Singapore
In his speech in Washington DC, Singapore’s Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam urged the United States to get involved in tackling the root causes of what drives people into becoming radicalised.
SINGAPORE: Countries around the world have to work together to deal with the underlying causes of radicalisation, said Singapore’s Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Wednesday (Apr 26).
Mr Shanmugam was delivering a keynote speech titled “The Conflict in Syria and Radicalisation in Southeast Asia” at a seminar in Washington DC, as part of his four-day official visit to the United States.
“A lot of countries have focused on downstream consequences,” said Mr Shanmugam who’s also Singapore’s law minister. “They are very good at taking out terrorist leaders, they dismantle organisations, they deal with their finances.
“But if we do not deal with the underlying philosophy and the underlying causes … as long as you do not deal with people’s views which need them to be radicalised in the first place, all you will be doing is cutting out their heads and new heads will come up.”
Mr Shanmugam urged the US to get involved in tackling the root causes of what drives people into becoming radicalised: “So there has got to be a more concerted international strategy to deal with the underlying causes and reasons why these things happen.”
ISLAMIC STATE’S REACH IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
The Singapore minister pointed out that Islamic State or ISIS is targeting Southeast Asia – in particular Indonesia, Malaysia and parts of the southern Philippines – and has become more effective in reaching out to this region.
He laid out the threat posed by returning foreign fighters, the flow of funds from the Middle East, the availability of radical online material and radicalisation in Indonesian prisons, with attacks planned by inmates behind bars.
Mr Shanmugam told the American audience that such developments would have implications not only for Southeast Asia but for the US and its assets in the region as well.
“There is an area of the world where things are happening but people are not paying enough attention,” he warned. “By the time it demands attention, it will be too late. So it is best to try and deal with the problem before it gets to that stage.”
Within Southeast Asia, Mr Shanmugam said: “We are trying to get together a group of like-minded countries to come together, such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, to try and deal with these issues.
“We may not be able to deal with all of them but at least we have a platform to start trying and talk about these issues and possible solutions. But America has to get involved, other countries has to get involved.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Shanmugam met US Secretary of Homeland Security John F Kelly in their first meeting since the latter was appointed. They discussed global terrorism and the challenges posed by radicalisation in Southeast Asia.
Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that on Thursday, the minister is scheduled to meet Mr Thomas Bossert, assistant to the President on Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.
He will also attend separate bilateral meetings with senior officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency and Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
“At these meetings, Minister Shanmugam and the respective officials will reaffirm the good security cooperation between Singapore and the US, and discuss opportunities to further strengthen cooperation,” said MHA.
