Peace and stability not a given, cautions minister
4 September 2011
Need to ensure polarisation of beliefs, globalised economy, social media do not threaten harmony
The Straits Times
By Fiona Low
Singaporeans must not take our peace and stability for granted, since several factors can threaten the racial and religious harmony here.
We have to keep working to ensure that the peace here is not jeopardised, Mr Chan Chun Sing, the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said yesterday.
He identified three main factors: the gradual social polarisation of those with different religious views; our increasingly globalised economy; and the advent of social media.
He was addressing the National Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) Workshop held at the Intercontinental Hotel.
He likened racial and religious harmony to a verb - an action word. Or, as he put it, 'always a work in progress, something fragile that we always need to nurture'.
IRCCs were formed in 2002 after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, but were repositioned four years later to serve as inter-faith platforms dealing with domestic incidents involving racial and religious dimensions.
To mark the fifth anniversary of IRCCs, a reference guide has been launched for members to understand their roles and objectives of the organisations and the procedures for crisis management.
Mr Chan noted that the fast pace of development in the world could lead many to look for an anchor in race or religion as they become more aware of their heritage.
At the same time, there will also be more who do not subscribe to religious beliefs. He urged these two groups to show understanding and tolerance, especially in compact and urbanised Singapore.
'We must remember not to plant stakes on the ground to circumscribe others' actions. We must constantly work to enlarge and defend the common space that we all enjoy today,' he said.
An increasingly globalised economy such as Singapore's will also result in intense interaction with different races, religions and cultures due to the inflow of foreign workers, new immigrants and even tourists. This, he said, will be a test of our social fabric.
'We cannot close ourselves to the world and shut off all influences foreign to us. What we can do is to imbue ourselves with the necessary strong values of mutual tolerance and respect,' he said.
The advent of social media could also exacerbate racial or religious tension, as information gets transmitted more quickly.
'The ease of making spontaneous comments and remarks can also inadvertently cause us to be much more impulsive in our reactions. Insensitive remarks expressed by an individual or minority can ignite much angst,' he added.
Earlier this year, police reports were filed against a Chinese national who had posted derogatory comments about a Malay man in an online forum for new citizens.
The Chinese national initially claimed he came to blows with the Singaporean. He later apologised and said that he had exaggerated the events - after a storm of angry reactions from netizens.
Last month, news of a mainland Chinese family who complained about the smell of curry wafting from the home of their Singaporean Indian neighbours also sparked public anger.
A 'Cook and Share a Pot of Curry' event was then organised on social networking site Facebook. Some 60,000 people took part, in response to the incident.
Mr Chan said the Internet and social media can still be put to good use if people use it to spread positive messages and unite one another.
'You need to let people have the chance to speak, to share, to understand and clarify some of the issues that they have,' he said.
Referring to the curry-cooking event, he noted: 'When you see young people coming forward, it is a testimony because it shows that they are really concerned and they want to take part in these things.
'So that speaks well for the community and that speaks well for the youth. I hope to see more of them doing that.'
He stressed that interaction among the youth of different races and religions will help them to understand and respect one another. This paves the way for the development of a new crop of leaders, he said.
Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH.
Furore online
First, it was unhappiness over a Chinese student mocking the way Singaporeans speak in a video that went viral.
Then, there was online vitriol over a Filipina who implied that national servicemen were cowards who would 'pack up and run' should a war break out.
The latest episode, which had Singaporeans railing against what they saw as an attack on local culture, was the curry incident.
Have Singaporeans become increasingly defensive and less accepting of criticism?
In the curry case, an online movement quickly gathered steam after a newspaper reported that a local Indian family had agreed to refrain from cooking curry at certain times after their neighbour from China complained about the smell.
Many expressed anger at being mocked and criticised in the recent incidents. Some went as far as to ask the foreigners to return to their home countries since they did not appear to like Singapore and its people.
Psychiatrist Adrian Wang agreed that defence was a natural reaction in these circumstances but added that the online comments came from a minority and were not representative of Singaporeans in general.
'The trouble with making comments online is that people are able to do it with more venom as they can hide behind their computers.'
