The 12 religious organisations that will have more congregants for prayers were chosen after consulting faith leaders and they reflect the religious diversity here, said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) yesterday.
A ministry spokesman told The Straits Times it will be working with other organisations who want to increase the number of congregants. He also said that more may be allowed to do so.
The ministry's explanation was in response to reports that some religious organisations had complained about being left out.
On Monday, the Government said that as a pilot test, 12 places of religious worship, comprising mosques, Hindu temples, churches, a Buddhist temple and a Sikh gurdwara, will be allowed to hold gatherings of up to 100 people - double the number they are now allowed to host at any one time.
The following day, evening daily Shin Min Daily News reported that some Taoist groups were unhappy they were not chosen, and more than 20 temples had made complaints to the Taoist Federation.
In its response, the ministry said religious leaders, who are also members of the National Steering Committee (NSC) on Racial and Religious Harmony, were consulted before the list of 12 was drawn up. Members of the NSC include the Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore, Hindu Advisory Board, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, the National Council of Churches Singapore, the Sikh Advisory Board and the Taoist Federation.
The organisations chosen were also found to have proven they could conduct services for up to 50 persons with safe management practices in place. These include requiring congregants to wear a face mask at all times, and not allowing singing and live performances.
On Monday, the ministry said the 12 places would have to observe new safe distancing measures, such as the use of two separate zones of up to 50 people each.
MCCY said that the number of religious organisations (ROs) allowed to host more congregants may increase, "as ROs and the community gain confidence" in the implementation of the safety measures.
