Majority's response to Amy Cheong episode 'speaks well of S'pore'

by Claire Huang Jingyi, Channel NewsAsia, 13 Oct 2012

Singaporeans, in particular, the Malay-Muslim community, reacted to the Amy Cheong episode in a mature, calm and collected manner, said Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing.

Mr Chan said he was proud of the majority's response, which "speaks well of the community and speaks well of Singapore".

Speaking at the 10th anniversary celebrations of Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles (IRCC), Mr Chan cited this as an example of how the public should respond when there is a crisis.

He said IRCC members are of the view that the public should not overreact.

"We should respond in a calm and justified manner so that two wrongs don't become a right. But in how we respond, it says much more about us as a people, as a society than the actual words that we may use," said Mr Chan.

He also highlighted two other points raised during the National IRCC Seminar. One was avoiding complacency as a society and as an individual.

He urged individuals to continue to learn about other races and religions so that they understand and come to respect the views of others. This, in turn, helps to avoid mistakes when one expresses his views about another race or religion.

The other point raised during the discussions was individual leadership and responsibility.

"Each and every one of us can demonstrate the kind of behaviour we want to see through our own actions and if each and everyone of us does that, then I think we have taken a step to promote the racial and religious harmony that we so want to see in our own society," said Mr Chan.

The growing popularity of social media like Facebook and Twitter also prompted a discussion on the use of such tools in engaging the community.

The minister said the consensus is that these tools are neutral platforms and it depends on how the people use such platforms to do good.

There is also a need for experienced online moderators. Mr George Huang, assistant secretary of Taman Jurong IRCC, said: "When you have a moderator online, you need to explain the rationale, justification of various different issues... As long as people go through the posts and see the justifications, people will make... judgement(s) and bring it to a more balanced view."

More than 300 took part in the seminar, organised for the last time by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. From next month, the IRCCs will come under the purview of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.