Another ISD sweep of foreigners here

by Bertha Henson

WHO would have thought that foreigners in Singapore would be starting a new terror cell at a time when Singapore was rounding up other foreigners, in fact, their fellow nationals, for planning terrorist attacks?

But that was what Bangladeshi Rahman Mizanur, 31, was doing in January this year: recruiting his countrymen for what he called the “Islamic State in Bangladesh” (ISB). That is some gall. Recall that it was in January that the G made public its arrests of 27 male Bangladeshis over November and December. Rahman must have been aware that internal security forces had their antennae up, yet he went on to set up his so-called ISB in March.

Unlike the earlier rounds, who were arrested and then deported, the eight men snagged in this round will be detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) – a first here. Unlike the earlier batch who were all work permit holders in the construction industry and no mastermind among them was pinpointed, this group had Rahman as its ringleader with members who work in both marine and construction industries.  Rahman also appears to be more educated than the rest. He is in Singapore on an S pass, which is for mid-level skilled staff with a degree or diploma and who earn at least $2,200 a month.

The earlier group had been in place since 2013, while Rahman’s group appears to be fledgling start-up. Yet the paraphernalia found on them seemed to indicate a pretty advanced stage of planning. Said the Ministry of Home Affairs in a statement: “A document titled ‘We Need for Jihad Fight’ was recovered from Rahman Mizanur, which contained a list of Bangladeshi government and military officials who could be targeted for attack. He also possessed documents on weapons and bomb making, as well as a significant amount of ISIS and Al-Qaeda radical material.” It said the group had also raised money to buy firearms to carry out their planned terror attacks in Bangladesh. The money has since been seized.

While the first group was planning to attack Bangladesh and not Singapore, “Rahman Mizanur has said he would carry out an attack anywhere if he was instructed by ISIS to do so, though there are no specific indications that Singapore had as yet been selected as a target”, the statement said.

“ISB poses a security concern to Singapore because of its support for ISIS and its readiness to resort to the use of violence overseas. The detained ISB members are still under investigation for their activities in Singapore.”

This is the scary part. It’s not enough to think that people who plan violence to take place elsewhere, won’t do the same in any place. The trouble is why they seem to think Singapore is a safe haven to plan something dastardly. Perhaps, they believe that all that will happen to them is deportation? After all,  12 men in the earlier group were allowed to go back to their families as Bangladeshi detectives “did not find their links with militancy in primary investigation”, said Dhaka police.

The ministry said five Bangladeshi workers were investigated under the ISA but investigations showed that they were not involved in ISB, although they  “possessed and/or proliferated jihadi-related materials, or supported the use of armed violence in pursuit of a religious cause”. All five have been deported.

Its press statement was stingy with information, such as where the group held its meetings or how much money it had raised. As for determining that the five were not ISB members, did members carry identification cards ?

It’s ironic that these detentions are being made public a day after advocacy group the Migrants Workers’ Centre (MWC) called on companies laying off their foreign workers to try and get them re-employed with other firms, instead of just sending them back home.  Foreigners who are thinking of abusing their guest status here should spare a thought for their compatriots who are simply trying to make a living here.

It also appears that much more “outreach” needs to be done.  After the first round of arrests, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said at the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis): “We must continue to engage the foreign community here to make sure the resources within the Malay-Muslim community are also available to them.”

We already know of the hard security measures for Singapore, such as better armed patrols and more surveillance cameras, but the softer approach of engaging the Muslim foreigners in our midst will be tougher to carry out.

 

Featured Image by Natassya Diana.

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The post Another ISD sweep of foreigners here appeared first on The Middle Ground.

- Bertha Henson