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Man Detained Under ISA Had Radicalised Other Singaporeans: MHA

Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff, the Singaporean arrested and detained for terrorism-related activities, had contributed to the radicalisation of at least two other Singaporeans, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Friday (Jul 29).

One of them was Muhammad Shamin Mohamed Sidik, who has since been detained, and Mohamed Saiddhin Abdullah, who was issued with a Restriction Order for two years in July.

A person issued with a Restriction Order is not allowed to change his residence or employment or travel out of Singapore without prior approval from the authorities.

The 33-year-old businessman identified Zulfikar, whom he befriended online, as the person who had influenced him to support the Islamic State.

“Saiddhin had looked up to Zulfikar and followed his postings; he was convinced by Zulfikar’s positive portrayal of ISIS and later started reposting Zulfikar’s postings on ISIS as a form of jihad, emulating Zulfikar,” MHA said.

Like Zulfikar, Saiddhin also photographed himself adopting the common pose of jihadi fighters while standing in front of an Islamic State flag. He posted these photographs online as a show of his solidarity with militants fighting in Syria and Iraq, the ministry added.

OTHER RADICALS DETAINED, ISSUED WITH RESTRICTION ORDER

Separately, MHA also said that another 17-year-old male Singaporean has been issued with a Restriction Order for two years.

Investigations showed that the teenager, who recently graduated from a madrasah, had become radicalised online after viewing pro-Islamic State videos, websites and social media material.

“He became convinced that ISIS’ violent actions were justified and harboured the intention to fight for ISIS in Syria in the future where he was prepared to die a martyr,” MHA said, adding that he also sought out other like-minded individuals online and tried to influence his friends.

Another 27-year-old Singaporean was re-detained under the ISA for two years in April after he planned to join a terrorist group like ISIS to engage in armed violence in Syria, the ministry said.

Muhammad Fadil Abdul Hamid was previously detained from 2010 to 2012 when he was self-radicalised, and wanted to engage in armed violence in Afghanistan. He was released from detention in 2012 and placed on a Restriction Order.

Fadil had initially made some progress in reintegrating into society, MHA said. However, he later became attracted to radical online material again, like teachings of radical ideologues such as Anwar al-Awlaki and the propaganda of ISIS, and fell under its influence.

He became convinced that partaking in the violence in Syria was “justifiable jihad” and wanted to fight alongside ISIS militants in Syria. He also reverted to the belief that militant jihad was the easiest way to achieve martyrdom, the ministry said.

Another self-radicalised Singaporean, Abdul Basheer, 37, was released after his detention order was suspended in February, while the Restriction Order of Rijal Yadri Jumari, 35, was allowed to lapse upon expiry in March this year.

Source: ChannelNewsAsia

July 29, 2016
‘Reasonable’ To Expect Six-Month Wait For New Passport: Malaysia Authorities

Those intending to renew or apply for passports would have to endure long lines and wait hours…for another six months.

The Immigration Department, in acknowledging a shortage of passports, said they expected the matter to be ironed out by January next year.

Its director-general Sakib Kusmi said the department was introducing new passports which would include more security features. However, the passports required extensive testing to ensure they meet international safety standards and are not damaged easily when used.

“The transition to this new version (of passports) cannot be done overnight. We need to ensure the new passports are near-perfect.

“The reasonable time for the transition is six months. The department and the vendor will ensure there is enough supply of passports.”

Mr Sakib said there would be disruptions to Immigration services during this period that would “slow down the application process and production of passports”.

“We hope the public will understand and continue to support the efforts of the government to give the best services and providing world-class full-proof passports,’’ he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he had instructed the Immigration Department to increase the number of passports to 20,000 daily and for them to be delivered to its offices nationwide following the passport shortage.

Mr Zahid’s comments came following a series of reports on the passport shortage by Malay Mail since June 16.

Mr Sakib said 20,000 passports were being supplied daily since Mr Zahid made the announcement.

He added the National Printing Department (NPD) had increase its daily printing quota as ordered by the Home Ministry following an increase in the number of applications.

“Previously, the vendor could only provide between 5,000 and 10,000 passports per day but the printing has increased to 20,000 daily since Wednesday (July 27),” he added.

Sources had previously revealed the department struggled to cope with demand as they had insufficient stock of passports as a large number of the microchips embedded in the data page had defects.

Mr Zahid, who is also home minister, said Datasonic Group Berhad — appointed to supply the biodata polycarbonate data page — would work closely with NPD to resolve the problem.

In a statement to the media on June 14, Mr Sakib said the closing of immigration offices was not due to the shortage of passports and that the department has issued 206,716 passports since May.

The statement added Malaysian passports met requirements of the International Civil of Aviation Organisation.

Pending assemblyman Violet Yong said the Immigration branch at the Urban Transformation Centre in Kuching was supplied with passports on Wednesday but were all issued in a day.

However, she said she was unsure how many passports had been issued.

“I’ve been told the centre is out of stock again,” she said on Thursday.

Ms Yong added the Immigration office continued to process applications despite running out of passports, assuring applicants they would obtain their travel booklets within five days.

