Singh or Ah Neh - The dark Forces!

At the First Youth for Peace Interfaith Symposium organized by the Singapore Soka Association at Singapore Expo Hall, a representative each of five religions, namely Sikhism, Baha'i Faith, Catholicism, Hinduism and Buddhism, spoke on the theme "Humanizing Religions, Creating Peace".

Satwant Singh, told 4,000 youths of different religions how he had handled people who called him "Mang-ka-li", "Bayee Singh" or "Babu Singh". He said that instead of feeling offended, he would explain his religion to the persons concerned over a cup of coffee. He related his experiences to illustrate the points that misunderstanding of others' religions may cause friction and that enlightening others on one's religion is far better than flying into a rage.

In his opening speech for the symposium, Foreign Minister George Yeo underscored the role of the Government in fostering religious harmony. He pointed out that the Government must always be secular and must take into account the interests of Singaporeans as a whole and not just those of a particular religious group. Hence, from time to time, the Government must act to defuse conflicts.

Singapore disallowed publication of Danish cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in Singapore and stepped in when pictures of Jesus Christ were put on the floor of MRT stations as advertisements for the movie Da Vinci Code. When Taoist joss sticks for the Hungry Ghost Festival grew bigger and bigger, causing air pollution, and when the volume of loudspeakers used by mosques for their azan (prayer calls) were found too high, the Government consulted religious leaders before adopting compromise solutions.