12 May 2015
President Tony Tan Keng Yam
Mr Gurmit Singh, President of IRO
Habib Syed Hassan Alattas, Organising Chairman and recipient of the IRO Award
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
I am delighted to be able to host you to dinner on your 66th anniversary which is also our 50th Anniversary as a nation, and to do it here in the Istana. We were supposed to do this in March, but had to postpone it because Mr Lee Kuan Yew was then very ill in hospital. I thank you for your kind understanding and I would also like to thank you for your words of comfort and prayers for Mr Lee and the family during that difficult time. Mr Lee would have appreciated members of different faiths coming together in this way, because a multi-racial and multi-religious society was a fundamental, founding ideal upon which he built this nation. As we celebrate SG50, we should remind ourselves that religious harmony is a precious legacy that we must treasure.
The IRO symbolises the ideal of religious harmony. You show that we can transcend our differences. You offer a platform for members of different faiths to learn about one another through inter-faith dialogues, and do good together through inter-faith charity projects. We have come a long way since 1949, when the IRO was established, and when even the idea that members of different faiths should meet and work together was novel. We would like to thank the IRO’s pioneers, and the generations of leaders that came after them.
Through the efforts of groups like yours, we have strengthened our religious harmony over the years. Singaporeans appreciate the importance of religious harmony. Our religious leaders understand our overriding national interest in living harmoniously and peacefully with one another– they often celebrate each other’s festivals together. They have built up mutual trust, can engage candidly and honestly even on delicate matters, and so together discuss and work out sensitive issues that are bound to arise from time to time. Whether it is sharing with one another on potentially serious problems which affect us all, as we recently did when we briefed religious and community leaders on the threat of self-radicalisation and ISIS or mediating private issues and conflicts between different groups, such as the use of void decks for funeral rites, or even more sensitively, which funeral rites to follow when someone has converted from one faith to another and then passed away, or managing public issues like the wearing of religious symbols, crucifixes or the tudung, or the conduct of festivals like Thaipusam. With an attitude of mutual compromise and give-and-take, we have been able to manage differences, and further strengthen trust, openness and unity among many religious groups all in Singapore.
Indeed, we have done so well that some people suggest that for us, religion is no longer a sensitive no-go area for Singapore. They argue that our society and in particularly our government is overly sensitive on matters of race and religious – that the state intervenes too much and too readily to circumscribe personal freedoms and liberty in the name of racial and religious harmony. And that we should now allow unfettered discussions or even criticisms and blasphemies on matters of race and religion in the name of freedom of speech and perhaps the IRO can now honourably retire.
I think these assumptions are quite unrealistic. Yes, we have become more mature and open in our dialogue. Yes, we can now speak about subjects which 20 years ago would have been hard to raise at all, especially in public. But this does not mean we do not have to be sensitive and respectful, or to worry about actions that provoke and give offense.
Look at other societies. Even in countries where different groups have lived together for centuries, race and religion still remain sensitive issues which can be stirred up and can explode. In Sri Lanka, Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims have had a long history of peaceful co-existence. But after the country became an independent state in 1949, it has been riven by ethnic and religious tensions and conflicts. First, between the majority Buddhist and the Hindu Tamil minorities, and then also between the Buddhists and Muslims. In France, a much older society than Singapore, after the Charlie Hebdo killings by a French ISIS supporter, anti-Muslim sentiments rose and mosques were attacked and defaced. In the US, race has never stopped being a sensitive issue. Recently with the deaths of several black youths in different cities often after some encounter with the police, tensions have erupted into violence, and there were especially bad riots in Baltimore, Maryland.
These external events are not just examples of what can happen to us, but also influences on our multi-racial, multi-religious society. For example, just to cite a few more which have more direct impact on us. In the Middle East, ISIS is causing people in many countries to become radicalised, and to try to join them, or to carry out violent attacks on behalf of ISIS in their own countries. We have just read further cases involving very young boys in Australia over these last few days. Closer to home, race and religion are sensitive issues for many of our neighbours. In Malaysia, there are tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims over the use of the word “Allah” by Christians, and over the introduction of hudud punishments under Islamic law. In Indonesia, there are from time to time tensions between different religious groups like Sunni Muslims with Shia Muslims, with the Ahmadiyahs, with the Christians or with the Hindus. Race and religious tensions are worsened when they are exploited for political motives and we need to watch these external developments very carefully.
There are also developments within our own society that can affect our racial and religious harmony. For one, Singaporeans are becoming more religious, and taking their faiths more seriously. This is in itself positive, because religious faiths are strong anchors for good morals and caring communities but religious fervour can also lead to separation and mutual exclusion between different groups. People’s social circles tend to shrink down to only their own group, leading to less mixing between different faiths and people may feel less respect and tolerance for other groups and may proselytise more aggressively, offending others. So we must temper growing religiosity with greater tolerance, mutual understanding and respect. Here, organisations like the IRO can play an important role.
Secondly, the internet and social media have made it easier for people both to cause offence and to take offence. When someone puts up something provocative or offensive, it does not just affect the coffeeshop in which we let off steam, it reaches the whole of cyberspace, may even stretch beyond Singapore if it goes viral. One thoughtless comment can cause a mass reaction but instead of a judicious response, it may provoke a self-righteous mob reaction and a public lynching, which is even worse than the original provocation.
Thirdly, as our society develops and becomes more diverse, from time to time religious issues will overlap with social and moral questions. For example LGBT issues, or dealing with income inequality. On such issues religious groups will have their views, yet they are not just religious issues, because they are also the subject of public or social policy. They are also contentious issues, where achieving consensus will be elusive.
In such an environment, to maintain harmony in our multi-racial and multi-religious society, the Government must take a watchful, prudent and hands-on approach. It has got to be neutral, secular in its approach, and pragmatic in solving problems. We cannot afford to take purist positions on freedom of expression, or the right to be offensive to others. We will not hesitate to act firmly when necessary, because if conflict erupts, it will cause grave damage to our social fabric. Our limits may be stricter than some other societies, but we make no apology for that. It is because of the nature of society and the different faiths which have been brought together here, and which must live peacefully together here. We should not change fundamental policies that have served Singapore well in our unique situation.
The Pew Research Centre ranks Singapore as the most religiously diverse country in the world, but we are also one of the most harmonious in terms of inter-religious relations, and not by chance. It has happened because we have firmly prevented conflicts from escalating and polarising our society and because we have had responsible and enlightened religious leaders of all faiths so that when we encounter religious differences, everyone understands what is at stake and we can work things out.
Many years ago, in Oct 1972, President Benjamin Sheares opened a seminar jointly organised by the IRO. He said “Tolerance can be based on ignorance and lack of interest. But an active tolerance seeks what there is in common, though words and rituals or architecture may differ.” That remains true till today. Today, our religious leaders understand that if we choose to focus on our differences and refuse to find common ground, we will all be in trouble. So I am heartened that the younger IRO leaders are continuing this legacy of focusing on the common ground and practising active tolerance. They are setting up the IRO “Harmony in Diversity Museum”. The Museum will display artefacts which focus on the commonalities across religions and they will work with schools to incorporate the museum as part of learning journeys for students. They are planning to work with scholars, including from the RSIS Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme, to build up a knowledge repository of the different faiths religions in Singapore. It will be a focal point for our younger generation to learn about religious harmony and imbue in them the spirit of give-and-take. I fully support this effort and I urge you also to help it to succeed. Finally, once again, may I thank the IRO for your service and the important role you have played in the past 66 years. May you remain steadfast and successful in your efforts and continue to play an important, constructive role in Singapore. Thank you very much.
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