Mr Kwek appointed to IRCC at religious harmony talk
9 December 2007.
Yeo Kheng Meng attends a talk on religious extremism and witnesses the appointment of NYJC Principal, Mr Kwek Hiok Chuang, to the Braddell Heights Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC).
The Guest of Honour, Mr Seah Kian Peng, MP for Marine Parade GRC and advisor to Marine Parade GRC GROs, opened the session by touching on the need for continued emphasis on racial harmony in Singapore.
He cited examples of recent ethnic flare-ups like the Hindu Community in Malaysia protesting against its perceived discrimination, and the furore over the British teacher in Sudan allowing the children to name a teddy bear 'Mohammed'.
In Singapore, the IRCC was established in 2002 after the 911 incident. It aims to foster friendship and trust among Singapore's multiple races and religions. It also serves as a common platform for ethnic and religious leaders to discuss issues and how best to disseminate sensitive information to their groups.
In her talk, Ms Jolene Anne Jerard, a research analyst at the International Center for Terrorism Research and Political Violence of the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, analogized that terrorism is a symptom and extremism is the disease. In order to solve the problems caused by misinterpretations of religion, we have to tackle the root.
The rise in terrorism today is due to several factors: the End of the Cold War, the widening gap between the west and the rest of the World, and the breakdown of secular ideologies. These are the main factors that drive people to embrace their faiths to greater depths.
Ms Jerard reminded us that terrorism should never be associated with any particular religion. Though many terrorists today claim to act in the name of their faith, they tend to have been misguided and follow a misinterpretation of what their religion preaches.
To counter such misunderstandings, Singapore passed the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, and formed the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG). The former is self-explanatory. The latter's objective is to deal with any doctrinal misinterpretation preached by extremist groups and provides a resource panel for law-enforcers to better understand suspected religious terrorists.
During the Q&A, one question broached the common misconception that terrorists are poor and uneducated. In recent times, a new breed of terrorist with professional qualifications, such as doctors and engineers has arisen. A growing income gap cannot now be used as a factor to explain the rise in terrorist activity.
Mr Kwek personally fielded a question on how schools can instill children with healthy attitudes towards other races and religions. Mr Kwek explained that National Education (NE), as an integral component of the curriculum, encourages students to think about and discuss issues of race and religion beyond their normal day-to-day conversations. More than just making us aware of the issues at hand, NE offers a platform for us to share our views and learn to respect and understand people from other races and religions.
Though much of what was said was familiar through our NE discussions in College, it was a fresh reminder on the need to maintain religious harmony in Singapore. After all, all it takes to disrupt our tightly-woven social fabric is for a single incident to occur.
Story and pix by Yeo Kheng Meng
More pix here,
unedited article here