Debated in Parliament on 3 Oct 2017.
Mr Speaker: Mr Christopher de Souza.
Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the 17 Members of Parliament, including Minister K Shanmugam and Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, who have contributed much to the robust debate on this Motion.
That multiracialism can be discussed so openly by Members of many different races here in Singapore's Parliament is itself a strength not many parliaments around the world possess. Furthermore, that we could achieve broad consensus in the debate that we have to stay united, regardless of race, in the face of a terror attack is itself important and positive. We have agreed broadly not to point fingers at a certain race or religion, but to condemn in a single voice the abhorrent nature of terror attacks. That agreement is not something to be belittled, especially when we see how so many countries around the world choose the fractious route of finger-pointing and ostracising. So, this bipartisan support for this Motion is good for Singapore and good for a united stand against terrorism.
Mr Alex Yam supported the idea that all Singaporeans have a role in being vigilant. He said that all of us need to be aware of the concerns, as well as the preparatory measures required. Vigilance is only part of the equation. Resilience after an attack is just as important.
Mr Desmond Choo shared the importance of having "first responders" online to initiate and shape discussions in a productive manner, as well as to dispel falsehoods and rumours.
Both vigilance and resilience require a collective effort. In the same way, a collective counter-offence is required to diffuse the spread of violent extremist radical teachings. As Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar has said, "[it is] a shared responsibility, [one] which requires ... common effort and resolve."
Yes, we have a range of laws to prevent the spread of radicalised teachings which promote violent extremism. And as Mr Murali Pillai stated, it is important to have these laws in place now, before an attack occurs. But, as Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar also pointed out in her speech, more can be done upstream, well before muscular laws are applied. This is a good point. One major battleground upstream is the Internet. While it may propagate violent extremism, it can also be used to deter it.
What are we facing? It was reported by Channel NewsAsia that in 2015, there were 46,000 Twitter accounts and 10,000 accounts on Facebook held by those openly supporting terrorists. There were another 9,800 websites belonging to terrorist groups. We need to work on the counter-narrative. How?
Dr Intan Mokhtar shared that she hoped that there will be more "social media savvy" asatizahs as they have a potential to be a positive influence to shape and influence the perception of the youths.
Google's subsidiary, Jigsaw, does it by providing links to credible counter-narrative videos. These links are provided to those who had searched online for what Google's algorithms construed as potential terrorists. The counter-narrative links are not openly counter-terrorist in name and title. So, as a result, that potential reader is not deterred. Counter-narratives are key.
In fact, what we are debating today in Parliament is also a counter-narrative to terrorism. What we need to do more of is to put that counter-narrative into social media.
But we have not remained stagnant in that endeavour. Our Home Team has worked hard to keep us ahead of the game. We have invested in technology and thought out of the box to keep ahead. Through collaboration with the US, we have developed puffer portals to detect all forms of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) threats. We have utilised the Automated Biometric and Behavioural Screening Suite to identify many blacklisted travellers. These are all important and critical initiatives.
Importantly, we also need to guard against the deadly concoction of terrorism and drugs. In Marawi, it was reported that 11 kilogrammes of high-grade methamphetamine hydrochloride or "Shabu" worth about US$5 million was found in a den belonging to militants. Some militants were even found high on drugs.
This is not just a problem isolated to Marawi. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation stated at a Security Conference in December last year, "Terrorism is closely linked with the drug problem. Illicit drug trafficking provides the bulk of terrorism's funding." Therefore, to prevent funding to terrorists, we need to make sure we do our part to stop drugs from travelling into and through Singapore.
The third point is investing in multiracialism as the best socio-weapon to defeat the ills terrorism seeks to sow. As Ms Sun Xueling shared, her aspiration is that Singapore will grow "closer to realising the ideals our nation aspires to". Ms Rahayu Mahzam still retains the faith that the non-Muslim community in Singapore will know that Singapore Muslims strongly reject terrorism and the misguided ISIS actions.
