Address Root Causes Of Terror, Expert Advises

Singapore has emerged as a regional centre for anti-terrorist training for security personnel, for monitoring suspected jihadist websites, and for developing ideas on how to anticipate and dissipate terrorist threats. Among those involved is a Canadian, Tom Quiggin, a former Canadian military intelligence expert. He served in Croatia and Bosnia, at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, and in the Privy Council in Ottawa before going to Singapore last year. He is co-ordinator of the Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning Program of the School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University. Another unit of the school is the Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, where staffers Mohamed bin Ali and Haniff Hassan keep track of the religious rehabilitation program. It's the only one in Asia, others being in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Ali said the counselling came about spontaneously after the arrests of associates of Jemaah Islamiyah (J.I), the Indonesian-Malaysian militant group. "Some ustads (religious teachers) came together voluntarily," said Ali. "They felt that the J.I. philosophy had to be countered." http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/200140

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