Launch of the North East District's Racial Harmony Month
1 July 2007
Channel NewsAsia - Racial harmony, heritage events held in many parts of Singapore By Margaret Perry, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 01 July 2007 2119 hrs
SINGAPORE: Racial harmony and heritage events were in full swing across the island on Sunday to ensure that Singaporeans understand more about one another's cultures.
Tampines Central Community Club was Harmony Pit Stop number two for MPs as they toured the North East district where non-Chinese Singaporeans like North East CDC Mayor Zainul Abidin Rasheed got the chance to practise some Chinese calligraphy.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean also wielded the paint brush as he took part in the Malay art of batik painting.
Mr Teo, who is also the MP for Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC, said: "The vast majority of Singaporeans support the unity, cohesion, peace and prosperity that we have enjoyed these past years. Activities like these are a good opportunity for the different communities and races to come together, to do something together and to build upon this strength that we have."
Over in Siglap, residents worked up an appetite as Deputy Prime Minister Professor S Jayakumar and other East Coast GRC MPs learned the art of frying bananas.
There was also much to celebrate at the Geylang Serai Town Carnival where 100 new wheelchairs were given to needy residents.
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Mon 2 July 07
TODAY - Social Harmony: Races Must Mix More
Peace, in the face of extremism, must not be taken for granted, says
Zainul Abidin
Lin Yanqin
yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg
THE detention of a well-educated Muslim who had planned to pursue a "holy war" in Afghanistan, under the Internal Security Act (ISA), could have been a threat to Singapore's efforts to promote racial harmony, but the nation has "fundamentals" in place to deal with such dangers.
Speaking at the launch of the North East District's Racial Harmony Month yesterday, North East District Mayor Zainul Abidin Rasheed said that Singaporeans were not "easily shaken" by such incidences of extremism.
"I think because we have been working on it (racial harmony) for many years, it has buttressed us against threats to harmony, like Sept 11," he said.
But he stressed that such peace was not to be taken for granted. "We must continue to encourage the different races to mix, and we are constantly challenged to be creative in our efforts," he said.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said that extremist views here, while worrying, were not yet an alarming threat to Singapore society.
Referring to 28-year-old Abdul Basheer Abdul Kader's detention, he said: "There will always be people with extreme views, and we should be firm and tough on them. But, they are also in the minority. The majority of Singaporeans understand that we need to take a firm line on them."
The former lawyer was detained in February. Authorities said that at the time, he had bought an air ticket to Pakistan, where he intended to make contact with a militant group, the Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT), that could help him with the training he needed for his cause.
Reports have described LeT as one of the largest groups fighting Indian forces in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Yesterday, Mr Teo - the guest-of-honour at the event - said getting the community to work together on projects to plan activities, such as Racial Harmony Month, is important in helping different ethnic groups understand each other better.
"I think in working together, (people) can see that we can progress and benefit together," said Mr Teo.
Racial harmony, he added, was more than just wearing an ethnic costume of another race, or learning to speak another language. "Maintaining and strengthening the bond and appreciation of the different races requires trust, commitment, and care," he said.
Policies like the Housing Development Board's ethnic quotas for each housing estate will help prevent segregation, he added. "Even the way we design housing estates is important - we want markets, common spaces, so that we can all mix together."
