Any change to tudung stance will be carefully studied: PM Lee
Any change to the delicate balance Singapore has achieved among all its communities must be carefully considered and gradual, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.
The Government accepts that this balance is dynamic and will shift as younger Singaporeans grow up and attitudes shift, but this has to be done in a measured way so that all communities can understand and accept such changes, he added.
PM Lee stressed this point in his letter thanking Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir and the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) for their support of the Government’s deliberations on the wearing of the tudung by Muslim nurses in the workplace.
Singapore is one of the few countries in the world where different races and faiths live peacefully and closely together, said PM Lee.
Its racial and religious harmony is based on treating everyone equally without discrimination, and building a national identity shared by all communities while allowing each community to practise its faith and way of life.
“We have done this through mutual accommodation, compromise, and trust building by all groups. Over time, we have reached a delicate balance that considers the interests of all communities.”
While attitudes and norms will evolve along with society, any change to this compact must strengthen, not weaken, Singapore’s racial and religious harmony, he added.
PM Lee’s letter came as the Muslim community here welcomed the likely change in stance on nurses wearing the tudung, or headscarf, at work.
Dr Nazirudin had written to PM Lee earlier to convey that the Muslim community knows this is a complex decision with difficult and competing considerations.
In his reply, PM Lee said the Government fully appreciates the growing socio-religious significance of the tudung (headscarf) to Muslim Singaporeans and is considering how this can be done.
This exchange comes after Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam disclosed during a dialogue with senior Muslim leaders last week that the Government is considering allowing nurses to wear the tudung at work, a point he said he had made at a similar dialogue with the leaders last August.
His comments came two weeks after remarks in Parliament by two Malay/Muslim ministers on the subject sparked a critical reaction among some in the community.
In his letter, Dr Nazirudin told PM Lee that the Muslim community here knows it is not easy to manage different aspirations and expectations, while maintaining a high level of trust and confidence between the communities.
He also said Muis is deeply appreciative of the opportunities to provide feedback and inputs on many national issues, including on the tudung, and said that many state policies here have carefully considered and supported the needs of the Muslim community.
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