The Straits Times - Faiths join hands in emergency drill
By Jessica Jaganathan
ABOUT 500 worshippers from a mosque, Hindu temple, church and Chinese temple came together yesterday in an emergency exercise in the Stirling Road area.
It was Queenstown's Emergency Preparedness Day 2007 and, the first time, people from the four religious groups were required to respond in concert to a simulated terrorist attack.
The exercise kicked off with a 'bomb blast' in Stirling Road which left many serious 'casualties'.
Members of the Mujahidin mosque alerted the authorities, rendered first aid to the 'casualties' and initiated the large-scale evacuation of residents from a housing block.
Within minutes, members of the Sri Muneeswaran temple, the Church of the Blessed Sacrament and Tiong Ghee temple arrived to help. Some put out pockets of fire.
Police, firefighters and medics arrived soon after.
Mr Alex Foong, 53, who chairs the Queenstown Civil Defence executive committee, said: 'We are mindful of some people's suspicions of certain religious groups, so we want these groups to work together to achieve multiracial cohesiveness.'
The idea of involving all four groups in the exercise sprang from the mosque, church and two temples being near each other, he added.
To prepare for the drill, about 80 participants attended a Civil Defence training course. They were taught first aid, firefighting and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.
Participant Irene See, 53, who attends the Blessed Sacrament Church, said: 'It's great to put our first aid training into practical use with other religious groups. We seldom get a chance to work together like this.'
The guest of honour at the event was Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC Baey Yam Keng.
