Terrorism threat still present, Goh warns

Terrorism threat still present, Goh warns

The Jakarta Post, Asia News Network (ANN), Singapore

Singapore and other countries in the region remain vulnerable
to attacks from international terrorist groups even if no
evidence of an imminent threat has surfaced, Prime Minister Goh
Chok Tong says.

The prime targets, if and when the attacks are launched, would
likely be American interests in the region, Goh said during a
meeting with executives of the Asia News Network on Tuesday.

"I don't think there is an imminent threat, but the danger
lurks behind.

"We believe that there is a real alternative that things may
go wrong somewhere, sometime in the region, primarily against
American interests, perhaps in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia."

The Singapore government has made several arrests of people
believed to be connected with the al Qaeda group.

Fears that al Qaeda may shift its activities to Southeast Asia
after its bases in Afghanistan were overrun by the United States
have prompted countries in the region, including Singapore, to
arrest people suspected of having links with the group.

Although there has been no single attack since the alarm was
raised in September, Goh believes countries in the region should
not let their guard down.

"(There has been) no evidence of any real, immediate danger
but we believe the danger is there," he said.

Singapore intelligence has being monitoring the activities of
members of the Jemaah Islamiah, a network of groups united in the
desire to turn countries in the region into Islamic states.

"They went to Thailand and then made their way to Indonesia.
After that, we don't know where they are," he said.

A diplomatic row broke out between Indonesia and Singapore in
February when Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Kwan Yew said that
terrorist leaders were roaming free in Indonesia.

The two countries have since patched up ties and agreed to
join forces in fighting terrorism.

Recognizing the challenges Indonesia faces in clamping down on
extremist groups operating in the country, Goh cautioned against
alienating Muslims in the fight against terrorism.

"You must never alienate the majority of Muslims by creating
the wrong impression that we are against Islam. If you do that,
then the battle is lost.

"We've got to be very clear that this is not against Islam,
not against Muslims, but we're targeting the extremists."

But he echoed U.S concerns that al Qaeda or other terrorist
groups might take advantage of the situation in Indonesia.

"If that international network can have influence over the
Indonesian network, Indonesia will become involved, then it will
be used by outsiders against Indonesian interests or against
regional interests for this international terrorist network's
objectives."

During the meeting with the Asia News Network -- which groups
primarily English-language media in the region -- Goh talked at
length about the development, or the lack thereof, of the
Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN).

Goh stressed the need for Asia to forge economic cooperation
in view of the ongoing processes of economic integration in
Europe and North America.

ASEAN must take the initiative lest it became marginalized, he
said.

China, Japan and South Korea were quite content to let ASEAN
lead as attested by these countries' offers to engage in free
trade arrangements. India would also join in this process, he
added.

Goh defended Singapore's decision to go it alone in engaging
in free trade with the United States, stressing that it was
acting in the interests of the region too.

"What we would like to see is ASEAN linking up with other
regional blocs ... because we believe that is in the interest of
Asean.

"If we do it alone, and then we show the way how it's done,
then we encourage other countries to follow us ... And if we get
an advantage in the short term, I hope others will be active.
And then they say: How is that Singapore is getting all the
advantage? And there are benefits; then they want to join you."

Goh proposed that ASEAN leaders meet more frequently and in
far less formal settings to exchange ideas and chart what the
region's role in the world was and where it was heading.

"We should all be sitting down together as to what are you
doing to recover Singapore of recession and I'll tell you what
I'm doing and you tell me what you are doing.

"Unfortunately, we are not at this stage where we can just sit
down, without coats, without ties and just exchange views. If we
can do that, ASEAN will be seen by people, and the leaders are
themselves working closely together; they're not just leaders and
good friends, they are facing common problems, they are sharing
experiences."

Goh said the informal annual meeting of ASEAN leaders had
lately become "formal."

ASEAN had also lost its "natural leader" since Indonesia's
strongman Soeharto stepped down from power in 1998. This, Goh
says, was part of the problem facing the regional group.

In Soeharto's place, Goh proposed that four or five countries
collectively give ASEAN the leadership it needed.

"I would think the four countries now which have less domestic
priorities: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand. Philippines is a
possibility. Indonesia, of course, you've got to be (in)."

On his own political future, amid speculation that he would
resign, Goh had this to say:

"I must give sufficient time to my successor to prepare
himself for the next election (due in 2007). If I give him one
year, I think it's insufficient time, it's not fair. So the
minimum I want to give him is two years, which is 2005.

If I can give him more time, even better. And the best time to
give is when the economy recovers, when it is strong; part of
this recovery is going to be led by the potential or the next
prime minister. Then he rides on this, it consolidates his
background, he fights the next election, the party wins, that is
best.

"So early next year is too early."