Updates on Safety and Security Preparations

1 Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether he can provide an update on how our safety and security preparations have measured up thus far, bearing in mind the Ministry's recent SG Secure initiative and lessons noted from the recent terrorism-related attacks around the world.

The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Mr Desmond Lee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Madam, the attacks over the last three years around the world and in the region shows the nature of the threat. The recent attacks on Istanbul's Ataturk airport and in Nice underline that point. The attack on a nightclub in Kuala Lumpur in June was the first Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-linked attack in Malaysia.

We are on the radar as well. Just over a week ago, Indonesian authorities arrested terror suspects in Batam. The group was planning a rocket attack on Marina Bay from Batam. The main issue is not the nature of the plans – rockets and so on. The main point is that terrorists are looking for ways of attacking us – probing for entry points, checking out different options.

These attacks can be launched by organised groups or self-radicalised individuals. They can plan and launch the attack from just outside Singapore. They can come through our borders and checkpoints. Or they could be home-grown radicals launching an attack from within Singapore. Even without firearms or explosives, they can still inflict many casualties.

Our security agencies are monitoring these developments closely, assessing the impact on Singapore. We continue to work with our overseas partners to share information at all levels to fight against terrorism. The arrests in Batam by the Indonesians are just one example of this close cooperation. When we receive information on such threats, we cannot always announce them publicly due to operational secrecy. Our security agencies constantly calibrate our security measures in the context of such threats.

We have previously spoken about the need to significantly enhance our national counter-terrorism efforts in areas of (a) increasing security protection and vigilance, (b) strengthening our security responses to an incident, and (c) building strong community resilience to fight terrorism under SG Secure. I will give an update on these measures as requested by the hon Member.

First, we have substantially enhanced our security vigilance by expanding our closed-circuit television (CCTV) coverage. We completed the installation of Police Cameras (PolCam) 1.0 in June 2016 with 62,000 cameras in all 10,000 Housing and Development Board (HDB) resident blocks. We have commenced the roll-out of PolCam 2.0 and completed the installation of cameras in Ang Mo Kio Town Centre, Bedok Town Centre and Jurong Gateway. About 11,000 more cameras will be progressively installed over the next few years to cover public areas in our neighbourhoods and town centres.

In tandem, we have stepped up our efforts to encourage industry groups and premises owners to put in place security measures. The Safety and Security Watch Group (SSWG) is an important platform to achieve this. We held the first Counter-Terrorism seminar with the Retail SSWG in July, and with the Financial Industry SSWG last Friday, 12 August. Through SSWG, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) advises premises owners on how to increase their vigilance through a customised approach for each industry. Some practical examples of measures they can take include installing CCTVs or preparing their staff for emergencies through contingency plans, regular exercises and training.

Owners of premises are encouraged to bring this training back to their workplaces and Police will follow up to help them review their plans and validate them through exercises. We will hold more counter-terrorism seminars over the coming months for the hotel, chemical, security and manufacturing industries, amongst others.

Police also work with various stakeholders to put in place security measures for crowded areas and events. I will not be able to go into the operational details. But calibrated measures are taken to protect against attacks, including those which attempt to use a vehicle as a weapon. These measures are continually reviewed based on SPF's risk assessment.

Secondly, in the event of an attack, it is critical for security forces to arrive as quickly as possible and take down armed attackers decisively. SPF has reorganised its terrorist response forces to enhance their firepower, operational capabilities and speed of response.

SPF recently commissioned the first batch of Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) in June. They are specially trained in counter-assault and equipped with more firepower. Singaporeans may have seen them patrolling in the Central Business District and Orchard areas. SPF has also started operational trials for new Rapid Deployment Troops (RDT) within SPF's Special Operations Command in July. The RDTs use Tactical Response Motorcycles to navigate through traffic to reach an incident quickly to support the ERTs in the event of an attack.

SPF and the Singapore Armed Forces are also jointly developing counter-terrorism plans for high-visibility patrols during heightened threat conditions. These provide both deterrence and swifter response to terrorist attacks. The agencies are exercising these plans together.

