Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean said the Internal Security Act (ISA) continued to be relevant to the country.

Over the years, he explained, the government used the ISA in good faith, and in a measured way in the prevailing security situations it has had to face, keeping Singapore safe and its people secure.

NONE “Singapore is a small country which can be buffeted by the many powerful forces and influences that intersect here. A broad range of threats can undermine Singapore’s security.

“These include terrorism, subversion, racial and religious extremism and espionage, and also other unanticipated threats that may emerge in the future,” said Teo, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, in his speech in parliament today.

Singapore seems to have been under pressure, following Malaysia’s move to put an end to the preventive detention law in force in the country.

The issue on ISA has been hotly debated among the republic’s netizens, academicians, opposition, individuals and analysts, alike, since the announcement by Malaysia.

On Sept 15, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced that his government would repeal two controversial laws which allowed for detention without trial - the ISA and the Emergency Ordinance - as well as lift licensing curbs on the media and review laws forbidding free public assembly.

- Bernama