Singapore is an open financial centre, a communications hub. It is a densely-populated city. Can such incident happen in Singapore? No one can say that it will never happen in Singapore.

The terrorists’ network, their organisations are not just in the Middle East. They are in the US, all over the world. They are also in Southeast Asia. They have their links in Indonesia. There are also groups in the Philippines. The Malaysian government is facing a test because they have this KMM, whose members have been trained in Afghanistan. Therefore, this is not just a problem for other countries. It is also our problem.

Answer : There is no choice. You look at the Malaysian government. They have made known their stand against the terrorist attacks. And the Indonesian government. President Megawati was in the US. She unambiguously condemned the 911 attacks. But in their country, views are divided. Some extremists say that if the US attacks Afghanistan, then all Muslims in the world should wage a jihad against the US.

And some political factions opposed to the government are also using this incident to try and weaken the government. Therefore, our principle is, we must consider our own interests. In principle, what should we do? If there are sensitivities in our neighbouring countries, we must try to address them. We can’t say that because our neighbours feel sensitive about this, we are not going to look after ourselves.

I think this is a crucial test. For more than 30 years, we have been developing year by year. Our economy has been growing. Our cohesion, our spirit of solidarity has gradually strengthened. I think our test this time is, in essence, different from the tests which we have gone through in the past. Because this time, we know the reactions of our neighbours - some elements would give a religious response by saying that this is the stand of Muslims, that Muslims have certain obligations, that you should not do this. What about the views of the Muslims in Singapore? After the incident happened, Malay and Muslim leaders were quick to take a stand. They have made it clear that they are taking a humanitarian view, that they condemn the 911 attacks, they do not support terrorism. They even said that this is not Islam. This is terrorism. Their views and their comments will help to convince the local Malays and Muslims and influence their thinking. They are taking a rational approach to understand this problem.

This we must try our best to do, try our best to help our people prepare themselves. I think leaders taking a stand is a very important part of the preparation. And at the same time, we must at the grassroots level discuss this problem with our MPs and with various spiritual organisations before things get carried away and before emotions are aroused, so that we can discuss it in a calmer and more rational manner. For example, in our schools, MOE has issued a guideline on how principals should explain and deal with the 911 incident. Otherwise, when teachers talk about it among themselves after class or discuss it with their students or when students discuss it among themselves, they could be misled and come to wrong conclusions.

Answer : I think we must understand that we are in Singapore. Whether you are Chinese, Malays or Indians, or Buddhists, Muslims or Christians, we are all Singaporeans. Our view may not necessarily be the view of other countries. Our stand must be a common stand taken by us after consideration. Of course, psychologically, I think sentiments such as the ones in Malaysia and Indonesia, are going to tug at some hearts, some emotions. This is natural. There is no way to avoid it – it is the case with any ethnic community. For instance Chinese Singaporeans pay special attention to what is happening in China or Taiwan. Indians Singaporeans pay special attention to what is happening in India and Pakistan. Malay Singaporeans are also paying special attention to events in the region, to comments in the region. This is how we are. It has been our situation since independence.

Answer : The Muslim leaders, the Malay leaders have issued a clear statement. Our government leaders have also made clear statements. Singaporeans should view this problem rationally. The statements are not just to explain to the Muslims but to all Singaporeans, because some people say that the US is a bully, its policies are incorrect and that it has angered many people, because in the Middle East, the US is siding with Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or in East Asia or in US relations with China, the US may be too unreasonable. So the US deserved what happened. This is completely wrong. Whatever mistakes there are in your policy, however inhuman your government is, there is no reason to kill six to seven thousand innocent people. Even in a war with two sides fighting, it is just soldiers against soldiers. Under international law, civilians must never be killed. And this was not a war situation. This was a peacetime situation. For no reason, six to seven thousand innocent people were killed. And to say that the US deserves it is a completely wrong view.

I have confidence in all Singaporeans.

Other ethnic communities must understand that this was not done by Singaporeans. It was not done by Singaporean Muslims. It was not done by Singaporean Malays. Therefore, you should not blame it on the Singapore Malays. They are our own people, our fellow citizens. They are not the evil people who did it.

Most of our Muslims are moderate in their views. They are faithful Muslims, but their views are moderate.

At the memorial service at the National Stadium last week, there were many Malays and Muslims present. Everybody saw it in newspapers and on television. The Mufti, the Muslim leader, personally conducted the prayer. It was a very clear-cut stand. I believe Singaporeans should understand this.

Of course, there is a small minority who may be more extreme in their views. In Singapore, their expressions are more cautious. But on websites, especially those hosted overseas, you can see quite intemperate views being expressed. To these people, we should let them know that this is wrong and that they do not represent the majority of Muslims or the majority of Singaporeans.

Answer : I believe this is a process of maturing. If Singapore can succeed in going through this difficulty, we will be able to understand more the vulnerability of our multi-ethnicity, what are our weaknesses and how can we prevent these weaknesses from being aggravated by future events or external factors. I think we must never allow such thing to happen.

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