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Disappearances? By Teo Soh Lung
In July 2015, two young people were arrested under our notorious Internal Security Act (ISA). I didn’t know about this till yesterday when I read the newspapers. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) deemed it fit to inform the public of the arrests only on 30 September, more than two months after their arrests and more than one month after the detention orders were served on them. These orders were presumably made in August.
See https://www.mha.gov.sg/Newsroom/pre...aporeans-under-the-Internal-Security-Act.aspx
The two young people, Muhammad Shamin bin Mohamed Sidek (29) and Muhammad Harith Jailani (18) were alleged to be self-radicalised individuals and allegedly planning to go to Syria to fight for ISIS.
Muhammad Shamin bin Mohamed Sidek was arrested in May 2015 and charged under section 267C of the Penal Code for inciting religious violence through pro ISIS postings on social media. It was alleged by MHA that throughout his imprisonment, he continued to express “unstinting support for ISIS”. And for that reason, he was arrested under the ISA, presumably to teach him an unforgettable lesson. For Muhammad Harith Jailani, he was alleged to have harboured intention to carry out armed jihad.
The two young people reminded me of our Indian and Chinese pioneers who embarked on their journey to India and China to fight for their homeland. While our pioneers did embark on their journey to engage in armed struggle and many died for their respective countries, these two young Muslims were merely having thoughts and expressing thoughts about going to Syria. I don't know if the police found any bomb-making materials or documents in their homes that conclusively confirm that they are or will be potential terrorists? And I wonder why they were not referred to the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG).
For over a decade, we have no information whatsoever about the Muslims arrested under the ISA except belated brief press releases from MHA. The silence is disturbing.
The frequent use of the ISA for thought crimes, without concrete evidence of criminal activities, undermines the capability of our police and armed forces. It tarnishes the good name of our government internationally. Singapore has the state of the art surveillance equipment and weapons. Why do they need to resort to the ISA so frequently? We are not at war with any of our neighbours and there is peace in the country and in the region.
Yesterday, nine people were killed and seven injured in a community college in Oregon, United States. The gunman was shot dead. If such an incident takes place in Singapore (and I hope it will never happen), how will our government react? Arrest every resident under the ISA?
Disappearances? By Teo Soh Lung
In July 2015, two young people were arrested under our notorious Internal Security Act (ISA). I didn’t know about this till yesterday when I read the newspapers. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) deemed it fit to inform the public of the arrests only on 30 September, more than two months after their arrests and more than one month after the detention orders were served on them. These orders were presumably made in August.
See https://www.mha.gov.sg/Newsroom/pre...aporeans-under-the-Internal-Security-Act.aspx
The two young people, Muhammad Shamin bin Mohamed Sidek (29) and Muhammad Harith Jailani (18) were alleged to be self-radicalised individuals and allegedly planning to go to Syria to fight for ISIS.
Muhammad Shamin bin Mohamed Sidek was arrested in May 2015 and charged under section 267C of the Penal Code for inciting religious violence through pro ISIS postings on social media. It was alleged by MHA that throughout his imprisonment, he continued to express “unstinting support for ISIS”. And for that reason, he was arrested under the ISA, presumably to teach him an unforgettable lesson. For Muhammad Harith Jailani, he was alleged to have harboured intention to carry out armed jihad.
The two young people reminded me of our Indian and Chinese pioneers who embarked on their journey to India and China to fight for their homeland. While our pioneers did embark on their journey to engage in armed struggle and many died for their respective countries, these two young Muslims were merely having thoughts and expressing thoughts about going to Syria. I don't know if the police found any bomb-making materials or documents in their homes that conclusively confirm that they are or will be potential terrorists? And I wonder why they were not referred to the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG).
For over a decade, we have no information whatsoever about the Muslims arrested under the ISA except belated brief press releases from MHA. The silence is disturbing.
The frequent use of the ISA for thought crimes, without concrete evidence of criminal activities, undermines the capability of our police and armed forces. It tarnishes the good name of our government internationally. Singapore has the state of the art surveillance equipment and weapons. Why do they need to resort to the ISA so frequently? We are not at war with any of our neighbours and there is peace in the country and in the region.
Yesterday, nine people were killed and seven injured in a community college in Oregon, United States. The gunman was shot dead. If such an incident takes place in Singapore (and I hope it will never happen), how will our government react? Arrest every resident under the ISA?
