Current Events
Lee Kuan Yew Inaugurates Renovated Singapore Gurdwara
by SHEELA NARAYANAN
More than 3,000 Sikhs welcomed Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew - who is widely acclaimed as the architect-statesman who built modern Singapore - to the newly-renovated Bhai Maharaj Singh Memorial Gurdwara in Bukit Merah, Singapore, on July 3, 2010.
The event also marked 160 years since the arrival of the first Sikh, the anti-colonial revolutionary Bhai Maharaj Singh, who was exiled to Singapore in 1850. The gurdwara honours his memory.
In his speech, Lee Kuan Yew, who wore a white turban and officially opened the renovated gurdwara, spoke of how the Sikh community maintained its distinct cultural and religious identity through the gurdwaras, clubs and societies, adding to Singapore's cultural richness in the process. He also commended them for setting up institutions such as the Sikh Welfare Council and the Singapore Sikh Education Foundation, formed after Punjabi was offered as a mother tongue language in 1989.
Pointing to prominent members of the community in the nation's government and judiciary department, he said that Sikhs in Singapore had done well.
"We are even-handed to all communities to practise their religions, their traditions and their cultures," he added.
The Central Sikh Gurdwara Board's president, Sardar Karpal Singh Mehli praised Mr. Lee for his "forward looking meritocratic policies" which "provided a level playing field to the minorities in Singapore".
Lee also said that there was a need to continue attracting foreign talent to maintain Singapore's competitive edge and keep its population growing.
While noting that the Government would "give priority to citizens", he said that without immigrants, Singapore's economy would "gradually stagnate and our population will age and decline".
After his speech, he was presented with a kirpan - one of the five articles of the Sikh faith - by prominent Sikh businessman, Sardar Kartar Singh Thakral. The kirpan had been brought from Punjab for the occasion.
The renovation of the Bhai Maharaj Singh Memorial Gurdwara, also known as the Gurdwara Sahib Silat Road or more popularly as the Silat Road Gurdwara, is part of the $3.8 million upgrading project that includes the Central Gurdwara on Towner Road. The upgrades at the Silat Gurdwara included expanding the memorial hall to accommodate a larger congregation.
[Courtesy: One Asia]
July 10, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Irvinder Singh Babra (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), July 10, 2010, 4:10 PM.
Shabaash, Singho, in Singapore, and to get high praise from Lee Kuan Yew means you are doing something right and righteous.