Murali Pillai on Israel-Hamas conflict

“Sincere thanks” to Singapore’s Malay-Muslim community for taking a principled approach in dealing with the humanitarian crisis arising from the Israel-Hamas conflict, said MP Murali Pillai. Speaking in Parliament on Monday (Nov 6), he said amid the developments across the world, particularly among Muslim countries, this is “not an easy position for our Muslim Singaporeans”. He noted that their response has collectively been in the form of prayers for relief from suffering for the affected people, emphasising the Islamic message of peace, compassion, care and kindness, as well as providing assistance through trustworthy and credible channels. If ever there is a silver lining to the tragedy, they noted the renewed discussion within the international community on the two-state solution, which is now increasingly seen as a “necessity”, he said. Mr Murali noted that across the world, there is a deepening divide across religious lines, spilling on many occasions into hate crimes. Anti-Semitic incidents are also reported to be on the rise, he said. There have also been demonstrations in many major cities where anger is openly stocked with very divisive messages, he added. The narrative is also often styled on an “us versus them” basis and a number of organisations have been propagating violence. He warned that this would inevitably lead to even more polarisation along racial, religious and nationality lines. Mr Murali said Singapore is not immune to this but thanks to the principled stance taken by its leaders in the Malay-Muslim community, it has largely avoided polarisation between communities. He said “calling out against terrorist acts” is important for a diverse, multiracial and multi-religious country like Singapore.