Building trust through security: a comparative historical analysis on communist and Islamist terrorism in Singapore, 1968 - 2023

Abstract

On December 8, 2001, the Internal Security Department (ISD) launched its first security operation against the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network in Singapore The announcement of the 15 men arrested in connection to the plotting of terror attacks on several key installations in Singapore on January 11, 2002, sent shockwaves throughout the nation. Many Singaporeans may not have been aware of the threat posed by violent Islamist extremism and had assumed that Singapore was largely immune from these dangers. Interestingly, despite being caught off-guard by the terror plot, many Singaporeans were unfazed by the situation. In hindsight, it would seem that the public’s apathetic attitude towards the whole crisis largely stemmed from their faith towards the government’s effort to combat terrorism. In light of the above observation, this thesis seeks to discern the following puzzle: Why was there strong public and international support for the state’s use of ISA for its counter-terrorism efforts in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack? Most importantly, why were the authorities still able to continuously gain public trust and international confidence in maintaining the ISA even after the September 11 attack and arrest of the JI operatives? This paper thus seeks to examine the legacy of the Singapore government in tackling acts of terrorism, particularly from the 1960s to 2023. Looking into Singapore’s past would enable readers to discern if historical precedence had manifested these high levels of trust towards the authorities in using the ISA to address threats to safety and national security in Singapore.