Singapore, The ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) continues to resonate in the Southeast Asian region and is driven by a virtual network of supporters, warned Singapore's Minister of Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam.
"ISIS's violent ideology continues to resonate in this region and is driven by a virtual network of supporters," The Straits Times quoted the minister as saying on Friday.
Shanmugam expressed his concern in his comments that the latest series of arrests in Malaysia shows that the violent ideology of ISIS continues to resonate in the region.
While Singapore authorities will do everything possible to detect and prevent any terrorist attacks here, Singaporeans must remain vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour, he stressed.
Shanmugam spoke to reporters four days after Malaysia's Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced the arrest of eight people (six men and two women, aged between 25 and 70) over the past weekend, which thwarted potential threats against Malaysia's leadership.
Preliminary investigations into the eight detained for alleged links to extremist ideologies had shown the existence of threats against Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and other senior figures, Saifuddin said on June 24. .
The suspects came from various occupational and economic backgrounds and included housewives, retirees and professionals.
Shanmugam noted that the targets were Malaysia's top leaders and said: "The ultimate goal of the terrorists was to overthrow the Malaysian government."
“Extremist narratives have radicalized many people, including here in Singapore. As long as these ideologies persist, they will continue to inspire attacks,” Shanmugam said, quoted by the Singapore newspaper.
Following the pre-dawn May 17 attack on the Ulu Tiram police station in Johor, which left two police officers dead and another injured, Malaysian police arrested five relatives of the attacker, as well as at least 15 other suspects pro -ISIS in a series of operations.
Asked if his assessment of Singapore's terror threat had changed due to recent developments, Shanmugam said the Internal Security Department (ISD) conducts regular assessments and while the arrests are something to take into account, "I won't say it's a big problem." shock".
"If you look at the region, the ISIS ideology is prevalent in many countries, and this has to be seen in that context," he added.
But what happens in Malaysia will have an impact on Singapore's security landscape, given the proximity between the two countries, he added.
He reiterated Singapore's zero-tolerance policy towards terrorist threats, noting that 50 self-radicalized individuals (38 Singaporeans and 12 foreigners) have been issued with Internal Security Act orders since 2015.
“We moved very early. We do not wait for the threat to materialize, or is about to materialize, and we take no risks,” said the Singapore minister.
"ISIS's violent ideology continues to resonate in this region and is driven by a virtual network of supporters," The Straits Times quoted the minister as saying on Friday.
Shanmugam expressed his concern in his comments that the latest series of arrests in Malaysia shows that the violent ideology of ISIS continues to resonate in the region.
While Singapore authorities will do everything possible to detect and prevent any terrorist attacks here, Singaporeans must remain vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour, he stressed.
Shanmugam spoke to reporters four days after Malaysia's Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced the arrest of eight people (six men and two women, aged between 25 and 70) over the past weekend, which thwarted potential threats against Malaysia's leadership.
Preliminary investigations into the eight detained for alleged links to extremist ideologies had shown the existence of threats against Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and other senior figures, Saifuddin said on June 24. .
The suspects came from various occupational and economic backgrounds and included housewives, retirees and professionals.
Shanmugam noted that the targets were Malaysia's top leaders and said: "The ultimate goal of the terrorists was to overthrow the Malaysian government."
“Extremist narratives have radicalized many people, including here in Singapore. As long as these ideologies persist, they will continue to inspire attacks,” Shanmugam said, quoted by the Singapore newspaper.
Following the pre-dawn May 17 attack on the Ulu Tiram police station in Johor, which left two police officers dead and another injured, Malaysian police arrested five relatives of the attacker, as well as at least 15 other suspects pro -ISIS in a series of operations.
Asked if his assessment of Singapore's terror threat had changed due to recent developments, Shanmugam said the Internal Security Department (ISD) conducts regular assessments and while the arrests are something to take into account, "I won't say it's a big problem." shock".
"If you look at the region, the ISIS ideology is prevalent in many countries, and this has to be seen in that context," he added.
But what happens in Malaysia will have an impact on Singapore's security landscape, given the proximity between the two countries, he added.
He reiterated Singapore's zero-tolerance policy towards terrorist threats, noting that 50 self-radicalized individuals (38 Singaporeans and 12 foreigners) have been issued with Internal Security Act orders since 2015.
“We moved very early. We do not wait for the threat to materialize, or is about to materialize, and we take no risks,” said the Singapore minister.
