SINGAPORE, Jan 20 ― Two ministers today urged Singaporeans not to tar all foreigners with the same brush, as they expressed grave concerns at the arrests of 27 radicalised Bangladeshi construction workers under the Internal Security Act.
The Mufti of Singapore denounced acts or plans by extremist groups that threaten the security of Singapore, while other religious leaders noted that the arrests showed that Singapore is not immune to terrorist threats, and emphasised the importance of staying alert.
Minister-in-charge-of Muslim affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said the “actions of a few cannot determine how we treat others who have worked so hard to build our homes, schools and hospitals”.
“I appeal that we be more vigilant, whether against radical teachings and ideologies, or of any suspicious activities around us. At the same time, I hope we will remain united and not resort to discriminating foreign workers here,” wrote Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister for Communications and Information, in a Facebook post.
Expessing similar sentiments, labour chief Chan Chun Sing, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, said: “We must be careful not to let the actions of these radicalised foreign workers taint the positive contributions of other law-abiding foreign workers who live harmoniously amongst us.”
In his Facebook post, he also called for greater efforts “to integrate foreign workers and guard against ostracising them”.
The Mufti of Singapore, Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram, who spoke to the media about the arrests at the sidelines of a symposium, noted: “As an open country that accepts citizens from other parts of the world to build Singapore together, we cannot assume we are 100 per cent immune to such threats.”
When it comes to being vigilant, he said, it is “not in the form of having suspicions all the time but in outreaching to (foreign workers), to be really interested to know about their lives”.
In a separate media statement, Dr Fatris said extremist groups who threaten the security of Singapore and the world “contradict the fundamental Islamic teaching of protecting the sanctity of human life and preserving peace and harmony at all times”.
He also urged the Singapore Muslim community to “refrain from intolerance within our own community”.
“Exclusivist and isolationist tendencies will only lead to extreme religious thinking and practice, which is unacceptable and goes against the very essence of Islamic teachings.”
Dr Fatris said the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) will continue to step up efforts “to prevent any form of radical teachings from taking root in the Singaporean Muslim community”.
Mr Helmi Isa, the director of mosques at MUIS, said it had been working with mosques to better design and manage their programmes to ensure that the latter promote intra- and inter-faith harmony, do not contain deviant or radical teachings, and are not used to denigrate other faiths or Islamic sects.
Ambassador Mohammad Alami Musa said the arrests of the Bangladeshis showed that “the threats to Singapore can come from the outside”, and Singaporeans have to be conscious of the fact.
Singaporeans also have to understand what is behind such incidents “where you find a group of people wanting to do evil”, he added.
“Definitely, religion does not promote evil. There is a disconnect between their actions and religion. That discernment must always be done and we have to try to prevent fears and anxiety from forming because Islamophobia will disrupt our harmony, and will tear society apart,” said Mr Alami, who is also Head of Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
Archbishop William Goh, head of the Catholic Church in Singapore, stressed the importance of staying alert.
“I think the real danger is that most Singaporeans, because we have been so well taken care of by the Government, they feel so secure. I think at the back of their minds, they feel this will never happen to us. I think this is where we need to be alert, conscious.”
He noted that all religions are working together to prevent such terrorist activities from taking place.
“We have very good relationship with other religions, we always support each other and come up with a common stance with regard to fundamentalism and terrorism,” the Archbishop said. ― TODAY
