Youth in Singapore have a part to play in countering the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), given the unprecedented social media savvy shown by the terrorist outfit, said Minister of State for Defence and National Development Maliki Osman yesterday.

Besides guarding themselves against the terrorists’ rhetoric, youth here should also be watchful for peers who may appear to have fallen under the influence of extremist ideology, Dr Maliki told 350 students yesterday, at a convention organised by Muslim group Taman Bacaan and the Inter-Agency Aftercare Group, which helps to reintegrate terror detainees.

He urged them to be on guard against the terrorist group’s social media reach.

…How a country reacts to a terrorist attack determines whether it will survive one, said keynote speaker Rohan Gunaratna, who heads the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

“A terrorist attack, by itself, cannot really destroy Singapore,” he said. “It is only a communal riot, (that may) happen after the attack, and the suspicion and the hatred that we develop – that is what can damage Singapore.”