Speech by Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, at Methodist Heritage Day

SPEECH BY MR LEE HSIEN LOONG, PRIME MINISTER, AT METHODIST HERITAGE DAY, 31 OCTOBER 2010, 11:30 AM AT OLD SCHOOL MOUNT SOPHIA

Robert Solomon, Bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore,

Religious and community leaders,

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

May I first congratulate the Methodist Church in Singapore for its 125^th birthday this year. Happy Birthday.

I am very happy to attend this Methodist Heritage Day to commemorate the Methodist’s rich history and heritage. I read a little bit in the newspapers of the stories and heritage we have inherited. For example, I never knew MPH was the Methodist Publishing House. But I look forward to touring the exhibition later which showcases the community’s contributions and achievements over these past many years and learning more interesting things about the community

As you have seen in the video and heard from the Bishop, the missionaries built the first local Methodist church in Singapore back in 1885. And over the decades, the Methodists have been active and valued contributors to the community. And many Singaporeans of all races and all religions have benefited from the educational, medical and social services provided by the Methodist churches and their welfare arm – the Methodist Welfare Services.

The Methodist Church set up some of the leading educational institutions in Singapore. ACS – Anglo Chinese School in 1886, Methodist Girls’ School, MGS, in 1887, and the Fairfield Methodist Girls’ Schools, now co-ed, in the following year 1888. Many alumni from these institutions have distinguished themselves in Singapore. And I am privileged to have a family connection. My late mother was an MGS alumna, studied here, at Mount Sophia. And two of my sons went to ACS (Independent) which took good care of them.

The Methodist Church established many centres to provide social and medical services over the years. It established nursing homes and rehabilitative centres for the elderly, and family service centres, childcare centres and student care centres, running programmes for families, for youths, for children. And these efforts reflect the Methodist churches’ Wesleyan passion of service in the community.

Another indication of this is the success of the community outreach project. The project has already collected a substantial sum. My draft is out of date, it says $1.6 million but I heard from the bishop that it is $1.8 million, and maybe since then it has gone up a bit more.

This will fund aid and essential services to 1000 poor families, regardless of race and religion, and help them to break out of poverty. So I congratulate the Methodist Church of Singapore for its good work and encourage both the church and its volunteers to keep up its efforts and do even better.

I am also very delighted to see many community leaders and many leaders of other faiths attending today’s event. Muslims, Buddhists and others. That so many religious leaders have come together to commemorate a special day for one faith is a unique feature of our multi-racial and multi-religious society.

It can happen in Singapore because there is trust and understanding between our various communities, and yet of course we must always remember that our harmony and unity is precious. It is beautiful but it can be fragile, and therefore has to be carefully protected and strengthened. And this takes a concerted effort from all of our communities to maintain our social cohesion and keep Singapore a harmonious system.

All of us in this multi-racial and multi-religious society share this tiny island. And therefore it is important for all groups to respect one another’s beliefs, to be sensitive to the feelings of others, and not to try to force their own beliefs onto others. “Live and let live” is our guiding principle and that is how we have lived in peace and harmony for so many years.

Worldwide, there is a trend in many societies towards growing, rising religiosity. People feel more passionate about their faiths. They feel that to fulfill themselves, they have to take their religions seriously, and their obligations seriously. And indeed we see this happening in Singapore society too. Religion is a positive force in human societies – it provides spiritual guidance, it provides solace and a sense of purpose to many, and not just personal calm and sense of peace, but also social responsibility and obligation, duty to your fellow man.

But we have to remember that with faith strong on all sides, all the more we have to look to tolerance and “give and take”, and deal with any issues that may arise from time to time calmly and sensibly. Religious groups have contributed to our national cohesion. They have helped to set a wholesome and moral tone to our society, and the religious leaders have guided their flocks wisely. They have respected and accommodated one another, and made practical compromises so that all can live harmoniously together. And they have worked with the government in order to resolve any issues and in order to keep this harmonious and well-functioning society.

The Methodist Church has been a good role model and a valued partner in our community engagement efforts. Many Methodist churches are represented in, and supportive of our Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles, or IRCCs. And the church leaders regularly meet with leaders of other faith groups to engage in dialogue and to take part in joint social activities. This is not an ecumenical project –that we leave to the church. It is a government project – community engagement – to work together to understand each other, to have mutual confidence in each other and trust, so that if ever we need to call on those ties of trust, they will not burst and we know that we are one community together.

I would like to give special thanks to Bishop Dr Robert Solomon. He has played a key role through his leadership of the National Council of Churches in Singapore, and the membership of the National Steering Committee for Racial and Religious Harmony. He has initiated efforts to build trust and to forge good relations with leaders of other religious communities and in particular the Muslim community, post 9/11.

And as long as our religious leaders and communities remain committed to improving inter-faith relations, we can be one united people living in peace and harmony.

The Methodist Church in Singapore has contributed significantly to our society over the last 125 years. It has served our community in many fields, and helped to keep our society decent and strong. Therefore I wish all Methodists the very best, as the church celebrates a major milestone and look forward to many future contributions by the Methodist Church in Singapore. Thank you very much.

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