PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Dialogue with Community and Religious Leaders on Singapore’s Concerns with the Conflicts in Syria and Iraq

Ladies and Gentlemen

Colleagues and Friends

Thank you for coming.  Let me first begin in Malay 

Saudara-saudari sekelian, pagi ini, kita bertemu kerana saya ingin membincangkan perkembangan terkini tentang ancaman pengganasan ekstremis dan kesannya kepada Singapura.

Pengganasan ekstremis adalah satu masalah jangka panjang yang sangat serius dan sukar. Ini lebih-lebih lagi bagi masyarakat berbilang bangsa kita. Ancaman ini boleh menggugat keharmonian yang kita nikmati sepanjang ini, dengan begitu mudah sekali.

Hari ini, pengganasan terus menjadi ancaman yang serius ekoran pergolakan yang berpanjangan di Syria dan Iraq. Sebab itu, kita mesti menanganinya secara serius dan tegas dan berterus terang antara satu sama lain - masyarakat Melayu/Islam bersama kaum-kaum lain.  

Inilah yang kerap kita lakukan sejak serangan 11 September dan apabila kita berdepan dengan ancaman Jemaah Islamiyah kemudian. Itu sudah 13 tahun lamanya. Ini penting kerana ancaman ini suatu yang berleluasa dan mengancam seluruh rantau kita.

Saya amat menghargai respons rakyat Singapura, termasuk ramai di kalangan anda, mengenai ancaman pengganasan ini. Khususnya masyarakat Melayu/Islam yang dengan sebulat suara mengutuk keras golongan ekstremis. Para pemimpin Melayu terutama Mufti dan RRG telah banyak berusaha menangkis tarikan ideologi ISIS. Ini termasuk berdialog, menerbitkan risalah dan video yang mendedahkan fahaman serong ISIS yang sememangnya bertentangan dengan Islam. Saya juga menghargai sumbangan banyak pertubuhan kepada usaha bantuan kemanusiaan bagi para pelarian yang berjuta-juta banyaknya. Ini telah membantu mengekalkan semangat saling mempercayai antara kita semua.

Kali terakhir kita membincangkan isu pengganasan, di sesi dialog seperti ini, ialah pada tahun 2011. Pada masa itu, kita bimbang tentang ancaman JI yang semakin meruncing di rantau kita di negara jiran kita. Sememangnya, sejak itu, banyak perkembangan telah berlaku di Asia Tenggara.

Dan terbaru di Timur Tengah, ISIS telah menjadi satu ancaman besar yang turut menjejaskan rantau ini. ISIS  telah merekrut ribuan pejuang dari seluruh dunia, termasuk ratusan dari Asia Tenggara. Julai lalu, bekas pemimpin JI, Abu Bakar Bashir, yang juga pengasas Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), telah mengambil bai’ah menyokong ISIS dari dalam penjara. Penyokongnya pula, sudahpun memberi dana dan berjuang untuk ISIS di Timur Tengah. Malaysia juga bimbang dan telah membentangkan Kertas Putih di Parlimen mengenai strategi untuk menangani ancaman dari rakyatnya yang pulang ke negara itu selepas menyertai ISIS. Dan di Singapura juga, ada rakyat kita yang telah menjadi radikal secara sendiri dan beberapa pula yang telah ke Syria dan ke Iraq. 

Jadi kita mesti lakukan apa yang diperlukan demi melindungi rakyat dan Negara kita. Sebab itu, kita telah mengambil keputusan untuk menyumbang kepada usaha antarabangsa bagi menangani ancaman ini pada sumbernya. Dan SAF akan menyertai perikatan berbilang negara menentang ISIS.

Apa yang saya kongsi sejauh ini, sudahpun dilaporkan di media. Berita Harian telah membawakan liputan yang baik mengenai perkembangan ISIS dan ancaman pengganasan ekstremis ini. Tetapi kerana perkara ini sangat genting dan amat membimbangkan saya. Jadi saya mahu membincangkannya dengan anda secara peribadi. Saya telah meminta agensi keselamatan kita, ISD dan SID untuk memberi taklimat kepada anda tentang perkara yang tidak diketahui umum. Saya harap begini, anda akan dapat gambaran yang lebih jelas dan menyeluruh, dan akan faham pemikiran serta pertimbangan pemerintah.

Usaha untuk membasmi pengganasan adalah satu perjuangan yang jangkanya panjang dan yang sukar. Tetapi jika kita terus bekerjasama dan bersikap terbuka dengan satu sama lain, pasti kita akan berjaya.

