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SINGAPORE: While freedom of religion is guaranteed in Singapore, decisions in public policy formulation are not made in favor of any particular religious group, said Minister of Law and Interior K. Shanmugam.
This applies to the public service as a whole, including cabinet ministers and senior officials, he said in Parliament on Monday (March 1).
“Neutrality and justice are fundamental. Otherwise, in this small country we will quickly lose the confidence of the people, ”he said.
“And when these principles are not observed, they must be addressed,” he added.
Shanmugam was responding to opposition leader Pritam Singh (WP-Aljunied), who had referred to the case of a 16-year-old Protestant Christian of Indian origin who had been detained after making plans to attack two mosques here.
This indicates that religious extremism could come from anywhere, Singh said.
“At a time like this, it is possible that the population needs to be assured that the Government is aware of things, not only from an operational point of view, but that the Government’s policy is strictly secular and does not favor or influenced by religious beliefs of any sector, “he said. the general secretary of the Workers’ Party.
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Mr. Singh asked if there was a risk of “subtle influence on politics” by “religious people who are not necessarily radical.”
“Is there a danger in Singapore that laws and policies may lean towards particular religious beliefs, for example due to … the religious beliefs of senior public officials or people of influence, if not now, perhaps in the future? ” he said. He also asked if the government had strategies to counter that possibility.
In response, Shanmugam said that he had worked with many senior officials over the years.
He gave the example of the current Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Pang Kin Keong, of whom he noted that he had spent 20 years in public service, including the chairmanship of the Homefront Executive Crisis Group, which is currently coordinating the government’s response to the pandemic in COVID-19.
“We are looking for officers of this character and caliber, and in no way should they be tainted with suggestions of religious bias in their approach,” he said.
The Home Office is “at the forefront in dealing with religious issues,” said Mr. Shanmugam.
“We meet with different religious leaders, we work hard to preserve religious harmony between different religions. Our integrity, honesty, reliability and neutrality are key to us and those are the currencies with which we operate ”, he said.
“When a police officer takes a call in a home, you don’t want people to think that he is a Muslim officer or a Christian officer or a Hindu officer. You want people to think that this is an SPF (Singapore Police Force) officer, ”he said.
READ: Concerns Raised About Separation Of Religion And Politics, Foreign Influence Under MRHA
“IT IS NOT A SYSTEMIC PROBLEM”
The minister acknowledged the tendency of people, whether they are ministers, civil servants or field officers, to view problems through a religious lens or from their own personal perspective.
“We have to protect ourselves against that, we have to avoid it. Leave personal points of view and look at it, when you are making public policies, from a secular perspective … you have to look at the vast majority and see what they are interested in, “he said.
“We have to jealously guard against any tendency to look through a particular lens, be it ministers or anyone else. And we have to set the tone from the top, insist on the secular approach and be strict about it, “he said.
“I think Mr Singh is reflecting on what some people might feel and today I will tell him that it is not a systemic problem,” he added.
What is the safeguard? It starts with politics, how we carry it out. And religion, what importance do we give to politics? In between, do the dogs whistle?
It is the responsibility of both sides of the House to protect themselves against such influence of religion in politics, Mr. Shanmugam said.
“You want an example of where it can lead, look at the United States, how vows are sought along religious lines. If we go down that road, we will get into trouble, “he warned.
Later, Mr. Singh clarified that he was not suggesting that some public officials were biased and did not intend to undermine their work, but was calling for a “reaffirmation of the government’s commitment to secularism.”
As for the future, Shanmugam said Singapore had developed institutions and a system that seeks to “promote the best officers and eliminate those whose integrity is unclear.”
“We have safeguarded the independence of the PSC (Public Service Commission), because the degradation of the civil service will seriously harm Singapore,” he said.
“Having said that, my second point is, to be frank, whether the senior civil service remains world-class and has integrity ultimately depends on who the ministers are as well,” he noted.
“The bell of our ministers will finally decide everything else. If ministers are biased, they lack integrity, then that will spread, perhaps slowly, but surely, ”said Mr. Shanmugam.
“And you just have to look at some countries outside of Singapore, many countries, including first world countries, to see what can go wrong and how quickly,” he warned.
