Slashing through the Web Of Terror (SUBMISSION)

Link: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/175137.asp
Source: Today Newspaper
Written By: Rosnah Ahmad
Date Published: 3rd March, 2007
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Article summary:
Thanks to the internet, there is now the threat of self-radicalised individuals who are not involved with any terrorist groups.
According to minister Mr Wong Kan Seng, Singapore is not safe from this threat and that in fact, a few Singaporeans who been attracted to terrorism-radical ideas through the internet had been investigated. One cased involved an individual who linked up people who were involved in terrorist recruitment and financing. However, through the Muis Asatizah Recognition scheme, the muslim community have gotten a clearer picture of whom to refer to and whom not to refer to in the case of ideology.Talks and dialougue sessions have also been held by organizations and certain individuals to raise awareness on this issue.

My View:
This is a potentially explosive topic and thus I will not move too deep into it. But I have to confess I felt my spine shiver as I read this article. You hear everyday about Singapore is such a safe place, when such things are actually going on. 6000 is not a small figure when it comes to the number of websites. You get a frightening idea of how much these radical ideals have spread into Singapore. You cannot really blame the internet here. It has, like most systems, its pros and cons. On the good side, it magically connects people and truly globalises our world. On the bad side, it connects bad people and globalises terror as well. We can't implement any feasible changes to the Internet. The blame of course should fall on those spreading such ideals, as once these ideals begin to characterize actions, we might just find ourselves in chaos.

I appreciate and admire the attempts of the Muis to curb this flow and interchange of radical and terrorist-related ideals. It does seem the most effective measure. Educate the people, and hope that they follow. I hope and believe that such ideals will never gain a foothold in any community, and they don't deserve to anyway. It is mentioned in this article that the youth have specially been educated on the issue. This is supremely important; the youth is the future, and they are at the age where they learn the most. Thus it is important that they learn what is right. I also admire individuals like Mr Hassan who, by writing books and blogs to raise awareness on the topic,are making significant contributions to making Singapore a safer place for me and you.