SINGAPORE, February 6 – Second Home Affairs Minister S Iswaran has urged Singaporeans to exercise calm and restraint in reacting to Tuesday’s (Feb 3) Thaipusam incident, reported Channel News Asia (CNA).
Three men were arrested on Tuesday for disorderly behaviour, after they confronted police over an issue of the playing of drums in public. The local television channel reported Iswaran as speaking to the media on Thursday on the sidelines of an official visit to Spain.
He called on Singaporeans to stand together against a breakdown in law and order. “In Singapore we are a multi-religious society. And all of us have to make certain accommodations and concessions,” he said. “There has to be mutual understanding and respect for each other’s practices.
Whilst we celebrate our respective festivals or events, we also need to take into account the need to maintain overall balance in society in order to preserve safety, law and order.”
Iswaran said Singapore should not allow the actions of a few individuals disrupt the harmony Singaporeans have worked very hard to preserve over the years. He said he was concerned that there were misrepresentations or rumours online regarding the incident, and urged people to resist such actions.
“The reason why there’s a restriction on the playing of musical instruments, and this came into force in 1974, is because there have been experiences of fights breaking out between competing groups, and also disruption to the procession, and even, you know, people participating in the procession – devotees were hindered in the progression and so on.
“So for a variety of reasons, there was a constraint imposed. But having said that, there is a provision and religious hymns can be sung, which is keeping in spirit with the sanctity and the spiritual nature of the event,” CAN quoted him as saying.”
– BERNAMA
