IN LIFE!WEEKEND: THINGS TO DO WATCH THE KABUKI PRINCE HAVE A TEA PARTY C2 FANS FIGHT PLAYERS BASKETBALL BRAWL CATCH FRENCH FILM FEST C15 SPORT B35 BAD HAIR DAY $15K SHOCKER C6&7 HOME B1 SINCE 1845 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014 Tackle roots of extremism to counter ISIS, says PM S’pore plans meet on deradicalisation as military response is not enough By ZAKIR HUSSAIN INDONESIA BUREAU CHIEF IN NAYPYITAW ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM WET, WET, WET A pedestrian and a cyclist braving the rain in Toa Payoh yesterday. Flash floods hit several areas after the heavy downpour in the afternoon. MacPherson Road, the junction of Yishun Avenue 2 and Avenue 5, and Lorong Ong Lye were affected, according to PUB. The wet weather is expected to persist, with afternoon thundery showers from today to Sunday. Temperatures will range from 24 to 32 deg C. 140 PAGES IN SIX PARTS TO SUBSCRIBE: 6388-3838 www.sphsubscription.com.sg 90 cents A Singapore Press Holdings publication MCI (P) 073/02/2014   More dads roll up sleeves at home By JOANNA SEOW FATHERS are making strides in sharing parenting duties, with more taking up governmentpaid parental leave. As of June, more than 13,000 new fathers have taken paternity leave since it was introduced in May last year, said the National Population and Talent Division yesterday. The proportion of working fathers who took at least four days of childcare leave also rose to 49 per cent last year, from 37 per cent in 2009. The take-up rate for mothers went up from 50 per cent to 59 per cent over the same period, shrinking the gap between dads and mums. “More fathers are playing a greater role (in parenting), and this can strengthen family cohesion and bonding with children,” said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Grace Fu, who oversees population matters. But more can be done for the family at work, she told reporters. Employees should speak frankly with supervisors about their needs, while middle managers should build trusting relationships with staff, she said. Bosses need to view their engagement of employees as a business strategy, especially in the light of tight labour conditions. “A system that has that flexibility allowing employees to shift gears and then shift forward again will do better in retaining people and in creating a more supportive environment,” she said. Family-friendly policies are Fifa lets Russia and Qatar off the hook FOOTBALL’S world governing body Fifa yesterday cleared the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts, Russia and Qatar respectively, of wrongdoing as it announced the findings of an investigation into alleged corruption over the bids by the two countries. At left is Fifa president Sepp Blatter. L SPORT B37 crucial, given that Singapore’s total fertility rate last year of 1.19 was below the replacement rate of 2.1 per cent. There are no plans to legislate flexible work arrangements, but the Government will not rule it out, said Ms Fu, who was speaking at law firm Rajah & Tann, where she learnt about the firm’s work-life initiatives. It gives employees additional days of paternity leave and lets them work from home and have secondments to overseas offices. Such practices helped to keep the firm’s attrition rate to around 1.5 per cent last year, below the national average of 2 per cent, said partner Rebecca Chew. “We’ve been able to retain good lawyers, who would otherwise have left the workforce,” she said. One of the firm’s lawyers, Mr Dedi Affandi Ahmad, 29, used government-paid paternity leave when his son was born in March. “I’m thankful because that’s when the wife needs the most support,” he said. Although the firm has offered paternity leave since 2000, “the fact that it’s now state-sanctioned evens the playing field as it doesn’t affect the firm’s cost competitiveness so much”, he added. joseow@sph.com.sg THE response to the threat of militant group ISIS cannot be purely military, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday at a meeting of the East Asia Summit (EAS), where he joined other leaders in noting that the situation in Iraq and Syria was complex and there were no simple solutions. It was still necessary to fight, contain and weaken ISIS, but countries also had to tackle the ideological roots of extremism – the reason why ISIS has been able to attract foreign fighters from faraway regions, including Southeast Asia, he added. At least 350 South-east Asians have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside radicals there. Mr Lee said Singapore proposed to conduct an EAS symposium on deradicalisation of extremists to share best practices among experts. “We have a little bit of experience on this because we have been working on detainees who we picked up after Sept 11, 2001, who were connected to Al-Qaeda and who were planning several terrorist attacks in Singapore,” he said. Dr Rohan Gunaratna, a professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told The Straits Times that the conference, to be called the EAS Symposium on Religious Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration, would be held next April. It will be organised by the school and supported by the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), a group of local Muslim scholars who have been countering detainees’ misunderstanding of religious concepts, as well as by the Government. Singapore’s approach to dealing with over 60 Jemaah Islamiah members and other radicals detained over the years has involved psychological as well as religious rehabilitation by the RRG, and seen over two-thirds of those held released and reintegrated into the community. Mr Lee told Singapore media: “We can share our experiences, and other countries can also come and talk about how they have tried to do it and we hope that way, we can gain from the exchange.” The effort complements Singapore’s contribution to a multinational coalition to combat ISIS and fits into the 18-member EAS’ overall aim of strengthening peace in the Asia-Pacific. Last week, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament that Singapore would join the 33-nation United States-led effort by contributing liaison and planning officers, a KC-135R tanker aircraft for air-to-air refuelling and an imagery analysis team. Yesterday, leaders from Asean and the EAS issued strong statements on extremism. The Asean Summit chairman’s statement issued by Myanmar said: “These groups not only pose a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, but also to all countries in the Middle East, and if left unchecked, to the rest of the world.” Mr Lee noted: “The fact that Malaysia and Indonesia are predominantly Muslim countries gives further credibility and weight to the statement.” Indonesian President Joko Widodo told reporters his country was also committed to fighting ISIS, but said he put greater emphasis on a softer approach. Beyond extremism, leaders also pledged to work together on Ebola, climate change and ensuring the stability of the wider region. Mr Lee also thanked Myanmar President Thein Sein for his “able chairmanship” of Asean and said he looked forward to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his team chairing Asean next year. zakirh@sph.com.sg L SEE TOP OF THE NEWS A8