KAMPUNG
SIGLAP MOSQUE WORKPLAN SEMINAR 2002 Haji
Mohd Anis Tairan Syed
Haroon Aljunied Members,
Kampong Siglap Mosque Management Committee Allow me to thank the organising committee for inviting me to today's event. This
seminar is an effort by the Kampong Siglap Mosque Management Committee
to improve the processes associated with the work of the mosque.
It is a worthy effort, which will make the mosque dynamic and
Efforts
such as these are important so that our institutions continue to
improve and become better in all aspects. I believe that if our
institutions are weak, our community will be affected. On the other
hand, institutions that are strong and dynamic will become strong
motivators for the community. More importantly it would help raise
the community's sense of standards towards other institutions. In
this Recent
events within our community have attracted the attention of both
the Muslim and non-Muslim communities here in Singapore. More specifically,
statements and allegations made by Mr. Zulfikar Shariff, Clearly
his attempt to link Singapore's foreign policy with the terrorist
plot of the 15 detainees has no merit and distorts the facts. He
suggests that Singapore needs to cease any dealings with the US
and Mr
Zulfikar also argues that the government has been insensitive to
the feelings of the Muslims in Singapore. And he provides an example
of this by citing an unfulfilled demand by the community to allow
Muslim girls to put on the headscarf in schools. While my colleagues
and I can identify with this demand, we certainly do not agree with
his approach. The negotiations for space between a community and
the government have to take place as part of a gradual process.
It requires time and understanding, on both sides. We live in a
secular society where religious freedom is guaranteed. But that
freedom has to be guided by a greater need for integration and racial
and religious understanding and tolerance. The overriding importance we, as a nation have placed on promoting tolerance and harmony is amply illustrated by a story Mr. Lee Kuan Yew tells in his Memoirs of a demand by the Chinese business community, just after independence, to elevate the status of Mandarin among the four official languages of Singapore. He turned the request down primarily because it would possibly alienate the Malays and Indians in Singapore. That decision required guts and vision. But with the passage of time and the emergence of English as the language of business and communication, Mr. Lee then created spaces for the Chinese community to preserve their language and culture. Is that being insensitive to Muslim feelings? Many
within our community have rightly rejected Mr. Zulfikar and his
statements. However, my fear is that this episode will distract
our community. We need to continue to focus on bringing our community The challenges facing the community are enormous. If Mr. Zulfikar is interested in helping the community, he should consider doing some serious work, instead of making ill-thought emotionally charged statements. Many in our community have made great sacrifices and invested their time into helping the community develop. It is by bringing our community closer to the other communities, by raising our educational standards, by reducing the incidence of social ills, by ensuring that every Malay/Muslim family is given a fair share of making it good in Singapore, that we can raise the dignity of, and respect for our community. As we deepen our trust for each other, the calls for greater private spaces will be met with greater empathy and understanding. This is the approach that I would propose for our community. We must also understand the nature of the society that we live in. We live in a secular society. And as we are conscious of this choice, we must also be prepared to accept the consequences. There are those who have not accepted this. For example, there are religious groups that have argued against the bearing of arms in National Service. But the government has not entertained this request. Clearly, there are security and national interests which a secular government must examine before it can accede to, or deny the demands of the different religious groups in its midst. There are spaces for ordinary citizens and civil society to make known their different views and concerns. The level and manner of debate must not only reflect the graveness of the issues at stake, but accord respect and decorum to a properly elected government's duty to advance the country's best interests by seeking a common middle ground amidst the many divergent demands of a multiracial, multi-religious and multi-cultural society. Drawing the line between national interests and community interests is a complex and difficult issue. It is part and parcel of our nation building process. This line is not necessarily static. Whether it moves, and how it moves depends largely on how successful we are at building shared experiences, habits of interaction, and capacities for respecting diversity and differences. With time, patience, and understanding, we would succeed in forging a strong nation. On that note, may I once again thank the organisers for inviting me here today. I do hope that you would all find the seminar beneficial. Thank
you. Source: Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore |
