SINGAPORE, March 17 — Good airport security and intelligence are necessary to help avert dangers, said Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam yesterday, noting that details that have emerged about the missing Malaysia Airlines plane are “actually quite chilling” as they point to a “very deliberate, very carefully planned operation”.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had, on Saturday, revealed detailed findings on the investigations into Flight MH370, which indicated that the aircraft was deliberately diverted and flown for hours after vanishing from radar.
The plane’s communication systems were also said to have been manually switched off.
Speaking on the sidelines of a community event in Sembawang, Shanmugam said it is “a sharp reminder that we cannot take anything for granted”, including the need for careful checks and intelligence.
However, he pointed out that, with 50 million people passing through Singapore’s Changi Airport every year — the majority of whom are travelling legitimately and want a good experience — checking everybody would affect the travel experience and almost no airport would do so.
“So the real answer is extremely good intelligence ahead of time and close cooperation with others,” added Shanmugam.
The minister noted that there had been arguments over the past few months on intelligence and intelligence activities. Only last week, the United States Central Intelligence Agency was reportedly accused of spying on the US Senate intelligence committee.
However, the MH370 incident brought home the need for good intelligence and for governments to have such intelligence and be able to use it effectively, said Shanmugam.
He added: “It does not mean we pick up everything but, with good airport security and good intelligence, you should be able to avert most of the dangers. But in these things, there is no such thing as complete, 100 per cent (prevention).”
On Saturday, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) also ended its search operation in the South China Sea after the Malaysian authorities announced that they were calling off the search in that area. There is currently one SAF aircraft supporting the search operation in the Malacca Strait.
Following new information on the missing plane, Shanmugam said the area of search is now very wide and has changed. Singapore is waiting to hear from Malaysia on further assistance and the defence ministers are in contact, he added. — Today
