HIDDEN_ADDENDA, MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS: MR WONG KAN SENG
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs

The Ministry of Home Affairs' mission is to keep Singapore safe and secure. This is a fundamental quality of life which all Singaporeans and visitors to Singapore have come to value. Safety and security are also the critical conditions which underpin Singapore’s continued economic prosperity and growth.

Sustaining good security

Staying ahead of the terrorists

MHA will continue to develop strong practical competencies to deal with extremist terrorism and its various violent forms. Just as the terrorists are evolving and are adapting their tactics, we need to keep up or better still, stay ahead of them. We must constantly seek to limit the weaknesses in our society which can be exploited by terrorists. For instance, MHA recently moved to require registration of pre-paid mobile phone SIM card users. This will deny the anonymity that such cards provide to users, something which terrorists and criminals have exploited to conduct their activities.

We must always be ready to develop new capabilities and learn new skills. Although Singapore is a not a country with nuclear energy, the prospect of a “dirty bomb” which exploits radioactive material, is not an implausible threat. To deal with such a scenario, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has developed capabilities to identify, contain and neutralise such threats. The SCDF is working closely with the SPF and SAF to enhance integration and tap synergies so as to improve our capacity and capability to meet such threats.

Ultimately, however, vigilance and preparedness are our strongest defence against the terrorist threat. Governments alone do not defeat terrorism; leaders and the communities defeat terrorism. This need for vigilance and preparedness, therefore, applies not only to our front-line officers but also to our citizen-partners in business, industry and the community.

Security as a way of life

The people as security stakeholders

MHA conducted Exercise Northstar V in January 2006. It involved, for the first time, a significant participation by grassroots as well as members of the public who happened to be present at the scene at the time of the exercise. This is a direction MHA will continue to pursue. The SCDF will organise more large-scale ground deployment exercises not only to raise awareness and get Singaporeans mentally prepared for an incident, but also to persuade them to better equip themselves by learning emergency preparedness skills. In every major catastrophe, it is typically ordinary people at the scene who are the first to respond to help victims and save lives. Such people make a timely and crucial difference complementing the efforts of the emergency forces.

The Community Engagement Programme (CEP), launched in February 2006, is aimed at enlarging and deepening, across various sectors, what has been previously pursued by the efforts of organisations like the MHA and the grassroots. The CEP will involve not just grassroots organisations, but also religious groups, voluntary welfare organisations, clan associations, educational institutions, businesses, unions, and the media. The CEP establishes a broad framework which can manage and minimise racial and religious tension in the aftermath of a terrorist incident. This is a long-term programme which hopefully will grow to become a natural and permanent feature of our societal landscape, reflecting our people’s commitment to stay cohesive and resilient against any threat.

There is urgency to engage our communities and people over security matters. The threat of extremist terrorism is not going to go away. It will remain a serious threat for a long time. The most dangerous aspect of this threat is that it exploits religion. As such, the damage it can cause is not just material loss but the deeper injury of tearing apart our harmonious inter-communal relations. If this happens, even if we heal the wounds, the scars will remain for a long time and will continue to breed mistrust among our different communities. MHA recognises that Singaporeans have the most critical role to play to prevent the threat, to mitigate its impact and to be resilient through emergency preparedness and a commitment to our social cohesion. Every Singaporean must ultimately be an active stakeholder in Singapore’s security.

Balancing security and efficiency

The world is not the same one we lived in before 11th September 2001. Heightened security will be a part of life for a long time to come. Enhanced security measures will cause inconvenience to the public but Singaporeans must learn to accept this as a part of life in the current security climate. We must be prepared to make the necessary adjustments at both the personal and organisational levels. MHA would, however, strive to minimise the costs of security wherever practicable. Life must go on. We must not be paralysed by fear or by rigidities in our security responses which can choke off the dynamism and efficiency of our society which makes us competitive and vibrant.

A key challenge we must confront is how to strike the right balance between security and efficiency. We cannot protect everything. A risk management approach must be pursued based on threat and vulnerabilities. Wherever possible, we should exploit technology. Smart use of technology can offer win-win solutions. For example, ICA’s Biometric Identification of MotorbiKErs (BIKES) system will enhance the security screening of motorcyclists at our land checkpoints. This system uses biometric technology to screen motorcyclists and is expected to allow bona-fide motorcyclists to enjoy speedier clearance. Similarly, in order to facilitate travel while maintaining high security, ICA will be installing enhanced biometric-based automated clearance gates, known as eIACS, at all checkpoints which allow automated self-clearance by Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents, Long Term Pass holders and Frequent Visitors using only their passports.

Security as a competitive advantage

Going forward, we should leverage on our good security and position it as a competitive advantage. Companies and organisations choose to locate their headquarters or conduct international conventions in Singapore not only because of the many attractions we offer in terms of organisational efficiency, good infrastructure and so on. They must also have considered the fact that Singapore is a safe and secure venue where the safety and security of their delegates can be assured. The hosting of the International Olympic Committee Session last year and the 2006 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Singapore is testament to our reliability and capability to ensure the security of the thousands of delegates while they were in Singapore. Their decision to choose Singapore as a venue reflects the trust these international organisations have in the security of Singapore. This is one of the key ingredients in transforming Singapore into a convention centre, a knowledge hub and a connector of people and regions.

Policing change and maintaining fundamentals

Our society is changing and policing has become a more complex challenge. MHA needs to be in tune with the pulse of these changes and find ways to accommodate the aspirations and needs of Singaporeans within the boundaries of law and order. Some of these boundaries may need to be revisited and reviewed. MHA will develop more calibrated approaches to address the challenges of, for example, youth crime. Likewise, the Police will review its role in regulating business and entertainment activities and confine its role to law and order parameters. The private security industry should be developed to be a partner in addressing the law and order and security needs of business corporations and organisations.

We must encourage citizen participation. However, personal autonomy and empowerment must be balanced with attendant accountability. Even as we move to liberalise and refine the boundaries, we must be clear what our fundamentals for survival as a small multi-ethnic society are. We will not tolerate racial and religious extremism or bigotry; we will not go soft on our zero tolerance for drugs, whether synthetic or otherwise. CNB will remain vigilant against possible new drugs and patterns of abuse.

On the flip side of enforcement and policing, MHA will seek to reintegrate ex-offenders with their families and with society so that they can recover and live meaningful and productive lives. Prisons and SCORE will work towards the creation of a seamless through-care system to help inmates reintegrate. They will also raise awareness and engage the community to take action to support ex-offenders and their families. For example, Family Resource Centres were set up in July 2006 to help inmates' families cope with the incarceration of their loved ones and to facilitate their role in the inmates’ eventual reintegration. SCORE will also continue its efforts in raising awareness and engaging the community to take action to support ex-offenders and their families through the Yellow Ribbon Project.

Conclusion

Our constant challenge must be to globalise without losing our local identity. Building a competitive economy and an inclusive society must mean sustaining our fundamental values while we grow and change as a modern society plugged into a global economy. We want a safe and secure Singapore; a society where different communities live in harmony; a vibrant society which upholds the rule of law; and one which seeks to rehabilitate and recover those who have transgressed. We want a land of opportunity where everyone has a chance, if not a second chance, to grow and to succeed. This is a vision worth aspiring to. A strong and trusted partnership between the leaders and the people will make this vision achievable.