Third, the community plays a critical role in our efforts to fight terrorism on a sustained basis. SG Secure will be officially launched later this year. SG Secure will sensitise, train and mobilise Singaporeans to play their part to prevent and deal with a terrorist attack. The Home Team has worked with our partner agencies to roll out pilot programmes across multiple domains to rally the community so that in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, we will stay united and strong. These programmes include the revamped Emergency Preparedness (EP) days held at Chong Pang, Jurong Spring and Toa Payoh West-Balestier.

The Home Team has also developed advisories and applications to equip and prepare our community in the event of an attack. These include:

(a) the "Run, Hide, Tell" advisory which guides the public on how to respond when an attack occurs;

(b) the new 71999 SMS platform to allow the public to report an incident to the Police if they feel it is not safe for them to talk during an emergency;

(c) the Police@SG App's i-Witness function which enables users to point, shoot and send critical information on major incidents and crime to support Police's investigations;

(d) the "Improvised First Aid Skills" advisory which teaches the public how to use everyday items to help administer first aid to injured persons in the event of an attack; and

(e) the SG Secure E-learning package which allows the public to carry out e-learning at their own pace and pick up useful survival skills to stay vigilant, cohesive and resilient.

Madam, the Home Team's priority is to mobilise our efforts and that of society to fight terrorism and to prevent an attack from happening. Our security agencies will do all they can to prevent an attack. But should an attack occur, it is imperative for all of us to stand united against the threat, with a spirit of resilience that we will not be defeated and that we will bounce back as one people and one society.

Mdm Speaker: Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Mdm Speaker, I acknowledge the Senior Minister of State's response and appreciate the details of the plan that is going to be rolled out. I have two supplementary questions.

The first one is really about looking at the nature of various attacks that have been going on worldwide; the multi-centric or multi-site attacks seem to be the model of the day. So, how are we prepared in terms of having to respond to, perhaps, a multi-site attack and whether these have been put into consideration in our plans?

Secondly, the Senior Minister of State himself mentioned that the resilience of the people is important and how we bounce back in case any crisis does happen. Therefore, our Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) and our inter-faith and inter-race relations have been a model of our own and we have been working on it. It is a journey, really, and it does not stop. How are we going to strengthen and perhaps have some further guidelines to deepen and strengthen this further to make sure that despite how many soft targets we have, the resilience of our inter-faith relations will remain the hard resilience to beat.

Mr Desmond Lee: Madam, on the two questions, I will start with the first on the nature of the attacks being multi-centric, coordinated and taking place at different locations at different times using different kinds of weaponry. Those are the kinds of attacks we have seen of late. We have also seen lone-wolf attacks. People, perhaps, who seemingly have very little communication with other organised groups being radicalised and then taking action on their own. So, whilst the Member speaks of coordinated attacks in multiple locations, we are also mindful that such attacks have taken various forms – both coordinated and solo – and we need to be prepared for all eventualities.

So, in terms of the Home Team's response, I have articulated them as broadly as I could without going into too much operational details, but I assure the Member that the nature of recent attacks is being studied and being prepared for by the Home Team.

Coming to the Member's second point, it just underscores how important it is for the fight against terrorism for SGSecure to be a national movement and not be one undertaken solely by security forces because, in terms of detection, dealing with the attack as it happens and unfolds, and addressing the aftermath – both the loss of lives as well as the loss of social cohesion – all these require society to be on board to appreciate in a deeper fashion the importance of social harmony and the importance of our multicultural and multi-religious fabric. In that regard, the Member is quite right about the efforts by the IRCCs, by grassroots' networks, by community groups, by workplaces, by religious organisations to deepen that bond. This is not work that is happening today. It is work that has been happening over the decades since our founding.

That would be the litmus test. We need to make sure that we are prepared, not just to prevent an attack and to deal with it, but with the more fundamental questions about what the day after will be. Will neighbours still trust one another, befriend one another or will there be an atmosphere of suspicion, of uncertainty? That is work that is painstaking and that requires stakeholders to look beyond the surface, look at the actual implementation to derive the objectives of a strong multi-cultural and multi-religious society.

Mdm Speaker: Ms Chia Yong Yong.

Ms Chia Yong Yong (Nominated Member): Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State if there are plans for us to conduct public exercises to respond to emergencies.

