SINGAPORE, Sept 23 — Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has urged Singaporeans to remain vigilant and prepared, warning that years of peace and security could lead to complacency.
Speaking at an event marking the 10th anniversary of SGSecure, Wong said the absence of dramatic incidents in everyday life should not lead people to assume that Singapore was immune to security threats, The Straits Times reported.
He cited cases in which authorities had intervened before potential lone-wolf attacks could be carried out, including a 17-year-old detained by the Internal Security Department (ISD) in 2024 while planning an attack at a neighbourhood centre near Tampines West Community Club.
“We managed to intervene in time before anyone was hurt. But things could have turned out very differently.
“So I ask myself: Can we keep catching every case in time? What if one day, despite our best efforts, something gets through? No security system can give us a 100 per cent guarantee.
“That is why we cannot become complacent about safety and security in Singapore,” said Wong, adding that the country had been fortunate so far.
He said security agencies had continued to detect people who posed a danger, disrupt plots and intervene before anyone was harmed, adding that his first reaction when briefed about such cases was relief.
Wong said Singaporeans had become accustomed to attending religious services, using public transport, walking around their neighbourhoods at night and sending their children to school without constantly worrying about danger.
“These things feel normal to us. But look around the world, and you realise that what we regard as normal in Singapore is actually quite exceptional.
“What we have today is possible only because we have all worked hard to keep Singapore safe — through our security agencies, and by building preparedness and trust across our society.”
He said SGSecure was introduced 10 years ago to encourage Singaporeans to stay alert to threats, know how to respond if an attack occurred, help others and prevent fear or hatred from dividing society.
Wong urged people to speak up when they encountered suspicious behaviour, rather than assuming someone else would deal with it, citing unattended bags in public places and friends or relatives being drawn towards extremist material online as examples.
“To be clear, we do not want Singaporeans to live in fear, or be suspicious of everyone around them. We want to continue going about our lives with confidence and peace of mind.
“But we can only do so if we are alert and prepared, and take sensible action when something does not seem right,” he said, adding that SGSecure remained important for this reason.
Wong also highlighted stronger preparedness in neighbourhoods, workplaces, schools, religious and community organisations, as well as greater awareness of how to respond during a crisis.
He said stronger bonds of trust were particularly important when an attack was motivated by race or religion, citing the response after ISD detained the 17-year-old, when religious leaders from the Tampines GRC Community Response Roundtable came together to reject violent extremist ideologies.
“They stood together and sent a clear message: such violent extremist ideologies represent none of our communities, and would not divide us. That is the resilience we need,” he added.
Wong’s remarks came amid an annual threat assessment by ISD, which said ongoing conflicts in the Middle East were contributing to the high terrorism threat facing Singapore.
The report, released on September 10, said the conflicts had contributed to growing hostility between communities, while anti-Semitism had surged in many parts of the world and anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamophobia had intensified.
ISD also identified youth radicalisation as a pressing concern, saying cases involving young people had almost quadrupled from four between 2017 and 2021 to 15 since 2022.
At the SGSecure anniversary event at Our Tampines Hub, Wong visited an exhibition running from September 23 to 27 featuring giant inflatables depicting Singapore icons known collectively as the “SGSecure Kakis”, each representing a specific role.
The event was also attended by Second Minister for Home Affairs and Law Minister Edwin Tong, and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Sim Ann.
Separately, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced on September 23 that it was trialling an artificial intelligence-powered WhatsApp chatbot to help SGSecure advocates, volunteers and front-line officers access resources and guidance, as well as test their knowledge while engaging the public.
Other initiatives include expanding the SGSecure Advocate Programme, which trains community members to share messages on recognising threats, staying safe and reporting signs of radicalisation.
The programme, piloted at institutes of higher learning in 2024, is being extended to schools, workplaces, religious organisations and other community groups.
The SGSecure movement was launched by then prime minister Lee Hsien Loong to help Singaporeans understand the evolving security landscape and new threats, and equip them with skills to respond during an attack.
More than 716,000 households have participated in the movement since 2016.
