It is important for government leaders and religious leaders to have "good, deep friendships" with one another, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said.

He was responding to concerns raised in Parliament by Workers' Party MPs Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh yesterday over how religious leaders are often seen with politicians, giving the impression that religion is mixing with politics.

Singapore's approach is to deal with this "with wisdom and common sense", Mr Shanmugam said.

"We don't live apart from religion, we don't live apart from religious leaders," he added.

"For government leaders to cut off, to not have contact with religious leaders, will not be wise. Good, deep friendships between government leaders and religious leaders are extremely important."

Building such ties is important because it allows issues to be dealt with in an atmosphere of trust, he added.

"The key is to do it with wisdom, clarity of position and mutual understanding. And in Singapore, we do it publicly, openly and we celebrate the relationship."

He added the Government must give all religions the confidence that it will be "fair and neutral, and be the conscientious referee".

"You see the racial harmony in Singapore. It is not only because of the laws, but also because of how government leaders have behaved."

On religious leaders being seen with political figures during elections, Mr Shanmugam noted that lay religious leaders have civil and political rights as well.

"The law does not preclude them from exercising their civil and political rights. They can be members of political parties. We have had ministers, MPs who are lay preachers."

He added that these issues must be looked at "without a party lens", stressing again that they must be handled with sensibility, care and wisdom.

During the debate, Ms Lim asked what the Government would have done had religious leaders not supported amendments to the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act.

She also questioned if it was appropriate for religious leaders to ask congregants to "vote for stability" during an election.

Responding to her first question, Mr Shanmugam noted that religious groups have opposed government policy before.

For example, the National Council of Churches of Singapore registered its objections to building a casino in Singapore, and Muslim religious teachers' group Pergas was against online gambling.

"I don't think we can completely deny them the right to express some views on some pieces of legislation," he said. "At the same time, both parties must understand the language must be one of mutual respect. Don't cross over into being partisan and political."

Addressing her second concern, Mr Shanmugam replied: "I think for the good of Singapore, we don't want religious leaders to get into the arena and become partisan.

"But I can't see that any lines have been crossed so far.

"A lot of care has to be exercised by the religious leaders if they choose to make statements. And that is in the interest of everyone."