Are we prepared?

The recent series of London bombings reminds the world again that terrorists are still lurking around waiting for any chance to strike. Like what the British PM Tony Blair said, "The aim of terrorists is to terrorise....." and terrorise indeed they managed to. In another report, the authorities said that "We are prepared...." It is good for London that they have established procedures put in place after many previous incidents and 9/11. Lets hope that London can rebuild itself and get back to its feet very soon. Then how about Singapore? Are we prepared? Ever since the plan to bomb Yishun MRT station was foiled, I believe our authorities have stepped up their surveillance and established new procedures to prevent such a possible incident from happening. So our Police and other relevant agencies are prepared, but what about our people?

I believe there are a lot of Londoners who will stop taking the Tube or bus for a while, and resort to walking. If a similar incident were to happen to Singapore, how would Singaporeans react? Cool and calm? Apparently this question was asked of some Singaporeans and one guy sent an SMS to a radio station saying something like "Singaporeans would be able to react calmly. They may resort to walking but on the way home, they would stop by to buy 4-D...." This guy probably treats this kind of incident lightly or meant it as a joke. Perhaps Singapore has not experienced a major disaster yet, and therefore we are unable to visualise how it will be like to be a potential victim. Of course we wished we will never need to go through any major disasters, but who can guarantee that it will never happen.

I believe terrorism is here to stay for a long long while. I only can hope that our relevant authorities have all possible measures in place to prevent terrorism in Singapore, but if ever one day we are affected in any way, I hope we will all stand united and emerge as a stronger nation. Meanwhile, government, you and I, lets not take things for granted and be complacent.