Source: TODAY Online

July 29, 2016
Penyeludupan Manusia: Isteri Kedua Adi Putra Antara Yang Ditahan

Mahligai pelakon Adi Putra yang baru dibina dengan isteri keduanya dipukul badai, selepas berita perkahwinan itu tersebar luas.

Terbaru, isteri kedua beliau, Nor Shahida Zolkifly dipercayai adalah antara 15 kakitangan Imigresen yang ditahan pada petang Selasa (26 Jul).

Menurut laporan Astro Gempak Nor Shahida ditahan sekitar pukul 4.30 petang di pejabatnya dalam satu operasi khas.

Penangkapan Polis DiRaja Malaysia (PDRM) itu adalah bagi membantu siasatan berkaitan sindiket penyeludupan manusia, menurut laporan akhbar Berita Harian Malaysia.

Menurut laporan tersebut lagi, para pegawai imigresen tersebut dipercayai membantu menguruskan dokumen bagi memudahkan kemasukan warga asing ke Malaysia.

Malah siasatan awal mendapati, seorang suspek wanita disyaki bekerjasama menyeludup manusia ke negara itu dengan bantuan beberapa pegawai lain.

Wanita tersebut juga dipercayai antara pegawai yang berurusan secara langsung dengan ejen sindiket dan memperoleh keuntungan yang besar menerusi kegiatan haram itu, lapor Berita Harian Malaysia.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

July 29, 2016
Restaurant Won’t Sponsor Future NUS Students’ Union Events

The fallout of the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) orientation camp scandal shows no sign of easing.

The New Paper has learnt that a sponsor will no longer work with the NUS Students’ Union (Nussu) for future events, while others are monitoring the situation.

Acting Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) Ong Ye Kung also weighed in on the situation yesterday, condemning the “reprehensible” sexualised activities carried out during the camps.

This came after a TNP report on Tuesday about first-year students having to re-enact simulated rape scenes and sing cheers that denigrated women during these camps.

Wrap & Roll, a Vietnamese restaurant chain with four outlets here, had sponsored about $6,000 worth of food for this year’s camp organised by Nussu.

It had previously sponsored camps at NUS Business School and it was the first time it was sponsoring a camp by the students’ union.

A spokesman for the restaurant told TNP yesterdayit was shocked to discover that such activities were happening and thus will no longer work with Nussu.

“This is not a good image and the organisers went too far,” said the spokesman.

“There was no reason for them to cross the line and we do not want to be associated with them.”

OTHER SPONSORS

A spokesman for another sponsor, Saint Games, a video-gaming cafe, said it would be observing the situation and reviewing its sponsorship.

“We do conduct reviews from time to time. But we have never touched the programmes,” said the spokesman. “We will be observing the situation.”

It is not known how much or what Saint Games sponsored.

A spokesman for Brand’s, known for its essence of chicken, said it will not stop its product sponsorships.

The spokesman said: “Nevertheless, we do not condone any behaviour that denigrates the dignity of individuals and trust that any such activities will be dealt with appropriately.”

A spokesman for Tiny Photo, an event photography agency, said it was unaware of any reports of misconduct and said they only sponsor the Rag and Flag activities and not the Nussu camp itself.

According to Nussu’s Executive Committee Budget for the academic years of 2015 and 2016, the union received $95,000 as sponsorship income for the year.

The document, which can be found on the union’s website, also details an expenditure of $237,544 by the Freshmen Orientation Central Committee.

DBS and Standard Chartered, both listed on the website as strategic partners, are aware of the recent scandal.

A DBS spokesman said that its partnership with Nussu is “primarily around the DBS NUSSU Debit Card”.

The spokesman said: “We have taken note of the recent allegations and are monitoring the situation closely.”

A spokesman for Standard Chartered said: “We have an existing agreement with Nussu on a co-branded credit card, which we have stopped offering to new customers in 2012. We do not have any involvement in events or activities initiated by Nussu.”

Source: The New Paper

July 29, 2016
Traffic Police Clarifies Conditions That Constitute Illegal Cellphone Driving

The Traffic Police have put to rest uncertainty over whether it is an offence for motorists to use their cellphones while their vehicles are stationary at a traffic light.

For it to be considered cellphone driving, and thus an offence, three conditions must be fulfilled, Superintendent Louis Loke, Head (Operations & Training), said at a dialogue session with taxi drivers on July 12.

Firstly, the vehicle must be in motion. In addition, the driver has to be holding the device, as well as using a function on it.

If only one or two of the conditions are fulfilled, it is not an offence, Mr Loke noted in a clip posted on the Roads.sg Facebook page on Wednesday (July 27).

But he stressed that, from a safety perspective, “we should always be focused on driving”.

“Try not to do other things while driving. We’re in control of the vehicle so it’s dangerous,” Mr Loke added.

Under the broadened Road Traffic Act rolled out last year, motorists caught holding and using any sort of mobile device while driving will be flouting the law.

“Using” by definition goes beyond just calling or text messaging – as provided for by previous law – but also surfing the Internet, visiting social media platforms, and any other function.

The rules apply not just to cellphones, but also to all mobile communication devices such as tablets.

Source: The Straits Times

July 29, 2016