-> Chan Chun Sing
10 Jan 2015
We discussed terrorism at last night’s informal policy discussion. The ongoing situation in France is a stark reminder to our challenges.
Hope participants have gotten fresh perspectives on how we need to counter terrorism – from detection, deterrence, crisis management to ultimately building the resilience of our society.
It is not easy. We cannot be complacent. Terrorists will seek to disrupt our way of life through violence, killing innocents etc to create fear and panic. Our challenge is to deny them from doing just that.
Early detection requires not just the vigilance of the security agencies but the whole society.
Deterrence is not just about securing our facilities or punishing the perpetrators. But it must encompass going after the real masterminds who manipulate their foot soldiers to do what fulfills their agendas.
Resilience, not over reacting, staying clam, and responding logically will all be important to send the message that we will not be defeated by the terrorist acts. Nor will we succumb to their goals to disrupt our peace and normalcy. We must not allow their acts to attract even more attention and support.
Vigilance and resilience will determine our victory or defeat…
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Overheard :
- The how do we defeat them was very interesting. We must know the perpetrator’s motive. One of which is to cause fear and disruption to our way of life. If we are resilient during an attack and not cause undue panic and fear, the perpetrator’s goal will be defeated.
- Yes agreed. To recover fast and live life as per normal.
SG Hard Truth 