MCYS MEDIA RELEASE NO: 42/2008

DATE OF ISSUE: 19/07/2008

ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERMANENT LANDSCAPE SYMBOLISING

RELIGIOUS HARMONY IN SINGAPORE AT STAMFORD GREEN, FORT
CANNING PARK

To symbolise the harmony of different religions with nature, with one

another and with the larger Singaporean community, Senior Minister Mr Goh
Chok Tong will be the Guest of Honour at a tree-planting ceremony together
with Singapore’s religious leaders at Stamford Green, Fort Canning Park, on
Saturday 19 July 2008, 8.15 am – 10.30 am.

Senior religious leaders from various religions in Singapore including

the Baha’i Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, De Jiao, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism,
Sikhism, Taoism and Zoroastrianism will be present.

Stamford Green is the gateway to Fort Canning Park and is situated

right next to the National Museum of Singapore. The trees that will be planted
will form a permanent landscape at Stamford Green as an enduring symbol of
our history and peaceful co-existence, and a tribute to our legacy of religious
harmony.

The event is organised by the Inter-Religious Harmony Circle (IRHC),

and supported by the National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious
Harmony and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. .

In conjunction with the spirit of the event, the IRHC has produced a
storybook entitled “In Harmony with Nature”. The stories are contributed by
Singapore’s religious communities, and centre on shared value of all major
religions to care for nature. The books will be distributed to schools, libraries
and other community organisations.

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 Annex A

The Inter-Religious Harmony Circle

The Inter-Religious Harmony Circle (IRHC) is an informal network

which guides efforts to promote the Declaration on Religious Harmony and
the spirit behind the Declaration.

2 The Declaration affirms the importance of, and Singaporeans’

commitment towards, religious harmony. It is a basis for Singaporeans to
reflect on religious harmony, and what should be done to achieve it.

We, the people in Singapore, declare that religious harmony is vital for
peace, progress and prosperity in our multi-racial and multi-religious Nation.

We resolve to strengthen religious harmony through mutual tolerance,

confidence, respect, and understanding.

We shall always
Recognise the secular nature of our State,
Promote cohesion within our society,
Respect each other’s freedom of religion,
Grow our common space while respecting our diversity,
Foster inter-religious communications,

and thereby ensure that religion will not be abused to create conflict and
disharmony in Singapore.

Members of the Inter-Religious Harmony Circle

Mr Chan Soo Sen IRHC Chairman

Mr Daniel Chu
Venerable Seck Kwang Phing
Rev Father Colin Tan
Mr Lim Khay Tham
Rev (Dr) Quek Kiok Chiang
Mr Raja Ram Bawajee
Mr Rustom Ghadiali
Mr Ashvin Desai
HJ Mohd Ali Hj Atan
Mr Daljeet Singh
Mr Winson Choo Hong San
The Baha’i Community of Singapore
Singapore Buddhist Federation
Roman Catholic Church
National Council of Churches, Singapore
Singapore Council of Christian Churches
Hindu Advisory Board
Inter-Religious Organisation
Singapore Jainism Religious Society
Islamic Religious Council of Singapore,
MUIS
Sikh Advisory Board
Taoist Federation, Singapore
Mr Lee Kim Siang Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society

Annex B

The Inter Religious Harmony Circle’s Publications

The Inter Religious Harmony Circle (IRHC), since 2005 had initiated a
series of story books to allow different religious communities to share stories
that illustrate common values. Previous titles include “Colours of Harmony” in
2005, “Colours of Love” in 2006 and “A Giving Heart” in 2007. The stories in
these books revolve around love, harmony and giving, and showing how
these values can bridge the divide between human beings. “In Harmony with
Nature” is the fourth in this series of story books, teaching children to treasure,
and to be in harmony with nature. The print volume for this year is 20,000.