Wednesday, a senior official with the Indonesian National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) stated that Singapore's decision to refuse entry to Indonesian preacher Abdul Somad Batubara is an important reminder for Indonesia to take cautious in preventing extreme beliefs (May 18).
Mr. Somad landed at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal in Singapore on 16 May, however he was denied entrance and deported back to Batam the same day.
In response to CNA's questions, Brigadier General Ahmad Nurwahid, the director managing terror prevention in BNPT, stated that Singapore's decision was made because it is evident that exclusive, intolerant teachings, attitudes, and viewpoints are the fundamental elements of radicalism.
"I consider this as a crucial lesson for Indonesia to outlaw extremist viewpoints, ideologies, and worldviews that might lead to acts of terror and bloodshed," he added.
He added that Singapore's policies in this area are preventative and focused on anticipating possible dangers in advance.
Government leaders and agencies' social media accounts were spammed by supporters of an Indonesian preacher who was denied entry into Singapore. "This is done because Singapore has a regulatory framework known as the ISA (Internal Security Act), which prohibits the ideology, views, and understanding of radicalism that leads to terrorist acts."
The Brigadier General said, "The government, including BNPT, respects all foreign policies. There is no attempt to intervene in the rejection of preacher Abdul Somad and his group's arrival."
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of Singapore announced on Tuesday that Mr. Somad, who arrived in Singapore on May 16, was denied entry and sent back to Batam on the same day, along with six other passengers.
Everyone who had arrived at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal was placed aboard a ferry bound towards Batam.
MHA said in a statement that Mr. Somad's "extremist and segregationist" views are "inappropriate in Singapore's multi-racial and multi-religious society."
"Somad has preached, for instance, that suicide bombings are permissible in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict and are deemed "martyrdom" operations.
MHA noted that Mr. Somad has also openly referred to non-Muslims as "kafirs," or infidels.
This statement continued: "While Somad sought to enter Singapore purportedly on a social visit, the Singaporean government takes any person who advocates violence and/or espouses extremist and/or segregationist doctrines very seriously.
Wednesday, Singapore's Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) reported that Mr. Somad's followers have bombarded the social media accounts of a number of political officials and government agencies.
"Organisations are advised to take proactive measures to strengthen their cybersecurity posture, increase their vigilance, and bolster their online defenses in order to protect themselves from potential cyberattacks, such as web defacement and distributed denial of service," the MCI spokesperson added.
Source: CNA
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