Workers’ Party’s Low Thia Khiang questioned the role of Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam in the Ministerial Committee on 38 Oxley Road, noting that Mr Shanmugam was formerly a “close personal friend of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and other members of the Lee family”.
He also asked why lawyer Lucien Wong, who previously served as PM Lee’s personal lawyer, could have been appointed the Attorney-General last year.
“Is there also a conflict of interest here? Was this consideration taken into account when he was appointed the Attorney-General? Can the Prime Minister clarify the role of the Law Minister and the Attorney-General in this matter and explain to the House whether there is any conflict of interest,” he said.
The 22-year-old preschool teacher had been posting pro-ISIS material online since 2014 and was also looking for a terror supporter in Syria to marry.
SINGAPORE: Singapore has detained its first female citizen for radicalism under the Internal Security Act (ISA), said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday (June 12).
Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, a 22-year-old contract infantcare assistant with the PCF (PAP Community Foundation) Sparkletots preschool programme, was detained in June this year.
Her radicalisation started in 2013 through online propaganda related to the Islamic State terrorist group, said MHA.
“She began to believe that ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) represented the true spirit of Islam. Her radicalisation deepened over time,” a press release read. “This was exacerbated by a wide network of foreign online contacts which she developed. They included ISIS militants and supporters, some of whom have either been killed in Syria or arrested for terrorism-related activities.”
Since 2014, Izzah actively posted and shared pro-ISIS material online. Several of her social media platforms were removed by administrators because of such content, but she created new ones.
MHA said Izzah was also intent on joining ISIS and was actively planning to make her way to Syria, with her young child, to do so.
“She supported ISIS’s use of violence to establish and defend its self-declared ‘caliphate’, and aspired to live in it,” said the ministry. “To this end, she said that since 2015, she was looking for ‘a Salafi or an ISIS supporter’ to marry and settle down with him and her child in Syria.”
“She said she would support her husband if he fought for ISIS in Syria as she believed she would reap ‘heavenly rewards’ if he died in battle. With her ‘elevated status’ as a ‘martyr’s widow’, she felt she could (then) easily marry another ISIS fighter in Syria.”
Izzah also said she was prepared to undergo military training and engage in armed combat to defend ISIS if called upon by the terrorist group to do so, MHA added.
Her sister and parents – who are both freelance Quranic teachers – came to know of her radical postings in 2015 and her intention to join ISIS in Syria. They did not alert the authorities and tried on their own to dissuade her, but were unsuccessful.
Izzah continued down the path of radicalism, said MHA, and in April this year, “boasted” to a contact that the Singapore authorities had not detected her.
In its press release, the MHA reiterated that importance of family members and friends to let the authorities know of anyone they suspect is being radicalised or planning terror attacks.
I am glad the investigation over this issue is over and MHA had sought the views of MUIS and PERGAS. It is not an easy issue to find an outcome that satisfies everyone. I feel sad that the Imam of mosque, where I do my Friday prayers regularly, is being send back but, as a multiracial community, a strong signal must be given that there is no place for any statement (intended or otherwise) that can sow seeds of doubt in other communities. No doubt this case had evoked strong emotive reaction from many fellow muslims because the complainant is a muslim convert that many disagree (or even hate?) for his controversial views of Islam in the past and there are calls for stronger action to be taken against him for being ‘kurang ajar’ at our revered and beloved Mufti. Despite what he said about the Mufti or MUIS, personally I do not think it is necessary for further action against that person because in this age of social media, anyone can be condemned or ridiculed (just ask any politicians). I think we all can distinguish the truth and let Allah be the judge for his actions and thoughts. I recalled what I was taught that Allah, the Most Gracious and Most Merciful, can forgive your sins with him but not the sins you commit to others. We also have a well-meaning professor who expresses his unhappiness with the convert but unfortunately, not knowing the full context, made some postings which can also be intrepreted as supporting the iman’s view. All involved have apologised and I wish there is closure for all especially for their families that may have been under a lot of stress and for our community that has been partly torn apart. Let’s us heal from this episode.
Imam Nalla Mohamed Abdul Jameel, an Indian national who is facing police investigations for his remarks that had allegedly insulted Christians and Jews during his Friday sermons at a mosque, on Friday apologised for his “act of indiscretion”, which he acknowledged has no place in Singapore’s multireligious and multicultural society.
Early last month, a police report was lodged against an unnamed imam who had supposedly quoted a verse from the Quran along the lines of “God grant us victory over Jews and Christians”, among other things. His comments were captured in a video and shared online.
In his apology on Friday (March 31), Mr Nalla said he was “filled with great remorse for the inconvenience, tension and trauma that I have caused to this peaceful country”.
His actions were also “not complementary to the ethos and essence of this young yet great nation”, he added.
Mr Nalla noted that he had recited an additional supplication in Arabic, which was taken from an old text that originated from his village in India. It was not an extract from the Quran, he added.
“As a resident here from a foreign land, I should have practised my faith in accordance with, and appropriate to, the social norms and laws of this country. I fully admit that my said actions have no place, wheresoever, in this extremely multi-religious and multi-cultural society,” he said.
Mr Nalla, who said he is “very relieved that the society has remained calm” amid this episode, added that he fully respects Singapore’s laws and appreciates the concerns of Singaporeans. “I am truly sorry that I had offended you, and I must bear full responsibility for my actions, as part of my duty to all Singaporeans and residents,” he said.
CPL Ammy of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) was physically attacked while doing her duty.
In May, she and her partner responded to a taxi driver who reported about his hostile passengers.
At the scene, CPL Ammy asked one of the passengers, Albin Lim for his particulars. Lim grabbed and pushed her to the ground. He then kicked her lower back. CPL Ammy suffered a blackout and collapsed.
Lim’s abusive conduct was terrible on several levels. He attacked a lady. He attacked an officer in uniform, doing her duty.
He has been sentenced to 10 weeks jail for this. I have asked the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to relook at the legislation, to consider whether this is adequate. I have said to MHA that anyone who attacks a uniformed officer should learn a lesson, which he will never forget; and it should be enough of a deterrence to others.
CPL Ammy is not the only Home Team officer who has suffered physical and verbal abuse when on duty. Last year, 344 cases were reported – almost one case per day! In the first 8 months of this year alone, there were 328 cases of abuse of Home Team officers.
In our current heightened security climate, the men and women of the Home Team work tirelessly daily to protect Singapore. They need our full support and cooperation.
