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SINGAPORE: Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on Saturday commended religious organisations in the country for the inclusive approach they have undertaken in rolling out social welfare programmes.
Mr Goh said the strategy underpins the unity and harmony of Singapore's multi-racial, multi-religious society.
On Saturday, job seekers from all races and religions were at the Paya Lebar Methodist church grounds to attend the Helping Our People Fair (HOPE).
Jobs fairs such as HOPE are not usually organised by a religious group and held within a place of worship.
It was the third in a series of job fairs organised by a group of churches in Singapore.
The Paya Lebar Methodist Church partnered the Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church, Toa Payoh Methodist Church and Trinity Methodist Church to organise the full-day fair.
HOPE is just one example of the "many helping hands" approach community groups in the country have undertaken to help Singaporeans during this period of economic downturn.
SM Goh cited other examples such as the Al-Iman Mosque's Community Kitchen project, which equips the long-term unemployed with cooking and catering skills; as well as the Singapore Buddhist Lodge, which has been serving free vegetarian meals at its premises for some 20 years.
Said the Senior Minister: "It is good that our religious bodies deliver such services beyond their followers and without imposing their religious beliefs on their beneficiaries. This way, they help to strengthen the sinews and spirit of our multi-racial and multi-religious society."
The organiser of HOPE pointed out that the job fair is meant to fulfil a social need - that is, helping all Singaporeans find jobs regardless of their religious believes. This stems from the understanding that religious groups in Singapore operate within the larger multi-ethnic community.
President of the Trinity Annual Conference of the Methodist Church, Reverend Dr Wee Boon Hup said: "As a church, we realised that our members themselves are going through difficult times, and as we reach out to them we realised that everybody else in Singapore, many others are also affected by the crisis... so we open up the whole fair to enable people to find practical ways to find help."
Job seekers who thronged the Saturday job fair clearly welcomed the move.
Said Kwan Siew Kong, a job seeker who attended the fair: It's very encouraging because it's very inclusive to have this type of event and open up to all races and religions. In a sense religious bodies do not exist just to get believers, but also at the same time to help society and help the people in the community."
With a turnaround in the economy, lay offs in Singapore have eased in the second quarter of the year.
The unemployment rate now stands at 3.3 per cent, and job seekers are beginning to have a more optimistic outlook.
"In Singapore there're a lot of opportunities, especially for fresh graduates," said 23-year-old engineering graduate Sajeesh Krishnan. "I think in today's economy, Singapore's situation is better compared to others and the jobs situation is also getting - day to day - a little bit good."
So far, the Community Development Councils and the Employment and Employability institute of Singapore have helped some 23,500 people find jobs in the first eight months of the year.
- CNA/yb
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