Jadi, saya alu-alukan pandangan dan keprihatinan anda semua dan saya harap pagi ini kita boleh berbincang secara jujur dari hati ke hati.

Terima kasih.             

* * * * *

Ladies and Gentlemen

Friends

We have held dialogues like this one today, from time to time, since 9/11 – 13 years ago. We need to do this because extremist terrorism is such a serious and difficult long-term problem, especially for us in our multi-racial and multi-religious society. The trust and harmony amongst us that we have built up so labouriously over so many years can easily be disrupted by one terrorist act; or even without a terrorist act, by rumours and untruths spreading, causing suspicion and distrust among our communities. Because we have been able to talk frankly amongst ourselves, and discuss amongst ourselves our fears, our concerns, our anxieties, what we are doing about this problem, these have helped greatly in calming nerves and building trust, in bringing us together. So we have continued to hold briefings like this regularly, because the terrorism threat is not constant. It continues to develop, and we have to update ourselves on what is happening and what we can do to counter this threat.

The last dialogue was held in 2011, two years ago. At that time, the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) was reviving its network in the region, and we wanted to share with you what we knew and what we were watching, what we were doing. Since then, there have been developments in the region and in the wider world. Osama Bin Laden has been killed; successful counter-terrorism operations in our region have neutralised some groups.

But the groups continue to develop, and terrorism remains a problem. Recently, the threat has worsened. The terrorist elements in Southeast Asia are regrouping, getting more active. In the Middle East, the conflict in Syria and Iraq has morphed into a civil war, and ISIS has emerged, claiming to be fighting to establish an Islamic caliphate. There are links between ISIS in the Middle East and the groups in Southeast Asia. People are travelling from Southeast Asia to Iraq and Syria – in fact, they are going there from all over the world – in order to join ISIS to fight. Even a few from Singa­pore are doing that. So although Syria and Iraq may seem far away, the conflict there, and especially ISIS, affects us.

It is naïve for us to think that we can keep our heads low, and the problem will pass over us and we can avoid trouble. So we have got to do what is necessary in order to protect Singapore and Singaporeans. We need to get the support of the community; we need to talk amongst ourselves; we have to be vigilant domestically; and take swift action to neutralise threats to Singapore, or people who may get themselves into trouble and get us into trouble.

We also need to contribute to international efforts to tackle the threat at source. Singapore will be joining 60 other countries, including many Muslim ones, in the coalition against ISIS. The SAF will be contributing some forces to this. We will contribute liaison and planning teams, an air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft – a KC-135, and an Imagery Analysis Team to the coalition. It is like what we did the last time there was a war in Iraq, and what we did in Afghanistan. We are not going to put combat troops on the ground.

So that is why I have asked to do this briefing today and invited you to come. I have told the security agencies to brief you, to cover things which are not in the public domain, to speak as frankly as they can, and share as much information with you as they can, so that they can help you to connect the dots, make sense of what you can read in the newspapers, tell you something more which we can’t have reported in the newspapers, so that you can understand what is happening, understand what our thinking is, and what we must do.

I also would like to say thank you to all the community and religious leaders who have responded to the terrorist threat so resolutely and well in Singapore. This threat – terrorism – can sow doubts and dissension amongst our communities. But we have avoided this danger, because our people are rational, because they look at facts squarely, and they forthrightly condemned the extremists. So we have maintained the trust amongst ourselves.

I am particularly grateful to the Malay/Muslim community who have maintained this position, especially the leaders. The Mufti and the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) have done a lot to counter the ideological propaganda of ISIS. They produced a brochure – “The Fallacies of ISIS Islamic Caliphate” – in English, in Malay and in Tamil. And they made two online videos to point out these fallacies and why the brutal methods employed by ISIS are against Islam.

I am also glad that our community groups and VWOs – Malay/Muslim organisations but also other religious groups, like the Singapore Buddhist Lodge, the Taoist Federation and the Bright Hill Temple, have contributed towards humanitarian efforts to help Syrian refugees.

These are things we can do in Singapore, but you must know that eradicating terrorism is going to be a difficult, long-term fight. We have to carry on doing it. Provided we continue to work together, and we are open with each other, and we share and come closer together, we will prevail.

So let’s listen to the briefing, and after that, I look forward to a candid and productive discussion.

Thank you very much.

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