Defence Minister Teo says every Singaporean must defend Singapore

The Straits Times, February 14, 2007
By Jermyn Chow


AGAINST the backdrop of recent global conflicts, security threats and calls to reduce Singapore’s defence expenditure in forum letters, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean has called on all Singaporeans to stand united and be prepared to defend the nation.

Mr Teo said Singaporeans can play their part to defend Singapore in five aspects - military, civil, economic, social and psychological.

Amid recent forum letters written to The Straits Times to slaughter the nation's scared cow of defence spending, Mr Teo stressed the importance of beefing up the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

'Can we defend ourselves if attacked? Better still, can we prevent ourselves from being attacked and deter foreign interference, so that we do not suffer the same fate as Kuwait or Lebanon?' he asked.

'A strong and credible SAF allows us to pursue our national interests without fear of foreign intimidation or interference. It also enables Singapore to contribute to regional peace and security,' he said.

The defence minister also explained how the SAF and Home Team work closely together to build a strong civil defence to keep Singapore safe from terrorist attacks or at least deal with them, should they occur.

But Mr Teo said boosting social cohesion is an important part of social defence.

'We are a multi-racial society, with people of different faiths, cultures and customs. This makes us vulnerable to the likes of Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah (JI) which seek to tear societies apart by exploiting religion and sowing suspicion between communities,' Mr Teo said.

To strengthen economic and psychological defence, Mr Teo urged Singaporeans to stand united and be resilient when faced with threats like the recent floods, widespread Internet failure, avian flu and Indonesia's abrupt sand ban.

Mr Teo was speaking at the launch of Total Defence Day which falls on Feb 15 - the day Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942 during World War Two.