Indeed, Dr Leong Chan Hoong, a research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies at the National University of Singapore, noted that the topic of local-foreign relations had been in the spotlight for several years but the Internet had made it easier for issues to be debated more openly than before.
Sociologist Ho Kong Chong suggested that Singaporeans had also become more vocal because of frustration over increased competition and congestion due to the influx of foreigners.
For the two foreigners who started the online furore, things did not end well even after they had apologised. Chinese student Wang Peng Fei was expelled from the private school he was in and has returned to China. Filipina Rachelle Ann Beguia was also investigated by her employer.
Professor Ho noted, however, that some good did come out from the curry controversy.
'It became an event for people to come together to embrace cultural differences over a pot of curry.'
Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH.
Lianhe Zaobao - Chan Chun Sing: Internet can also be used to spread message of racial and religious harmony
By Lim Meow Nar
4 Sept 2011
Translation
Recently, a hubbub arose over several incidents of friction between different ethnic communities because of Internet postings on them. Despite this, the Internet and social media, which are more popular among young people, remain as effective tools for promoting racial and religious harmony and mutual understanding.
Interviewed at the end of the National Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) Workshop yesterday, Major-General (NS) Chan Chun Sing, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said that incidents like the “curry incident” had recently raised widespread concern after being fermented through social media. While some Internet users had indeed made imprudent comments that caused misunderstanding, there was no lack of “balanced and deliberated” messages reminding Singaporeans of the need for mutual respect and tolerance.
Commenting on this, MG Chan said, “The Internet is a neutral medium. Even though some minor issues can at times be triggered on the Internet, we can leverage on it to spread positive message like how Singapore has cultivated inter-community trust.”
Liang Guanglian (梁光莲), chairperson of the Woodlands IRCC, said when interviewed that the larger space for speech on the Internet had naturally increased the challenges to the IRCCs’ work.
She said, “Our role requires us to discreetly advise our youths, cautioning them against the influence of extreme views and reminding them of the importance to safeguard racial harmony.”
In the “curry incident”, a dispute arose between a Chinese immigrant family and their Indian neighbours because the former could not stand the smell of curry-cooking coming frequently from the latter’s home. After mediation, the Indian family agreed to cook curry only when the new immigrant family was out. The incident angered many netizens. Someone even launched a “Cook a Pot of Curry” drive on Facebook, urging Singaporeans to cook curry at every corner of the island at the end of last month. The drive drew the support of 44,000 people.
MG Chan noted that in an increasingly globalised economy like ours, there would be an intense process of interaction with foreign races, religions and cultures. With the inflow of foreign workers, new immigrants and even tourists, we would be subject to many forces that challenge our racial and religious harmony and test our social fabric.
He also cautioned that while the advent of social media on the Internet is accelerating the pace of information transmission, the ease of making spontaneous comments and remarks can also inadvertently cause us to be much more impulsive in our reactions.
While expressing concern about the impact of new media on harmony among the local communities, MG Chan also mentioned another trend that threatens to pull society apart in opposite directions. He said that the world is seeing greater religiosity on one end of the spectrum and non-religiosity on the other end.
He reminded Singaporeans, “We need to constantly defend and enlarge the common space; otherwise, diversity would cause tension and mistrust.”
Yesterday morning’s workshop was attended by some 400 community leaders representing different ethnic and religions organisations across the island. A guidebook was also launched at the workshop to serve as a reference for IRCC members on their roles and the strategies to be adopted while dealing with problems.
Click on the link below to view the Lianhe Zaobao article (in Chinese)
Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH.
Berita Minggu - Continue to find new ways to foster closer ties
4 Sept 2011
Synopsis
National and religious leaders should continue to come up with new ways to foster closer ties in the multi-racial society here. Good leaders are those who can help widen the available common spaces, boost trust and confidence as well as strengthen multi-racial and multi-religious ties. Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Major-General (NS) Chan Chun Sing said this on Saturday at the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) Workshop. Major-General Chan also said that rapid community development means that more people are looking for an anchor through their respective religions and races, adding that there is nothing wrong with that, but hopefully, they will not distance themselves from communities of other religions and races. He also hoped that non-believers will be open-minded towards followers of religions.
Click on the link below to view the Berita Harian article