To that end, Mr Liang Eng Hwa stated that, "Government policies and laws alone will not be enough to bring us to that enduring level of trust and harmonious relations at the people-to-people level". So, for Mr Liang, people-to-people relations are important. It is a good point.
Mr Leon Perera suggested to have more common spaces for people of different races to interact and integrate. I agree. Mr Leon Perera also expressed the desire that we must be aware of minorities who seek to sow discord amongst numerical majorities through influence and interference, sow discord along the lines of what the terrorism regime seeks. I agree. And I agree that that is a good desire to have. But I would also say that the laws in Singapore already deter such behaviour. The Government has already put in the legal levers to deal with this. I had mentioned the Public Order Act, Sedition Act and the Penal Code in the opening speech. All these seek, in one way or another, to deter the proliferation of violent extremism, radical teachings. So, we have systems in place already.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Manap suggested working upstream to intervene to strengthen our social cohesion to fight terrorism. He suggested the use of religious knowledge in schools to achieve that. But I think Mr Muhamad Faisal Manap would agree that much would depend on the curriculum and teaching materials of the subject, and that one requirement would be that the subject not include teachings that would incite violent extremism. That should be avoided so as not to manipulate the students.
Many of the Members here shared how multiracialism was furthered in their communities. Dr Tan Wu Meng, speaking in all three languages, shared with us that the Clementi CC organised a demonstration of ketupat making for the new citizens to share with them Singapore's multiracialism.
Ms Thanaletchimi highlighted the workplace as an important venue to foster multiracialism in Singapore. As Ms Thanaletchimi stated, as our Singapore workforce constituents comprise a combination of local and migrant workers, it is not only important to inculcate the value of multiracialism and multiculturalism among Singaporeans but also to the migrant workers from various countries.
Singapore's multiracial tapestry is important. And in preserving it, Mr Pritam Singh shared with us that conflicts of another country, although emotive, should not be transported here to destroy the social fabric we have in Singapore − our common humanity. I agree.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh asked why the word "weapon" was used in the Motion's title. Let me share. When I was crafting the Motion, it was to view terrorism as an enemy in a real sense. After all, terrorism is an affront to Singapore and all her values. I thought "weapon" was a good analogy for what we are up against, and the hybrid word "socio-weapon" was chosen because terrorism is a common enemy we have to battle against as a citizenry. In peacetime, we do not use multiracialism as a weapon. But when under attack, we can deploy that multiracialism as a strength, as a weapon, against the common enemy. It is distinct from the hardware the SAF and Home Team will use, but it is as important a tool, as important a weapon when we are facing a terrorist attack on our shores. Hence, the reason for the word "socio-weapon" in the Motion's title.
The Community Emergency and Engagement Committee is another significant platform to ensure that our multiracialism can endure the test of a terror attack. With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, may I display a few slides on the LED screen?
Yes, please. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]
This tabletop exercise was organised by Ulu Pandan constituency's Community Emergency and Engagement Committee. I am sure many other constituencies have conducted similar exercises. Our grassroots leaders and key community resource persons, such as religious group leaders, gathered to simulate responding to a terror attack. Different people from different races are playing a part now to prepare for the consequences of a terror attack. Committee members were assigned to different groups, such as operations, media, logistics, community resources deployment, all everyday issues needed to overcome terror attacks. It is nothing like being prepared.
Essentially, multiracialism is a constant work-in-progress. As Minister K Shanmugam stated clearly, we have never believed that a laissez-faire approach to creating a national identity would work. We are wanting to secure a multiracial society that will work and that we are activist in this respect. As Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said passionately, we all sing the same National Anthem and hold our right fist to our hearts when reciting the pledge. These and many more experiences of being a Singaporean must mean something to every one of us, especially when the going gets tough for a member of our Singaporean family.
Dr Mercy Jesuvadian of the National Institute of Education highlighted that it is important to start building racial harmony at an early age. At the PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Sparkle Tots Preschool in my constituency, we have babies of all the different races taken care of by infant care teachers of different races. There is a photograph there. Members can see multiracial babies and multiracial infant caregivers. There is multiracial bonding on all levels − the teacher with the infant, the infants with one another, the teacher with her colleagues, the infant's family and the teacher, and the families with other families. But this also shows the big reservoir of trust we have among the races − to augment Dr Tan Wu Meng's point − to be able to entrust the baby with someone else from a different race. It is reflective of these day-after banners, which Ulu Pandan residents helped to organise, reflective of the values Singapore aspires to achieve.
