\n<\/p>\n
Experts said that given that the number of CoVE cases in Singapore is quite small so far, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that rehabilitating such individuals necessarily takes longer or is inherently more difficult than single-ideology cases.<\/p>\n
However, it is certainly a more complex issue and a new approach may be needed beyond the traditional playbook, said experts.<\/p>\n
When someone has been influenced by multiple narratives, rehabilitation is no longer just about addressing ideology, but also factors like identity issues, unresolved trauma, emotional wellbeing and family relationships, said Assoc Prof Razwana.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis naturally requires a multidisciplinary approach. Psychologists, counsellors, social workers, educators, family members and, where appropriate, religious or ideological mentors all have an important role to play. No single profession can address all the different factors that contribute to radicalisation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Dr Joachim Lee, a volunteer religious counsellor and mentor for youths, said that while CoVE extremists are \u201cnot necessarily harder to rehabilitate\u201d, they are often more complex because the individual has drawn from multiple, sometimes contradictory, extremist narratives.<\/p>\n
When it comes to youths, early intervention is especially important, said the founder of Neuro-Therapy clinic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdolescence is a period of significant brain development, making young people more vulnerable to online manipulation but also more responsive to timely rehabilitation,\u201d said Dr Lee.<\/p>\n
Prof Ramakrishna also agreed that tackling CoVE radicalisation is \u201cless straightforward\u201d, comparing it to the authorities\u2019 experience of dealing with the Jemaah Islamiyah back in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n
Back then, the Religious Rehabilitation Group could deconstruct extremist views and debunk them using mainstream understandings of the faith. The approach became the key plank of its rehabilitation effort, he said.<\/p>\n
However, that approach is \u201cinsufficient\u201d in addressing the \u201coften haphazard ideological mix of ideas\u201d under CoVE, which also requires building up the intellectual, emotional and social resilience of impressionable youth to violent extremism, said Prof Ramakrishna.<\/p>\n
While religious counsellors may have taken the lead in the past, today digital and media literacy and balanced understandings of hot-button geopolitical issues, such as the Middle East conflicts, are equally crucial, he said.<\/p>\n
Community support for stable families with pro-social, approachable and available older family members to guide youth is also vital in tackling CoVE, said Prof Ramakrishna.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the success of rehabilitation efforts is not measured by whether someone can recite the \u2018right\u2019 ideology,\u201d said Assoc Prof Razwana.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is measured by whether they reject violence, reintegrate safely into society and develop the resilience to navigate future challenges without turning to extremism,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Given the complexity of this threat, a new rehabilitation playbook and programme may have to be designed, said Prof Gunaratna.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a persistent global and regional threat with over 100 cases in Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia,\u201d he said. \u201cSingapore can learn from other case studies.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the government and community partners will have to develop their responses, as Singapore\u2019s environment is unique, he said.<\/p>\n
Experts said that Singapore is well-positioned to build on its established rehabilitation regime in developing its approach to the rise of CoVE.<\/p>\n
\u201cRehabilitation programmes in Singapore have traditionally adopted a holistic approach to deal not only with ideology, but also psychology and social support. I believe this approach should continue,\u201d said Mr Yeo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
A NEW REHAB PLAYBOOK Experts said that given that the number of CoVE cases in Singapore is quite small so far, there is insufficient evidence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dam.mediacorp.sg\/image\/upload\/s--e8iJlw_O--\/c_crop,h_1080,w_1920,x_0,y_163\/c_fill,g_auto,h_676,w_1200\/fl_relative,g_south_east,l_mediacorp:cna:watermark:2021-08:cna,w_0.1\/f_auto,q_auto\/v1\/mediacorp\/cna\/image\/2026\/07\/29\/salad-bar-extremism-incel-far-right-white-supremacy-pro-isis-gfx-cna.png?itok=FR8bIoVS","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2917,27401,2030,4094,1215,16560,4633,21566,6961],"class_list":["post-72765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-news-sg-global","tag-bar","tag-extremism","tag-form","tag-needed","tag-playbook","tag-radicalisation","tag-rehab","tag-salad","tag-tackle","wpcat-2-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=72765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/72766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=72765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=72765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=72765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}