13 out of 52 self-radicalised individuals issued orders under ISA were aged 20 and below: ISD

Online self-radicalisation continues to be the primary terrorism threat in Singapore, with youths remaining particularly vulnerable, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Thursday (July 25).

Youth involvement and recent cases

Out of the 52 self-radicalised individuals who have been dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since 2015, 13 were Singaporean youths aged 20 or younger, the agency noted in this year's Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report.

The threat of a terrorist attack in Singapore has elevated as the Israel-Palestine conflict re-escalated following Hamas' attack on Israel last October.

In the report, ISD highlighted far-right extremism (FRE) — a wide range of beliefs that are often exclusivist and advocate violence as a means to safeguard ethnic purity or achieve political objectives — as a growing security concern.

While this is more prominent in Western countries, Singapore is not immune to this threat, the agency said.

"We have detected two cases of local youths being self-radicalised by FRE."

Far-right extremism influence

In November 2023, a 16-year-old Singaporean was issued a restriction order (RO). This means he is not allowed to travel out of Singapore, access the internet or social media without the approval of the ISD director, among other restrictions.

The teenager, who is of Chinese ethnicity, identified as a White supremacist and had aspired to commit a mass shooting in the US. 

According to ISD, he was exposed to violent extremist online material in 2022 such as videos of American far-right personality Paul Nicholas Miller, and subequently developed a strong hatred of communities typically targeted by far-right extremists including African Americans, Arabs and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Youngest case and Islamist extremism

In June 2024, another youth was issued a RO. The 14-year-old is the youngest individual to be dealt with under the ISA.

ISD said that the Secondary Three student's radicalisation was triggered by the Israel-Hamas conflict. He had aspired to conduct attacks in Singapore against non-Muslim communities during their local festivals.

“In general, my plan is to go to a kuffar (non-Muslim) festive celebration and start attacking random people. I will also use this opportunity to mobilise my group to ensure that the effort achieves the maximum impact and create a sense of fear among the kuffars,” read an extract of his statement during investigations. 

Vulnerability to extremism

These cases show that youths in Singapore remain vulnerable to online radicalisation by a variety of extremist ideologies such as FRE and Islamist extremism, ISD noted.

"The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict underscores the radicalising risk that foreign extremist narratives can pose to our national security and social harmony," the agency said, adding that anyone, regardless of age, gender, religion, or profession, is susceptible to radicalisation and it can occur in a short span of months.

Signs of possible radicalisation include:

• frequently surfing radical websites
• posting extremist views on social media platforms
• sharing extremist views with extremist views
• making remarks that promote hatred towards people of other races, religions or communities
• expressing intent to take part in acts of violence in Singapore or overseas
• inciting others to take part in acts of violence

Anyone who knows or suspects that a person has been radicalised, should contact the ISD Counter-Terrorism Centre hotline at 1800-2626-473.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com