Many of us here celebrate Multiracial Day in our constituencies where the children dress up in traditional costumes. Recently, in Ulu Pandan, we had a Multiracial Dessert Day. We feasted on many different kinds of desserts, from ang ku kueh, roti, samosa, pineapple tarts. We experienced the wonder of multiracialism through our appetites and stomachs. In a very real way, we tasted how each culture had something unique to offer, how each culture was unique and valuable. And we experienced it in one of the most Singaporean ways possible − food − a language that transcends the different communities. Many of us would have attended moon cake festivals over the weekend and seen residents of many races carry lanterns together, lighting up the evening with the warm glow of the lanterns.
Allow me to conclude, Sir. I took this photograph when visiting the PCF infant care centre in my ward earlier this year. It is a photograph of Makcik Minaseh carrying young Xander, holding him, caring for him. It is a meaningful photograph for me. Why? It reminded me of what happened 40 years ago. Back then, I was just born and my parents lived on Changi Air Base. My father and mother had asked a young Malay lady, Cik Zainap, whether she would like to help my mother in taking care of the children. My father was flying fighters then in the 1970s. It was dangerous. Pilots' wives went through quite a lot then, not knowing if something would happen in the air to their husbands. So, any extra help at home was very welcomed by my mother. Zainap became part of our family. She worked well with my mother and she saw my sister and I grow up. Even after we settled down and started our own families, our family kept in touch with Zainap.
She is now known as Nenek Zainap to our children and she considers them each her cucu. We keep in close touch. This photograph was taken when my parents, my wife and I and our children visited Zainap last year in her Tampines home for Hari Raya. Since then, we had our No 3 − so one more cucu for her! So, it is wonderful that in Singapore, we can consider one another as part of the same keluarga, the same family. My parents and I are a part of her family, and she is a part of ours.
Sir, one more example. In 2012, the Prime Minister came to Ulu Pandan to launch the Choo Siu Heng Scholarship, named after a long-standing and selfless community leader who dedicated over 50 years of service to the community. Mr Choo believed in a Singaporean Singapore, with multiracialism as a bedrock. Mr Choo was a source of great wisdom and encouragement, especially in how to reach out and serve residents. Sadly, in 2011, he passed away. We decided to honour his legacy by setting up a scholarship in his name to sponsor the university fees of a young Singaporean who is involved in community work in Ulu Pandan. Every year since then, we have given out a scholarship to a new and deserving student. The second recipient was Waseemah. She is pictured here with Mr Choo's widow, Mr Choo's son Roland, and Mr Choo's grandchildren. Also seen are Waseemah's parents. Mr Choo is not in this photograph. But his values of a united multiracial society within an independent Singapore live on in Waseemah, who is part of the Youth Executive Committee in Ulu Pandan serving a multiracial Singapore.
When terror strikes, what instincts will come to my mind? The care of Nenek Zainap, the complete dedication of Mr Choo, the effort of Waseemah and the selfless work of the many volunteers and Singaporeans who aspire to multiracialism. We will resist pointing a finger. Instead, we trust that Singaporeans will lock hands with fellow Singaporeans of all races, face terrorism squarely, and show in unity that "we will not be defeated, not on these shores, not in our homes, not on our soil", and that Singapore will prevail. [Applause.]
Question put, and agreed to.
Resolved,
"That this House fortifies Singapore's resolve to stay united against the threat of terrorism by reaffirming the core values of multiracialism and social cohesion and calls on the Government to continue (a) promoting vigilance and resilience among Singaporeans to deter and overcome terrorist attacks; (b) preventing the spread of radicalised teachings which promote violent extremism; and (c) investing in multiracialism as the best socio-weapon to defeat the ills that terrorism seeks to sow".
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