CODE ON RELIGIOUS HARMONY

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam asked the Prime Minister (a) if he will clarify how the Code on Religious Harmony can be applied by Singaporeans; (b) from whom individuals can seek counsel when the Code is flouted; (c) what kind of remedial action can be taken when it is flouted; and (d) whether he will consider setting up a mediation council comprising different religious leaders to resolve conflicts arising from non-compliance with the Code on Religious Harmony.

The Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office (Mr Chan Soo Sen) (for the Prime Minister): The proposed Code on Religious Harmony is meant to be a set of guiding principles on how Singaporeans should practise their religion when they interact with one another in our multi-racial, multi-religious, society. As Singapore has already achieved many years of religious harmony, I think the Code, when it is completed, will look rather familiar. However, it is still useful to remind ourselves of all these basic principles which have helped, and will continue to help, achieve and maintain religious harmony in Singapore.

Therefore, the Code is actually a reflection of moral values and social norms. It is not a piece of legislation. Hence, there will be no penalties if the Code is flouted. If someone acts in such a manner as to violate religious harmony, there are existing mechanisms to deal with them, and it will not be dealt with by the Code.

For example, under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, the Minister for Home Affairs is empowered to issue restraining orders of up to a maximum of two years against persons inciting religious misunderstanding or causing inter-religious hostility. Any person who breaches the restraining order shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both. In the case of a second or subsequent offence, the person will be liable to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both. The Act also provides for the establishment of a Presidential Council for Religious Harmony. The Chairman and every member of the Council are appointed by the President on the advice of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights for a period of three years. The Council considers and reports to the Minister for Home Affairs on matters affecting the religious harmony in Singapore which are referred to the Council by the Minister or by Parliament.

The Prime Minister has proposed a draft Code on Religious Harmony for discussion. And since I have been appointed to head the Working Group on the Code, I have been consulting with the national groups representing the various faiths in order to develop the Code, and this process will take place in the next few months. I will listen to and, as far as possible, incorporate all relevant views. The Code will be referred to the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony for consideration before it is finalised.

Through the elaborate consultation process, I hope the finalised Code would be one that all major religions in Singapore can agree with and feel ownership for, and one that can be understood and internalised by Singaporeans.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: Sir, I would like to ask the Minister of State in what manner would this Code be practised. Is there a consideration to integrate it as part of the pledge-taking session, or are we going to have a separate session?

Mr Chan Soo Sen: Mr Speaker, Sir, through the consultation process, we hope to achieve a situation whereby the various religious groups consider the Code as their Code, and not the Government's Code. And if the various religious groups consider the final Code as their Code, we can discuss in what manner they could remind their believers of this Code. I have actually exposed the preliminary idea to them that, for example, if all the religious groups agree, we can say that for the first week of every month, at the end of their weekly prayer, the Code can be read out to the devotees or followers just to remind the people. But all these are very, very preliminary at the moment. I maintain that what we want to achieve is for the various religious groups to consider the Code as their Code, and that they take it upon themselves to remind their believers and devotees of their Code.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: Based on what the Minister of State has just described, it will really take care of citizens with a religion. But in cases where they do not have a religion, they will not have a place of worship to practise such an oath-taking. So eventually when we have this objective of coming up with the Religious Harmony Code, how do we intend actually to cover the rest of Singaporeans who may not have a religion at this point?

Mr Chan Soo Sen: I think it will depend on the content of the Code, whether it addresses everybody, or it addresses people who are practising a religion. If we are talking about addressing everybody, there is already a code which is in our National Pledge that all our students read every day where we pledge ourselves as one united people regardless of race, language or religion, and so on. But for those who are practising a religion, if the Code is to remind them that when they are practising a religion and when this goes into the common space, when they are interacting with people of different faiths, what is the understanding between our various religious groups on how we should handle that kind of situation. If the Code is to address that, then I would say it suffices to remind the people who are actively practising their religion.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: From what the Minister of State has just described, would he not think that it may lead to a lot of confusion in the sense that we are going to have two sets of Codes, one in the school and another set just basically for the religious groups? I do not know how this would develop eventually. Would he care to share some thoughts on this?

Mr Chan Soo Sen: I do not know how it will develop eventually either. We are in the consultation process and we would like the various religious groups to play their part in formulating the Code and to play their part to remind their followers on the Code and how to internalise the Code. Since the process is still on-going, I cannot presuppose what would the turnout be at the end. But if we are talking about Singaporeans in general, my own view is that there is already a code called the National Pledge. But for those who are practising their religion actively and bearing in mind that Singapore is a multi-religious type of society, we want to practise a faith in such a way that it does not create misunderstanding or, worse still, create offence with each other. What I was saying is that if the Code addresses this situation, then to be able to remind the people who are actively practising their religion would have been well-served by this Code. And in addition, as Singaporeans, they also remember the National Pledge. So they are reminded twice.

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam (Nominated Member): Could I ask the Minister of State about the question on mediation council? In the on-going process, is it possible that we do not have to use the Act and we can nip things in the bud?

Mr Chan Soo Sen: This is a question that I will pose to the various religious groups that my colleagues and I are currently consulting. What we are doing is we are visiting group by group and we listen to their views on the Code itself as well as to listen to some feedback on the current state of religious harmony. After we have consulted all the groups, we will sit down and draft the Code before inviting everybody to sit and go through the Code together. Depending on what the Code looks like then, we would be able to raise this question of mediation council with them and to see whether they feel good enough to actually form their own mediation councils so that, for minor matters, there is no need to make use of the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act.