The Sikh story is not just about one community, but highlights how one community retains its heritage and culture, while contributing to Singapore, says Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
05 Jul 2015 - SINGAPORE: The Sikh community may be small in Singapore, but it stands tall in many areas. These include business, the army and police, and in professions such as law, politics and even sports, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Saturday (Jul 4).
Speaking at an inaugural festival to honour the legacy of Sikh Saint-Soldier Bhai Maharaj Singh, Mr Tharman said that the Sikh story is not just about one community, but highlights how one community retains its heritage and culture, while contributing to Singapore.
To strengthen national identity, Mr Tharman said it is important for all Singaporeans to interact more deeply with the various communities.
He said: “It’s about each of us as Singaporeans taking great pride in diversity, and having an interest in each other’s heritage - not just accommodating each other which is itself an achievement because it’s not common internationally, but going beyond that to take real pride in each other's heritage and seeing that as part of our identity too.
“And that is something which cannot be done in many countries, but it can be done in Singapore - a deep interaction as we grow up and a sense of pride we each take in each other's cultures besides a reverence for our own, so that our collective Singapore identity becomes even stronger.”
- CNA/xk