Mr Desmond Lee: Madam, public exercises have been conducted regularly in the community and in workplaces. We also conduct exercises in specific areas, for example, in schools, to make sure that coordination is strong and robust and that measures are put in place. Some exercises are closed in that they relate principally to the Home Team and other coordinating forces but over the years, we have also been conducting public exercises of various scales. We take the conducting of these exercises as well as the after-action review very seriously. We make sure that we pin down all the learning points and ensure that the coordination within agencies and among agencies and with private stakeholders and the community, are strengthened.

This is continuous work in progress. What is done last month or a year ago, we still need to do, going forward, with different groups of people, different work places, different community groups, neighbourhoods, schools and other institutions. So, this is a major part of the SGSecure movement. I look forward to the Member's support and active participation.

Mdm Speaker: Mr Zaqy Mohamad.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang): I thank the Senior Minister of State for giving us a broad range of explanation and clarifications on the Parliamentary Question. There are two trends that I am quite concerned with today, especially when we see common place items being used, such as the knife attacks in Japan as well as in the recent Nice attack where a lorry was used to mow through the crowd. How can we assure the public that with measures put in place operationally today, we are better prepared to protect our high-density areas, especially, from such attacks?

The second concern would be beyond our shores, like the Batam attack, that also showed us certain vulnerabilities today – that from beyond our shores, whether from the southern or northern neighbours, there is that vulnerability that exists. What is the Ministry doing to better protect our nation?

Mr Desmond Lee: The Member is right to articulate that attacks can come using everyday items, such as a vehicle, a knife, a brick, as much as they can involve fire power, guns, explosives, both makeshift and otherwise. This is, as I said earlier, a challenge all of society needs to meet. Strong intelligence, sharing, cooperation both within and with our partners around the world, are an important function of that. But so, too, are the support and vigilance of members of the community, making sure that Singaporeans without over-reacting and being overly suspicious, are alert enough to pick up threats early, pick up signs in the community that may point to people who might perhaps be led down the wrong path through what they see, hear and read. That is critical. What the Home Team has prepared for in terms of emergency response, I have articulated as best as I can without going into too much detail. But prevention and response require the whole of society to play a part as could be seen from attacks in other countries.

The Member also asked about threats beyond our shores. These are matters which the international communities are concerned about. My Minister attended, very recently, a security dialogue and meeting with Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries in the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) the day after National Day. With the key security ministers of Malaysia and Indonesia, they spoke about how they can strengthen international cooperation, including the sharing of biometric information of known militants as well as those suspected of such activities, so that we can cooperate more closely among our countries. This is just an example of cooperation with Malaysia and Indonesia, and with other jurisdictions as well.

As I said earlier, it is not so much about the specific method that they are planning but rather the recognition that terrorists will try all ways and means and all forms to try to launch an attack on us. We remain on the radar; we know that and we need to be prepared for that, both at the level of the security forces but also making sure the community is entirely on board with us.

Mdm Speaker: Ms Sun Xueling.

Ms Sun Xueling (Pasir Ris-Punggol): I thank the Senior Minister of State. He had shared about the number of PolCams to be installed. Would the Senior Minister of State be able to share what percentage of the island would be covered by security cameras or sensors for surveillance use, given possible collaboration of the Smart Nation Office?

Mr Desmond Lee: Madam, I said earlier that the Police have completed the installation of 62,000 cameras in HDB blocks and multi-storey carparks under PolCam 1.0, the roll out of which started in April 2012. These have been implemented with a lot of care to ensure that the privacy concerns of residents are addressed in a way that they have welcomed this measure because of the security and sense of assuredness that are provided to them, the balance has been struck right. Those cameras have helped to solve a number of cases in the community. So, crime has been reduced by a certain amount. As a result of these cameras, there has been a deterrent effect and, in post-incident investigations, they have been helpful.

Under PolCam 2.0, Police are now expanding the installation of cameras to public areas in town centres, neighbourhood centres, hawker centres and linkways leading to transportation nodes, such as Mass Rapid Transit stations and bus interchanges. And I said earlier that we have already launched and rolled it out at three sites in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok and Jurong Gateway.

The Member asked what percentage of the island will be covered by PolCam 2.0. I cannot give you a land area percentage but I have just articulated the places which will be covered: places with a high flow of people, the cameras will help us in addressing and preventing crime, and also play a very important role in counter-terrorism.