The scene: With their submachine guns raised, police officers stormed into the Century Square shopping mall in Tampines.

Moving swiftly in teams of two to four, they took aim and fired. Moments later, the “terrorists”, who had earlier “killed” shoppers and taken others hostage, lay dead on the floor.

The reality: These were the police’s new Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) responding to a mock terror attack during an islandwide counter-terrorism exercise last month.

These crack troops, who are trained in counter-assault skills, will be one of the first responders to any terrorist attack. They were commissioned in June and it is not uncommon to see them with their HK-MP 5 submachine guns and kevlar helmets patrolling the heartlands or city area.

… Associate Professor Kumar Ramakrishna, head of policy studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said these efforts will go some way towards boosting awareness of the threat and could “pay dividends” in future.

But it is still very much a work in progress.