SINGAPORE, June 10 (Xinhua) -- A potential attack in Singapore "is a matter of when and not whether," Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Saturday.
In an interview with Australia's ABC Radio National, Lee said the separatist groups in Southeast Asia pose a "clear and present" danger to Singapore.
Lee noted that activists have traveled to the Middle East - from Malaysia, Indonesia and a few from Singapore.
The Philippines had recently said Singaporeans were among the foreign fighters in the terrorism-related activities in southern Philippines' Marawi city.
Singapore is preparing its citizens psychologically to make sure its multiracial society does not come under catastrophic stress should an attack take place, said the prime minister.
"The risk is not just the casualties from the physical attack but the psychological damage done to the trust and confidence between people of different races and religions in Singapore, particularly between the Muslims and the non-Muslims," he added.
