Self-radicalised People Harder to Rehabilitate: Shanmugam

The Straits Times

14 March 2018

Self-radicalised individuals today face “more complex psychological and social issues” and Singapore is still trying to develop the right tools to rehabilitate them, Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday.

To date, just 25 per cent of such individuals nabbed since 2007 have been released.

Self-radicalised people, who tend to be influenced by material online, are different from the wave of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) detainees caught here after the Sept 11 attacks in 2001, said Mr Shanmugam, who is also Law Minister.

… Called the RRG Awareness Programme for Youth, it is targeted at those aged between 16 and 25, said RRG vice-chairman Mohamed Ali. Among other things, it aims to help them understand the dangers of extreme thoughts and ideology.

… The mindset of a self-radicalised person varies by individual, making him harder to predict and deal with, said Professor Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. In contrast, those radicalised by groups go through a teacher or recommended text.

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