If you’ve read the news lately, you would have heard of Abdul Somad Batubara, an Indonesian extremist preacher who was denied entry into Singapore.
It turns out that he had apparently radicalised our Singaporeans before. Here’s what happened.
Extremist Preacher Denied Entry
On Monday (16 May), Indonesian preacher Abdul Somad Batubara and six of his travel companions were denied entry into Singapore, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The group of seven arrived at Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal from Batam.
According to MHA, Somad was interviewed. However, the group was denied entry into Singapore and placed on a ferry back to Batam on the same day.
Insulted Other Religions
This was because Somad has been known to preach extremist and segregationist teachings, both of which are unacceptable in Singapore’s multiracial and multi-religious society. You can read more about it here.
Even though Somad had attempted to enter Singapore for a social visit (or appeared to do so), the Singapore Government takes a serious view of any persons who advocate violence or espouse extremist and segregationist teachings.
Needless to say, Somad was not too happy about being rejected from Singapore. BTW, he was also denied entry to Hong Kong, Timor Leste, and other European countries in the past.
On Monday, he put up a post about being denied entry into Singapore on social media. His post included a photo and video of his holding area in Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.
And what do fans do when their idol expressed discontentment about a country?
Bombard its politicians and agencies with comments and hashtags, of course. That will surely magically make Singapore change its stance on extremist teachings.
Had Radicalised Singaporeans Before
It turns out that Somad had been on the Singapore authorities’ radar for a while, when some people investigated for radicalisation were discovered to have watched his videos and followed his preachings.
Amongst these radicalised followers was a 17-year-old detained under our Internal Security Act in January 2020. He had watched Somad’s lectures on suicide bombing on YouTube, and believed that suicide bombers are martyrs.
In a statement to reporters on 23 May, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam pointed out that “Somad’s teachings have real-world consequences”.
Minister Shanmugam also brought up examples of the comments Somad’s supporters have posted online since Somad was denied entry to Singapore.
There were comments calling for Singapore to be bombed and destroyed, “like 9/11 in New York 2001”.
There were other comments like “Small country, yet so arrogant, with just one missile and you are finished”.
Additionally, his followers have supported Somad’s reasoning that he will reattempt to enter Singapore, as Singapore was “Malay Land” and part of the “Temasek Malay Kingdom”.
Minister Shanmugam pointed out that this rhetoric paints our sovereignty as irrelevant, and that Singapore is not a separate country from Somad’s perspective.
Additionally, the minister questioned whether Somad’s supporters also threatened the other countries that Somad was denied entry to, like Hong Kong or Britain.
“Or is it only that Singapore gets special mention and they are brave enough to threaten Singapore, but not the others?”
Featured Image: Facebook (Ustaz Abdul Somad), Twitter