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SINGAPORE – The government needs to reach out to different segments of society to express their views and not be “forced” to make decisions based on social media posts and online petitions, a prominent educator said on Thursday (October 22) .
Professor Lily Kong, president of the Singapore Management University, said there is “no escape” from the issue when asked in a webinar about how the authorities should balance between maintaining secularism and listening to concerns in line of religious groups or individuals.
She was speaking together with former minister Yaacob Ibrahim on the subject of religious harmony in Singapore. The one-hour session, organized by the Center for Livable Cities and the Institute for Policy Studies, was moderated by the institute’s principal investigator, Dr. Mathew Mathews.
“There are times when the government needs to get involved because you do need arbitration in society between different groups, and the state has the responsibility and is well positioned to do so,” Professor Kong said.
It is important that the state does not rely too heavily on social media or petitions when assessing the positions of the wider society, Professor Kong said. “On social media, you get an echo chamber and you get a portion of very vocal voices,” he added.
As such, the government should receive comments from the “silent majority,” whose views are often not reflected online, according to Professor Kong.
“Therefore, the role of the government is to reach out and get an idea of what the different segments of society think and not feel overwhelmed and forced to take opinions on social media or just through petitions,” he said.
Last year, an online petition on Change.org calling for the banning of two concerts by Swedish metal bands Watain and Soilwork garnered more than 17,000 signatories. The public outcry had prompted the Home Office (MHA) to conduct a security assessment for the Watain concert, which had previously been allowed to take place with a restricted rating of 18 (R18).
The concert was later canceled at 11 a.m. by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), following the MHA’s assessment that it should not continue. The ministry expressed serious concerns about the event, citing the gang’s history of “denigrating religions and promoting violence,” which has the potential to cause enmity and upset Singapore’s social harmony.
Professor Yaacob, who held various ministerial positions during his 23-year political career, including communications and information, said that it is not in the government’s interest to prevent various groups of people from carrying out their activities.
The former minister in charge of Muslim affairs noted that religious leaders of different faiths understand that there must be a balance between meeting the needs of Singapore’s secular society and having a space to express their concerns.
“That negotiation is an ongoing process,” said Professor Yaacob, who is now a professor of engineering at the Singapore Institute of Technology. “I don’t claim that we can solve this overnight.”
Sharing religious spaces
Panelists were also asked to share their thoughts on places of worship that would double as community spaces, such as kindergarten facilities.
Professor Kong noted that while it may be a good move to open these facilities up to people of different faiths, there is a danger that people belonging to specific religions may claim these spaces as their own.
Warning that such mindsets would “narrow” the common spaces for people of different religions and races to come together, he added: “It is a double-edged sword and something we must be constantly vigilant about.”
Agreeing, Professor Yaacob said he is not in favor of having community spaces, such as kindergartens, within places of worship. However, the different uses of these spaces occurred before authorities had given much thought to integrating different groups, he noted.
Professor Yaacob asked that the subject be treated with “great sensitivity” and warned about unhealthy competition in the management of these spaces. “When I was a child, there were a lot of young people who went to church kindergartens, because at that time there were no kindergartens in mosques … then the mosques reacted to that and they have their own.”
