PLACES OF WORSHIP (Donations)

Mr Chia Shi Teck asked the Acting Minister for Community Development (a) whether temples, churches and all places of worship need to account for the donations they receive; (b) whether he will give some indications by groupings of the amount of money collected by religious bodies yearly from 1989 to 1993; and (c) whether there were cases of irregularities over the same period.

Mr Abdullah Tarmugi: Sir, the Ministry of Community Development does not regulate or maintain a register of places of worship in Singapore. However, places of worship in Singapore can be classified under three broad categories:

(1) those that are privately run: these are temples and churches which are not registered as societies or companies;

(2) those that are registered charities, societies or companies: these have to submit their audited accounts to the Commissioner of Charities, the Registrar of Societies or the Registrar of Companies and Businesses; and

(3) those that are managed by a statutory board: these will include all mosques which are vested with the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapore (MUIS), the two Sikh temples managed by the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board, which is a self-regulating body, and the four Hindu temples under the administration of the Hindu Endowments Board.

All mosques in Singapore vested with MUIS have their accounts incorporated into MUIS' accounts which are audited by the Auditor-General. The four Hindu temples managed by the Hindu Endowments Board have separate accounts maintained by the Hindu Endowments Board. These accounts are audited by a commercial audit firm. As for the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board, it maintains the accounts of the two Sikh temples under it and their accounts are audited by a commercial audit firm.

In the circumstances, I regret that I am unable to give a full answer to the Member's question. However, if there is evidence of any irregularities in the management of funds, may I suggest that this be brought to the attention of the Commissioner of Charities, the Registrar of Societies or the Registrar of Companies and Businesses as the case may be. If any offence such as criminal breach of trust is suspected, a police report should be made.

Mr Chia Shi Teck: Sir, will the Minister be able to answer this: are there any places of worship that belong to families, for instance, houses, where they put up some signs as a prayer place and people start going there?

Mr Abdullah Tarmugi: Sir, as I mentioned earlier, my Ministry does not really monitor such institutions.