S’porean student, 18, self-radicalised, wanted to start race war & attack Malays & Muslims, among 3 dealt with under ISA

A Singaporean student, 18, was among three people dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in December 2024 and January this year.

The others were a 56-year-old Singaporean housewife who was detained, and a 34-year-old Malaysian cleaner working in Singapore who was arrested and repatriated, said the Internal Security Department (ISD) in a Feb. 10 statement.

All three were self-radicalised after consuming extremist content online, and developed violent ideologies.

Self-radicalised by far-right extremist content

The student, Nick Lee Xing Qiu, began to develop animosity towards Muslims in 2023, said ISD.

He'd come across Islamophobic and far-right extremist content on social media, which were recommended to him by online algorithms.

Lee would also spend hours every day searching for and consuming extremist online content.

This included video footage of an attack by far-right terrorist, Brenton Tarrant, against Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand.

He idolised Tarrant and began to role-play as him in a violent online simulation game, pretending to be Tarrant killing Muslims at the Al-Noor Mosque in Christchurch after downloading modifications to the game.

Later, he got a tattoo on his right elbow of a sonnenrad (sun wheel or black sun) — a symbol featured on Tarrant's manifesto and rucksack during the Christchurch attack.

He also ordered t-shirts online, which he custom-printed with the sonnenrad and another logo, the totenkopf (skull).

Both logos are commonly used by far-right groups, including neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.

Enmity towards Malays/Muslims

By early 2024, Lee had developed "a strong enmity" towards Malays/Muslims (he assumed all Malays were Muslims), as well as other ethnicities like Mexicans, Indians, and African-Americans.

He believed in the superiority of East Asian races, namely the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ethnicities, and believed that killing the other races was justified.

He also believed that the Chinese majority in Singapore was at risk of being supplanted by what he perceived to be a rapidly-growing Malay population, and that violent action had to be taken.

To this end, Lee envisioned starting a "race war" between Chinese and Malays in Singapore.

He created a social media account in late 2024, which he used to repost far-right extremist videos and post his own anti-Malay/Muslim videos.

He hoped that this propaganda would generate animosity between Chinese and Malays, and force Malays out of Singapore or be killed.

While Lee said he didn't dare to conduct an attack alone, he aspired to attack Muslims in Singapore, and admitted he would have participated in attacks with his online contacts, ISD said.

For instance, he wanted to attack Muslims at a mosque in Singapore like Tarrant had done, using homemade guns, knives, and Molotov cocktails, and livestream his attack online.

He also considered building Molotov cocktails with his online contacts and throwing them at his Malay-Muslim neighbours during a religious holiday, and enquired online on how to make one.

But his family members, teachers, and schoolmates were unaware of his radicalisation.

Lee is the third Singaporean to be dealt with under the ISA who was radicalised by far-right extremist ideologies, ISD said.

All three so far have been youths.

Self-radicalised after Hamas attacks

The other Singaporean detained under ISA was a 56-year-old housewife, Hamizah binte Hamzah.

She was self-radicalised after Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attacks against Israel.

After consuming online content on the suffering of Palestinians and consuming news of military operations by the Axis of Resistance (AOR) — a network of Islamist militant and terrorist organisations, including Hamas — she developed a hatred for Israel and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), said ISD.

She believed they should be eradicated for their actions against Palestinians, and saw AOR's violent acts as being justified.

While she felt ill-suited to take up arms in the Israel-Hamas conflict, she showed her support by posting pro-AOR content on her social media accounts.

This included content that glorified armed violence and martyrdom.

She was also the sole administrator of several pro-AOR social media groups, with membership ranging from 16 to over 1,000, and took pride in this role.

In these online groups, she would voice her enmity towards Israel and the IDF, make violent threats against their supporters, and encourage others to engage in armed violence against the IDF.

As with Lee, Hamizah's family members were unaware of her radicalisation.

She intentionally tried to keep her extremist views from them, for fear of censure, ISD said.

ISD noted that she had "no attack plans nor intentions to engage in armed violence", but said she was a "security concern" due to her "staunch support" for the AOR and their violent operations, as well as her willingness to promote their cause by spreading propaganda, and inciting others to armed violence.

Self-radicalised by pro-ISIS materials

The third self-radicalised person was Saharuddin bin Saari, a Malaysian cleaner working in Singapore.

He began his path to radicalisation in 2014 when he encountered pro-ISIS materials online.

By 2017, he had become a stanch ISIS supporter who aspired to die as a martyr performing armed jihad agains the perceived enemies of Islam.

He would also actively post materials promoting ISIS and armed jihad.

Since 2015, he intended to travel to Syria to join ISIS, even seeking to establish contact with ISIS militants who could facilitate his entry.

Following Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, he expressed support for them and considered travelling to Gaza to fight as well, researching travel routes online.

However, neither of his travel plans came to fruition as he lacked the funds.

Saharuddin was subsequently arrested and had his Work Pass cancelled. He was repatriated to Malaysia and handed over to the Malaysian Special Branch in November 2024.

Government has 'zero-tolerance stance'

In its statement, ISD stressed the government's "zero-tolerance stance" on support for terrorism or extremist ideologies in Singapore, saying:

"ISD will take firm action against any individual in Singapore who supports, promotes, undertakes, or makes preparations to undertake armed violence, regardless of how they rationalise such violence ideologically or where the violence takes place."

It said that radicalised individuals come from "diverse profiles", regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, or nationality.

Additionally, it highlighted that far-right extremism — which Lee fell to — has been "a growing security concern globally".

While often associated with white supremacy, its broader messages promoting ethno-religious chauvinism, racism, and xenophobia, can still appeal to non-whites, ISD said.

ISD added that the public must remain vigilant to signs of radicalisation in the people around them.

It listed some possible signs of radicalisation, as follows:

• Frequently surfing radical websites
• Posting/sharing extremist views on social media, such as expressing support/admiration for terrorists/terrorist groups and the use of violence
• Sharing extremist views with friends and relatives
• Making remarks that promote ill-will or hatred towards people of other races, religions or communities
• Expressing intent to participate in acts of violence overseas or in Singapore
• Inciting others to participate in acts of violence

Anyone who knows or suspects that a person has been radicalised should promptly contact the ISD hotline 1800-2626-473 (1800-2626-ISD).

Top image from ISD