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"Racial harmony cannot be taken for granted," says Foreign Minister George Yeo.
Speaking at the launch of the North East Racial Harmony Celebrations at Serangoon Junior College on Saturday, Mr Yeo also said trust between leaders of various racial groups is vital.
And lest his audience thinks this is another motherhood statement, Mr Yeo shared how misunderstandings between different racial communities can blow up quickly.
He cited an example of an attack which took place right in the heartlands, where a group of Malay youths attacked a Chinese at a Bedok Reservoir bus-stop last year.
"Immediately word went around that this was a racial attack, that it was racially motivated. Luckily, the grassroots leaders were on the ball. They reacted immediately, kept me informed and calmed things down," Mr Yeo said.
It is precisely because of the mutual trust on the ground - and the cooperation with the police - that the rumour about a race attack was nipped in the bud.
"It takes years to build up the trust among our grassroots leaders, and events like this (North East Racial Harmony Celebrations) help us to build up the trust. And they have to be carried out in all parts of Singapore by different groups," he said.
Mr Yeo added that Singapore's multi-racial and multi-religious character will help the country express the Olympic spirit when the inaugural Youth Olympic Games are held here in 2010.
When asked about the recent arrest of a Singaporean Jemaah Islamiyah member in Indonesia, Mr Yeo said it is good news for Singapore.
Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, he said, must continue working together to fight terrorism.
"It's an important success achieved by the Indonesian security forces and it will help us, because the security of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, is all connected. They (terrorists) disregard borders. We have to disregard borders too and work together. And luckily our security agencies work very well together,” said Mr Yeo.
-CNA/jk
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