Impact of Livestock Export Rule Changes on the Annual Observance of Korban in Singapore

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs with the new regulatory framework by the Australian authorities on the export of livestock, what plans are in place for the yearly korban held in Singapore and how is MUIS adapting to these changes.

The Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Sir, on 1 March 2012, the Australian government introduced a new regulatory framework known as the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System, to ensure that Australian livestock exported to different countries are treated in accordance to stipulated animal welfare standards.

With this change, Australian exporters seeking a permit to export livestock to Singapore must comply with stringent requirements, including how the animals are transported and handled. This will come into effect on 1 September this year.

Singapore currently imports livestock from Australia once a year for our Muslims to perform the sacrifice ritual better known as korban . The new Australian regulations mean that all mosques intending to offer korban in October this year must meet the standards. Prior audits must be carried out by an independent and internationally accredited auditor to certify that standards are complied with before the mosques are allowed to offer korban with Australian livestock.

Sir, to help our mosques meet Australia's new requirements, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) has worked with the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) to improve our existing systems and processes for korban . This includes developing standard operational procedures for all mosques, training of all personnel involved in korban operations and ensuring that all mosques offering korban services have the necessary space and facilities to meet the stringent requirements. In addition, MUIS has arranged for audits to be carried out at 16 selected mosques to ensure the revised korban systems and procedures meet Australia's new requirements.

The Australian exporter and the auditors are finalising the report for submission to the Australian authorities in order to obtain the approval to export to Singapore. I wish to assure the Member that MUIS is committed to helping our mosques meet the stringent requirements under the new Australian regulatory framework, so as to minimise disruptions to the annual korban rites. However, despite the best efforts of all parties involved, there is a possibility that not all mosques will be able to perform the korban this year. If this happens, it will have an impact on the supply and prices of korban livestock, as well as the number of participating mosques. The community must be ready for this probable outcome. MUIS, Sir, will continue to do its best to minimise disruptions to the annual korban rites. It will keep the Muslim community updated on the progress and status.

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Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Sir, I thank the Minister for the response. Can I find out, on average, how many of the mosques will pass the audit that is being carried out currently? There is a growing concern among the Muslim community about how far this can proceed as in previous years. Are we looking at alternative sources of livestock, besides Australia, and, if so, which are the other countries that we are looking at? Also, how are we engaging the stakeholders, including the mosques, as well as some of the Muslim organisations that are used to doing this, because there is a growing concern and feedback from the ground and there is some level of confusion involved?

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, we have been engaging the key stakeholders, in this case, the mosques, and, in fact, there are also some organisations that have been doing so every year and we have been engaging them also. In fact, through releases to the media, we have informed the public of the process which is ongoing at this stage. So far, we have audited 16 mosques, and the audited results have been passed on to the Australian exporter for them to pass on to the Australian authorities. We hope that they will do so as soon as possible so that the authorities can give us the clearance for the 16 mosques. We are hoping to clear 35 mosques this year. The numbers will depend largely on how the Australian authorities will view the 16 mosques which have already been audited.

Speed wise, we hope that the Australian exporter can do it as quickly as possible. We are basically in touch with him on a daily basis to ensure that whatever documents that he needs will be supplied immediately. In fact, we have given all the necessary documents, including all the test results for him to forward on to the Australian authorities.

In terms of alternative sources, whatever sources that we are exploring, they would still have to meet the standard imposed by AVA. At this point in time, most of the countries around the region are importing from Australia. And therefore any plan to explore alternative sources for this year will be a bit tight for us. Certainly, going forward, we will consider all other options. Even New Zealand, for example, is an alternative source but at the same time, New Zealand also has the same stringent requirements for us to meet.

Finally, Sir, it is coming very, very close to korban because korban will be in October. We hope to be able to alert the community on a continuous basis where they may have to explore other options, including overseas korban , which already is in practice in Singapore for many, many years, to prepare for ourselves for some outcomes which we may not desire but we will try our best to avoid as far as possible.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Sir, I have two supplementary questions. Firstly, after speaking to many residents, many are concerned that the new regulations being put in over the last years, including this one, have led to the increasing costs of korban . In addition to Member Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef's question earlier on alternative sources: would MUIS consider tiering? In the past, we used to send the supply by ship. Today we do it by airfreight, in order to ensure that there are different tiers and different options for citizens. The second question is in regards to the regulation by the Australian government in order to have korban done by specialised personnel. The sentiment in the community is not too favourable for this one because many had the practice of having to perform the rites themselves. Could the Minister comment if it is really necessary to abide by this regulation?

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Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Sir, unfortunately, the answer is "yes" because that is a very strict requirement by the Australian authorities for us to ensure that whoever will be doing the slaughtering either have the necessary experience or qualification. In fact, through the audits of the 16 mosques, we are able to gather all the possible slaughterers for this year's korban to undergo training and audit at the same time. We understand the sentiments on the ground but unfortunately we need to import livestock from Australia. So, because of the requirement, we have to conform because if we do not, then we probably will not get anything from Australia altogether.

On the Member's first question, he may recall that for a couple of years, we had been bringing livestock by sea freight, but if he recall, there was one particular year where we were stuck because of some uncertainties in the weather and the animals came late. So given that uncertainty, MUIS decided to change from sea freight to airfreight. The cost borne by residents was not that great. By and large, we think airfreight is the way to go because it gives us greater certainty. Certainly, we will explore all other options in future, going forward.