The terror threat has been hammered home with the fact that at least seven Singaporeans have been known to have joined or planned to join ISIS.

That the allure of ISIS’ warped ideology is so pervasive, even here, must come as a shock to many.

But it is a relief that the vigilance and early detection efforts of the public and agencies such as the Internal Security Department meant that this year, five people were identified and dealt with.

Last year, two travelled to Syria where they are still believed to be: Haja Fakkurudeen Usman Ali, now 39, and an unnamed woman who went with her Malaysian husband and two children.

This year, there has been a spate of preventive detentions by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

… Instead of shutting down accounts or websites that transmit extremist content, education and awareness efforts may be more effective, says RSIS‘ Dr Kumar Ramakrishna, who likens it to building “mental firewalls” to make communities more resilient against the malware that ISIS is trying to propagate.

“When it comes to dealing with the ideological threat that sustains the physical terrorist threat, there is still some way to go,” he says.