March 21, 2017

Is it possible for Singapore to be free from terrorism? 

On 26 March 1991 at 10:15 pm, SQ117 flying from Kuala Lumpur touched down at Singapore’s Changi Airport. The flight had been skyjacked fifteen minutes ago. The next morning at 6:50 am, commandos from the Singapore Armed Forces stormed the plane after hours of intense negotiation broke down when the skyjackers threatened to kill hostages if their demands were not met. Within five minutes, the skyjacking episode was over. Four skyjackers had been killed, with all 123 hostages safely rescued. A/P Bilveer Singh (Department of Political Science), in Skyjacking of SQ 117: Causes, Courses and Consequences, draws attention to the peculiar motives of the skyjackers. All four skyjackers were Pakistanis claiming to be members of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Their main demand was the release of eleven PPP prisoners jailed in Karachi, Hyderabad, and Sakkar. One of them, Asif Ali Zardari, was the husband of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The skyjackers’ grievances were motivated by Pakistan’s internal politics and had nothing to do with Singapore, yet a Singaporean airline was skyjacked and Singapore’s government was blackmailed. Additionally, using the passengers onboard SQ117 to pressure the Pakistani government was incomprehensible as well because none were Pakistani.

The SQ117 skyjacking appears to be an incident which Singapore was mistakenly dragged into. However, terrorism knows no boundaries. Events which happen outside Singapore can affect our security as well. Coupled with the recent increase in terror attacks worldwide, the SQ117 skyjacking is a stark reminder that Singapore must be vigilant against terrorism at all times.

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