One united people, regardless of race, language and religion

This is the second part in the series where youth participants of the National CEP Dialogue 2010 penned down their thoughts on issues related to CEP. Sharing their experience in this article are SG United Journalists from Hong Kah Secondary School.

• Syazwi Bin Rahmad

“We should remain united and care for one another. We are seeing an increasing level of religiosity and with it, should come better understanding of the different religions amongst people. Misunderstandings involving religions may spark off conflicts and snowball into bigger incidents if not handled with care.

The Community Engagement Programme (CEP) is an initiative that aims to bring all of us in Singapore together as one, which is a prerequisite to maintaining peace within the society. In my opinion, CEP helps build networks of trust amongst the different communities and also helps build up resilience in Singaporeans.

The CEP provides a platform for people from all walks of life to come together to communicate. By taking part in the CEP, one can learn more about the importance of religious and racial harmony. With harmony intact, terrorism will be given no chance to drive wedges among communities and tear our society apart, we will also be better prepared to face any emergency.”

• Munirah Bte Jumahat

“Trust in others and understanding one another make the world a better place. In a certain way, the CEP aims to make Singapore a more inclusive society in which the different communities sow the seeds of unity and harmony.

We recite the National Pledge in school every morning, let us all practise what we recite and that is to ‘pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language and religion’.”

• Douglas Lee Yi Sing

“Racial and religious misunderstandings may develop into bigger scale disputes. To prevent such disputes, everyone should play their part by putting aside their differences and be united as one.

At the National CEP Dialogue, many CEP-related issues were brought up and they were thought-provoking. There were issues discussed which I had never put much thoughts into. The Dialogue was indeed an eye-opener.”

• Nakkiran Sukumaran

“Terrorism threatens lives. It can find its way into any society if guard is let down. Singapore was once a target of terrorist attacks and may still be one. The CEP aims to break down the walls of misunderstanding amongst the different communities, if any exists, by strengthening the bonds between the communities.”