Did you hear that Singapore is the most religiously diverse place in the world? That’s from the Pew Research Centre survey which also shows that Singaporeans are remarkably tolerant of different faiths? It’s like that racial diversity survey a bit earlier; the one finding that most Singaporeans know that a multiracial Singapore is a better Singapore.
How did we get to these points? A lot of hard work in the past. That includes the Inter-Racial Confidence Circles of the post 9/11 era, which led to the Racial and Religious Harmony Circles of today. Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan refreshed these Harmony Circles recently too and staunchly supports them — all the better to bulwark against a fracturing world.
With all those laws against racial and religious discrimination we have, does MOS Tan really need to support those Harmony Circles? The laws aren’t the endpoint, really. They’re about curbing nasty external behaviour like during difficult global times. But they can’t make you be good to others or enjoy someone else’s company and culture. That’s where MOS Tan and the Harmony Circles come in. They foster internal attitudes for the better.
Exactly what difference is MOS Tan making on that front? There’s the programme planning in the office. And heaps of dialogues and conversations on the ground that bridge different groups of Singaporeans. He’s a timely bridge-builder too. He recently met with religious leaders in mosques and synagogues, hearing ground concerns about the Hamas-Israel conflict and reaffirming commitments to harmony within Singapore’s shores.
I think I’ve seen him elsewhere. He memorably pointed out in Parliament that social-distancing doesn’t mean socially distancing from different communities. Then there was that big Abdul Aleem Siddique Memorial Lecture, “Offline Faith in an Online World”. It was MOS Tan sharing his experiences about how faith works in the tech world as well as in the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng neighbourhood — he gave that lecture in 2019, before politics and after years of public policy in tech.
No, no. Elsewhere. Likely that time he was quick to defend a young national athlete in his Tanjong Pagar GRC ward against online xenophobia. Or in schools. He’s spoken at Ngee Ann Polytechnic about the importance of building trust, for example. MOS Tan is a strong advocate for youths and is always looking for young leaders to help co-build cohesive communities.
What does MOS Tan say about his cause? “We must preserve our precious racial and religious harmony, especially as we see other societies split along racial and religious lines. But we have a lot of work to do, and we must not take this for granted. Our generation must take on this responsibility.”
Alright, let’s get to work.
