HIDDEN_ADDENDA, MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

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

1 Our continued growth and prosperity depend on having a safe and secure Singapore. The Home Team will preserve this competitive advantage for Singapore to be a land of opportunity and an attractive destination to live and work in.

COMBATING THE TERRORISM THREAT: 2 Security checks by our Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will be enhanced with an integrated traveller screening system and a new Singapore passport with biometric identification. In maritime security, the Police Coast Guard will upgrade its fleet and improve its coastal surveillance and intrusion-detection facilities.

3 The Singapore Police Force (SPF) will enhance its forensic capabilities by acquiring Rapid DNA Fingerprinting Sensors to be used at crime-sites and building up a Bomb Database to aid investigations into bomb blasts. SPF will also implement an Intelligent Closed Circuit Television system to deter and detect criminal and terrorist activities in public areas.

4 The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will strengthen its response capabilities against the unconventional threats of chemical, biological and radiological agents, improvised explosive devices and "dirty" bombs. For greater deterrence, SCDF will develop a system to perform real-time tracking of vehicles carrying dangerous goods.

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5 Through our National Critical Infrastructure Assurance programme, we will improve the surveillance, protection or hardening of our critical systems and ensure their continued performance in a crisis.

**MAINTAINING LAW & ORDER **

6 SPF’s Special Operations Command troops will enhance their capability to respond to incidents of mass protests, riots and other crisis situations. The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) will evaluate alternative screening techniques to detect the consumption of controlled drugs. Enforcement efforts will be intensified to deal with the rising incidence of synthetic drug abuse. A new treatment and rehabilitation regime will be introduced.

7 While tightening laws against terrorists and criminals, MHA will relax regulatory controls where feasible, to provide more opportunities for businesses and individuals. For example, SPF will review its requirements so that more public entertainment outlets will be allowed to operate 24 hours.

IMMIGRATION POLICIES: 8 ICA will introduce new initiatives such as online visa applications to facilitate the easier entry of visitors. It will also review its immigration policies to encourage foreigners who can contribute to sink their roots here.

CREATING A MORE INCLUSIVE SOCIETY: 9 A key thrust in creating more opportunities for Singaporeans will be in helping repentant inmates and ex-offenders re-integrate into society. The Singapore Prisons Service and the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises will build on initiatives such as the Yellow Ribbon project to encourage concrete action by families, neighbours and the community to help ex-offenders. We will encourage more employers to offer them employment.

10 We will review our laws to give ex-offenders of minor crimes a new start in life without the impediment of a criminal record, provided they remain crime-free.

ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY: 11 The community, and especially the business sector, will be encouraged to take greater ownership of safety and security issues and play expanded roles. SCDF will inject more realism for their volunteers through table-top exercises to familiarise them with likely crisis scenarios and their corresponding roles. A new National Civil Defence Cadet Corps will be launched to enhance students’ civil defence skills and knowledge.