Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Chairman of Humanity Matters
Mr Chao Hick Tin, Chairman of Presidential Council for Religious Harmony
Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, Permanent Member of Presidential Council for Minority Rights
Mayor Fahmi Bin Aliman
Ambassadors and diplomatic representatives
Esteemed Faith Leaders
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
1. A very good evening to each and everyone of you. I am very happy to see many of you making the effort to join us this evening.
2. This regional exchange programme is an invaluable platform for us, ASEAN citizens, to exchange our experiences, aspirations and community initiatives to enhance interfaith and intercultural understanding, cohesion and harmony.
3. The theme for the 5th Faithfully ASEAN is ‘Faith and Sustainability’. When we hear the term ‘Substantiality’, people tend to immediately relate the term to the environmental pillar naturally. However, ‘Sustainability’ is also applicable to the social and economic pillars. While we are all more exposed to scientific reasonings on the need to embrace and enliven Sustainability, it would be very interesting and useful to understand Sustainability from the faith perspective.
4. Since the turn of this century, we have lived in a vastly different world. When the September 11 terror attacks took place, our world changed. Travelling became much less frictionless. Social confidence and trust between different communities around the world was rocked. Recently, the world grappled with the Covid-19 pandemic, and its impact was deep and far reaching, and resulted in a ‘new normal’ for all of us.
5. In September 2020, the Pew Research Centre published its survey findings on what people in 14 countries felt were a threat to their countries. The top three threats were found to be climate change, infectious diseases and terrorism. These natural and man-made menaces bear great consequences on our economic development, environmental equilibrium and social progress.
6. More recently, the Global Risks Report 2024 released by the World Economic Forum in January indicated the top three global risks over the next two years. These are: misinformation and disinformation, extreme weather events and societal polarisation. We observe today in the world polarising narratives, eroding trust and increasing insecurity as a result of the geopolitical tensions and hostilities in multiple regions. The tensions are further exacerbated by misinformation and disinformation. At the same time, nations are struggling with the impact of record-breaking extreme weather. We here in Singapore also experienced our fourth warmest year last year. 2023’s record-high temperature globally sparked heat waves, floods and wildfires around the world. The impact was devastating. It affected food security, and more closely, people’s homes, their lives, their livelihoods, and much more.
7. Against this backdrop, we must remain conscious of the prevailing and pressing challenges that affect us and the environment, which share a symbiotic co-existence. We must constructively hone and harness the might of the human mind and spirit, to collectively seek and strive for the betterment of humankind and our ecosystem.
8. To achieve this, governments, corporations, and civic societies must expand cross-sector collaborations. Faith communities too, play a crucial role in the areas of civic development and community cohesion. In Singapore, we are very fortunate to have religious leaders who understand the importance of inter-religious harmony. They guide their communities to protect the social cohesion and trust between different religious groups, and exemplify the values of peace and tolerance themselves through their leadership. Youths also play an important role in stewarding our future. I am glad that the Faithfully ASEAN regional youth alumni will share and learn from one another on their experiences in overcoming environmental injustices and indifference.
9. So, I would sincerely like to thank all our religious leaders. Every time I speak to our religious leaders, my heart feels at peace because of their understanding of the context of Singapore and our journey thus far. You feel reassured that there are people who believe in this and these are the people who sometimes work very quietly but very hard behind the scenes to keep our social fabric and to enhance our social conditions. We are really grateful.
10. Looking at platform like this, we want the youth to continue this journey. It is important for us to make sure that while we navigate the world today, we must always prepare for tomorrow. That's where we do this as a community, an ASEAN community, with different segments of our people. I want to thank our youth alumni who are here with us today, for coming back and sharing their experiences and making it easier for us to navigate this journey together.
11. Diversity in all forms is a strength that enriches our lives, our nations, our world. Diversity allows us to exchange many things that can benefit us individually or collectively. Knowledge, ideas, skills, technologies, arts, cultures and the list goes on. Within one ambit, you can find lots of diversity. And as you go into the smaller parts, you will also be able to find diverse elements around it. We should look at it as a strength. But diversity can be a double-edged sword. If not managed carefully, it can be a source of conflict, as we have seen in other parts of the world. Regardless of culture or citizenship, the basis of all faiths is for humanity to do no wrong or harm unto others, and to extend our hearts and hands to those who need our care and attention. It is only through the deliberate and persistent efforts of all of us – the Government, religious leaders, community groups, and organisations like Humanity Matters, that we can temper the natural friction caused by diversity and turn it into one of our greatest strengths.
12. Singapore strongly believes in this and it's something that we have been working hard on together. It is always a work in progress. We want to navigate this together, not only within Singapore, but also in the region, so that we can provide opportunities for us to grow cohesively and harmoniously.
13. I am heartened to note that the Faithfully ASEAN regional interfaith exchange programme has brought on alumni from various Southeast Asian countries via the Faiths@Work humanitarian training and the joint community service programme to be activated and deployed for disaster relief in the region.
14. I am also encouraged by the support of our local religious and community leaders. The Racial and Religious Harmony Circles have been a close partner of another Humanity Matters project – Faithful Footprints, an interfaith heritage trail covering historical places of worship. This is a meaningful project that helps Singaporeans gain deeper insights into our history, and better appreciate how far we have come in building racial and religious harmony in Singapore.
15. I congratulate Humanity Matters and the partners of Faithfully ASEAN and Faiths@Work programmes for your creativity, commitment, and continuing efforts to bring attention and action to our shared challenges in our region.
16. I would like to share these inspiring words from Martin Luther King Jr as a reminder for all of us: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbour will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.”.
17. With that, I wish all of you a fruitful engagement across the next four days and yet another successful Faithfully ASEAN!
18. Thank you for having me, and I wish you a fruitful session.
