in workers' dormitories, for example. Workers, too, can play a part in reporting suspicious activities that they may come across. In short, everyone has a part to play to enhance our collective security.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): I thank the Minister for the response. Can I just ask two supplementary questions? Firstly, are there specific action plans that we can put up or come up with dormitory operators because they are an important resource for us and they are the eyes and the ears on the ground, especially where foreign workers congregate, for example, in the dormitories?

Secondly, there are locations in Singapore and throughout Singapore where there are frequent repeated and recurrent gatherings of foreign workers we know, and many of them do not create any major problems or issues. But what would be our threshold for stimulus or to take action, for example?

Mr K Shanmugam: Foreign workers dormitories are subject to a number of guidelines in terms of what we allow and we do not allow. The sizing, how they are structured and so on, have to be cleared by the security agencies. For example, quite apart of issues of terrorism, there are other issues related to possible violence, and we need to be able to move in and deal with that. The issue of overall security is an on-going conversation, not just with people who manage foreign workers dormitories but we need to involve the broader Singapore society, and my Ministry will be announcing some plans soon.

As regard to the second question about the gathering of foreign workers in specific places, I will start with this caveat. If you look at the incidents of crime, it is actually lower amongst the foreign workers because they are here for a purpose and if they get into trouble, they will be sent back straightaway, and it is a huge economic cost. So, the crime incidence within the foreign worker population is lower than general Singapore population.

Having said that, I think we recognise the point the Member made, and there are some imperatives. First, we need them here, for example, for construction and some of the other types of work. Second, we have to manage that and the growth of the foreign worker population has been managed significantly. But then, that imposes cost on businesses and the economy. At the same time, we have to manage the gatherings. For example, by using the police and other uniformed services, sometimes you do not need a police officer dealing with these issues.

We are looking at all of that. I do not want to give the impression that, therefore, everything is perfect, but it is certainly a problem that has been recognised.