Bukit Batok temples keep tentage erected for Muslim congregants to pray during Hari Raya Haji
Community collaboration on sharing of tentage earns praise from Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai
By Toh Ting Wei, The Straits Times, 25 Aug 2018
A collaboration between two Taoist temples, a mosque, two tentage companies and a grassroots leader resulted in around 1,000 Muslim congregants having a sheltered area for Hari Raya Haji prayers on Wednesday.
The collaboration was first brought to light in a Facebook post by Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai, who posted a photo of a tentage erected at Block 630 in Bukit Batok.
"Even though it rained heavily, our Muslim friends were able to complete their prayers," wrote Mr Murali. "A great example of multi-religious cooperation in Bukit Batok!"
His post has since attracted more than 2,000 reactions and almost 600 shares.
The Muslim community was celebrating Hari Raya Haji, also known as Eid al-Adha or the festival of sacrifice. It marks the end of the haj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Mr Murali told The Straits Times that the congregants would have had to head to the nearby Masjid Ar-Raudhah mosque to conduct the prayers had the tentage not been erected. But due to limited space in the mosque, this would have resulted in a cramped situation, he said. The mosque is located about 1km away from where the tentage was set up.
It all began with Mr Lim Siong, a volunteer with the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles, attending a Hungry Ghost Festival event by the Lian Sheng Tan temple last Saturday.
The original plan was for the temple to take down its tentage by Monday for another temple, Shan Fu Gong, to set up a bigger one on Thursday. As Mr Lim knew the Muslim congregants needed a bigger space to pray on Wednesday, he liaised with leaders at both temples to see if an arrangement could be reached to keep it up throughout the week.
Mr Lim, 70, said in Mandarin: "I realised the weather forecast was not good for the week, so I was worried about the Hari Raya Haji event on Wednesday, because I knew that about 1,000 people would be attending. I asked the temples and the tentage companies for help on this and they were very agreeable about it."
Community collaboration on sharing of tentage earns praise from Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai
By Toh Ting Wei, The Straits Times, 25 Aug 2018
The collaboration was first brought to light in a Facebook post by Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai, who posted a photo of a tentage erected at Block 630 in Bukit Batok.
"Even though it rained heavily, our Muslim friends were able to complete their prayers," wrote Mr Murali. "A great example of multi-religious cooperation in Bukit Batok!"
His post has since attracted more than 2,000 reactions and almost 600 shares.
The Muslim community was celebrating Hari Raya Haji, also known as Eid al-Adha or the festival of sacrifice. It marks the end of the haj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Mr Murali told The Straits Times that the congregants would have had to head to the nearby Masjid Ar-Raudhah mosque to conduct the prayers had the tentage not been erected. But due to limited space in the mosque, this would have resulted in a cramped situation, he said. The mosque is located about 1km away from where the tentage was set up.
It all began with Mr Lim Siong, a volunteer with the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles, attending a Hungry Ghost Festival event by the Lian Sheng Tan temple last Saturday.
The original plan was for the temple to take down its tentage by Monday for another temple, Shan Fu Gong, to set up a bigger one on Thursday. As Mr Lim knew the Muslim congregants needed a bigger space to pray on Wednesday, he liaised with leaders at both temples to see if an arrangement could be reached to keep it up throughout the week.
Mr Lim, 70, said in Mandarin: "I realised the weather forecast was not good for the week, so I was worried about the Hari Raya Haji event on Wednesday, because I knew that about 1,000 people would be attending. I asked the temples and the tentage companies for help on this and they were very agreeable about it."
Mr Tan Boon Chin, 57, one of the leaders at the Shan Fu Gong temple, said the temple had contacted their tentage supplier, Hup Heng Tentage, about the arrangement, and the company immediately agreed to the request.
"Singapore's most important asset is religious harmony, and as long as there is harmony, there is peace," said Mr Tan.
Mr Adam Ng, manager of Hup Heng Tentage, told ST that his company did not have issues with letting the Muslim congregants use its tentage for free. During the Hungry Ghost Festival, the company charges around $1,000 for a day's usage of the tentage. However, Mr Ng did not give much thought to that.
"This doesn't happen very often, so as long as all sides are okay and everything is coordinated, it's fine," he said in Mandarin.
Additional reporting by Timothy Goh
Mr Adam Ng, manager of Hup Heng Tentage, told ST that his company did not have issues with letting the Muslim congregants use its tentage for free. During the Hungry Ghost Festival, the company charges around $1,000 for a day's usage of the tentage. However, Mr Ng did not give much thought to that.
"This doesn't happen very often, so as long as all sides are okay and everything is coordinated, it's fine," he said in Mandarin.
Additional reporting by Timothy Goh
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