Build mutual respect across race and religion: President
She calls for open and candid discussions to 'better understand each other's perspective'
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From left: President Halimah Yacob with Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu and community and religious leaders, including Venerable Faxun, Mr Kenneth Ng (back row), Mr Rustom Ghadiali and Sister Maria Lau at the inaugural National Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle Convention yesterday.
ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Yuen Sin
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Whether it is within their housing estates, in national service, hawker centres or schools, Singaporeans of all races and religions should reach out to one another to forge a spirit of mutual respect, said President Halimah Yacob.
She also urged the different communities to have open and candid discussions on issues of race and religion, saying that while they are always sensitive, "that does not mean we do not talk about them and seek to better understand each other's perspective".
President Halimah was speaking at the first National Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle Convention yesterday, where Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu announced an initiative for people to have such conversations.
The Common Senses for Common Spaces series of inter-faith dialogues, first conducted by the South East Community Development Council, will be relaunched islandwide. New formats will be introduced, such as in-depth discussions on religious identity and the sharing of personal stories.
At the convention, President Halimah called on all religious organisations to draw up crisis-preparedness plans, noting that places of worship are "soft targets" in other countries. "We need to strengthen our resilience. Our places of worship need to be crisis-ready," she said.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore and St Andrew's Cathedral, for example, have shared such plans with members of their communities, she noted.
The mosque sector and a number of churches and temples have also been briefed by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Home Team agencies on the SGSecure movement, which aims to get all Singaporeans involved in the fight against terror.
President Halimah's comments come at a time when the world faces a growing threat of extremist attacks sparked by inter-community tensions. Just last year, four individuals were issued detention orders by the authorities because they were radicalised by propaganda put out by terrorist groups and radical elements online, she noted.
In the event of a terrorist attack, Singapore's ability to bounce back and become even stronger depends on the preparedness of every Singaporean, organisation and community, she added.
The Government's effort - through policies such as the Housing Board's ethnic integration policy, and engagements led by the National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious Harmony - alone is not enough, she said, as issues like terrorism and extremism pose a new challenge for Singapore.
"Our people can only be united if each of us shares the responsibility of upholding social harmony and building social cohesion. Our society is strong when we support each other, regardless of race, language or religion, whether in peacetime or in a crisis."
