September 29, 2023
SINGAPORE – By next year, student ambassadors at all junior colleges would have undergone counter-radicalisation workshops to help them identify the threat of terrorism among youth.
These workshops, facilitated by the Internal Security Department (ISD), are part of efforts to protect young people from the growing risk of online radicalisation, said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing on Friday.
The workshops were piloted in junior colleges in 2022 and are being rolled out in 2023.
Speaking at the Public Service Mobilisers conference at The Treasury, Mr Chan, who is also Minister-in-charge of the Public Service, said there are plans to pilot these workshops at the upper-secondary school level in 2024.
The workshops aim to teach students and educators to identify signs of radicalisation in an individual, such as one sharing his or her extremist views with friends and relatives, or making remarks that promote ill-will towards those of other races or religions.
They will also learn how to react if they encounter a radicalised individual, such as by looking for a trusted adult, like a teacher, for help.
Mr Chan said self-radicalised individuals here are getting younger, with 11 out of 37 Singaporeans dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since 2015 being below 21 years old.
He said: “Extremist groups are becoming increasingly skillful at using digital media to indoctrinate and recruit people… Five (of the 11 youths) had planned to carry out attacks in Singapore and the youngest detainee was aged 15.
“The threat (of self-radicalisation) to Singapore remains high and we cannot be complacent.”
Between December 2022 and January 2023, two Singaporeans aged 15 and 16 were detained by the ISD for terrorism-related activities. They were both inspired by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propaganda.
The 15-year-old had planned to carry out knife attacks and behead non-Muslims in popular tourist areas here, and become a suicide bomber.
The 16-year-old joined multiple ISIS-themed servers on online gaming platform Roblox, where he virtually shot and killed ISIS “enemies”.
In December 2022, a self-radicalised 18-year-old student was detained after making plans to take part in armed violence in Singapore and abroad in support of ISIS.
He had plans to stab and kill non-believers in dark alleys here, carry out a mass-casualty attack at Amoy Quee Camp by recruiting a suicide car bomber, and construct a C4 explosive device to bomb the Keramat Habib Noh grave site at Haji Muhammad Salleh Mosque in Tanjong Pagar.
The teenager also intended to declare Coney Island an ISIS wilayat (province) in the hope that it would be recognised by ISIS as its official affiliate.
In February, Home Affairs and Law Minister Mr K. Shanmugam said most of the young detainees have made good progress in their rehabilitation as ISD works with partners to help them move on and integrate them back into society.
Mr Shanmugam said: “When we pick up young people, we put a lot of focus on them because we want them to go on and fulfil their potential in life. The idea of detention is not that that is the end. There is hopefully a beginning of a new path.”