My views on laws such as detention without trial have evolved: K. Shanmugam at his book launch
- Mr K. Shanmugam launched a book of speeches, Policy, Fairness and Compassion, collecting his speeches, interviews and articles through his 38 years in politics.
- He addressed his changing views on laws like the Internal Security Act, acknowledging past criticisms and current support to ensure national security and social cohesion.
- Mr Shanmugam clarified that the book is not a memoir or signal of impending retirement, but a perspective for future historians and a charity fund-raiser.
SINGAPORE – As a young backbencher MP, Mr K. Shanmugam had raised concerns about Singapore’s laws on detention without trial.
But with experience, his views evolved, leading him to tighten the very laws he had once questioned so as to ensure that Singapore has a framework robust enough to preserve national security, public order, and social cohesion.
Recounting this at the launch of a book of his speeches at the SPH Media auditorium on Feb 6, Mr Shanmugam, who is Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, said: “I’m on record on all of these things… various speeches which the opposition makes great play nowadays, to quote me back what I used to say when I was in my early 30s.”
He was answering a question about his strong views as a backbench MP and how his perspectives have changed, during a fireside chat with The Business Times’ head of audio Claressa Monteiro.
As a fresh-faced MP elected to the Chong Pang seat of Sembawang GRC in 1988, the 29-year-old private sector lawyer had said that laws such as the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (CLTPA), the Internal Security Act and the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA) “(nagged) our conscience”.
