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SINGAPORE : Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said secularism has allowed different ethnic communities to sustain their own culture and traditions.
He was speaking at a break fast event at Radin Mas in his constituency of Tanjong Pagar GRC on Saturday evening.
MM Lee joined some 1,000 Muslims and non-Muslims as they ate a simple meal of dates, porridge and briyani.
Mr Lee began his speech in Malay, where he said it was heartening to see people of different races and religions coming together to celebrate Ramadan or the fasting month.
Switching to English, Mr Lee said in Singapore, secularism has helped to enable each community's traditions to thrive.
"I am encouraged to see that although the Malays in Radin Mas are a minority, they are able to produce the nice performances which shows that they are keeping their culture, language, customs alive, which is a sign that we are respecting each other's space, cultural space, religious space, personal space," noted MM Lee.
And on the issue of ageing population, Mr Lee spoke of the need to address the population imbalance, by bringing in immigrants.
Singapore's multi-racial make-up is something that has won over new citizens like Yeh Pao Wei, a Taiwanese who married a Singaporean.
Her daughter, Yin Chi, was born in Singapore.
"Here, no matter where you're from, or what your religion is, you can still get along well as a community. I feel really moved by this, and that's why I like it here," said Yeh, a Radin Mas resident. - CNA /ls
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