A newspaper linked to the Islamic State Group has been gazetted a prohibited publication under the Undesirable Publications Act.
Al Fatihin, which is published by Furat Media, an ISIS affiliated media agency, has been circulated across South-east Asia including in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, southern Thailand, as well as southern Philippines, according to reports.
It will be an offence to distribute or possess the newspaper, or come into possession of the newspaper, but fail to deliver the copy to the Police. Those convicted of an offence may be liable to a fine, imprisonment or both.
“The Singapore Government has zero tolerance for terrorist propaganda and has therefore decided to prohibit Al Fatihin in Singapore,” said the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said on Friday (July 22).
“ISIS’ intention to use the newspaper, Al Fatihin, to spread extremist ideology in the region is deplorable. The contents of Al Fatihin and the fact that it is published in Bahasa Indonesia, which is used by many in this region, confirm the objectives behind the publication to influence the people in this region and to cause disharmony,” said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.
“Extremism has no place in Singapore – it cannot and must not take root here,” said Dr Yaacob. “We take a very strong stance against terrorist propaganda and we will take decisive action as necessary. Hence, I have instructed for the publication to be prohibited in Singapore.”
Source: TODAY Online
