New year's bombing and terrorist threats

There goes another bombing in the neighborhood. Now it's Thailand to join Indonesia and the Philippines. That leaves Singapore and Malaysia in the Southeast Asia region. Are they afraid?

More than three-quarters of Singaporeans are, but only less than 60% Malaysians are, as a recent survey shows. The survey, based on 59,000 interviews in 63 countries, was conducted by market information consultant TNS and market and opinion researcher Gallup International. The interviews were conducted between July 24 and August 22, 2006.

Specifically, out of the 1,250 urban Malaysians polled, 59% said in face-to-face interviews that they believed terrorism was a threat. This ranking was, however, among the lowest of the 12 Asia Pacific countries surveyed. Only Hongkong (43%) and Taiwan (45%) registered lesser sense of fear than Malaysia did.

In the region, Indonesians registered the highest level of fear of terrorism at 89%, followed by Thailand (82%), Singapore (78%), Japan (71%), Korea (71%), the Philippines (71%), and Vietnam (61%).

So Thai people's fear was justified. Which then makes it sensible for the Singaporeans to be afraid as well. They live among the countries attacked by terrorism.