Wednesday 25 February 2015

[Today] Stronger security needed in educational institutes

I refer to the report, “Terror threats real and evolving: Lawrence Wong” (Feb 8, online) and could not agree more. Recent terror events round the globe prove this.

The violence committed by terrorists come in extremes: Suicide bombings, hostage taking followed by sadistic execution of the hostages and reported hijacking of planes to be used in other attacks against nations opposed to their barbaric, evil activities.

Knowing that the threat is real and cannot be taken lightly, our Government must do more to ensure that Total Defence is what it says exactly.

For a start, educational institutions must beef up their security systems, which must be strict and include trained security personnel who are stationed at the entrances and exits. Pre-emption must be the critical role of security.

The present state of security at schools and institutes of higher learning is unhealthy, even pathetic. It is time for a suitable revamp. We must never wait until after a tragedy to start implementing measures such as advanced security technology.

Security at our airports, ports, government buildings, hospitals and other essential locations must also be reviewed periodically to ensure there are no loopholes.

We have already had the SMRT trespassing/vandalism cases, which highlighted that there must be efficient security patrolling to nip potential threats in the bud.

Money spent on beefing up security to protect our nation and our people or to save lives is never a waste. We can never reclaim lives lost, not to mention the trauma caused to survivors and family members.

We must be realistic going forward and not fall into the complacent thinking that whatever has happened in the United States, France, Australia and the Philippines, to cite some instances, will never occur in Singapore.