Actions by organisers and blogger are "disrespectful" of Archbishop: MHA
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a statement in response to
media queries on Archbishop Nicholas Chia's comments on a blog post
written by Mr Alex Au. Mr Au, in his post published on Tuesday, had
suggested that the Archbishop was pressured by the Government into
retracting a supportive letter that he had sent to organisers of a rally
against the Internal Security Act.
Here is the MHA's full statement on Archbishop Chia's comments:
"The Government values its long-standing relationship with the Catholic
Church and the Catholic community in Singapore, and deeply appreciates
Archbishop Nicholas Chia's many contributions to religious harmony in
Singapore.
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Archbishop slams Alex Au, anti-ISA rally organisers
The head of the Catholic Church here has criticised a blogger and the
organisers of a rally against the Internal Security Act (ISA) over a
blog post which suggested that he was pressured by the Government into
retracting a letter he had sent expressing support for the event.
The flap arose from Mr Alex Au's lengthy critique on his blog - posted
on Tuesday - of what he described as the Government's "arm-twisting" of
Archbishop Nicholas Chia.
Mr Au wrote that based on "second-hand" accounts, Archbishop Chia had
sent a "warmly-worded" letter to the event organisers - civil society
groups Function 8 and Maruah - only to later send a second letter to
withdraw his statements, purportedly after pressure from the Government.
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Function 8 calls on Archbishop to publish letters
Function 8, one of the organisers of the rally against the Internal
Security Act, has issued a press statement in response to Archbishop
Nicholas Chia's comments on a blog post written by Mr Alex Au. Mr Au, in
his post published on Tuesday, had suggested that the Archbishop was
pressured by the Government into retracting a letter he had sent to the
rally organisers expressing his support.
Here is Function 8's press statement in full:
"We are deeply saddened by the comments of Archbishop Nicholas Chia
reported in The Straits Times of 20th September 2012. He made three
unsubstantiated remarks:
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Civil society has been "vilified" in Archbishop's remarks: MARUAH
MARUAH, one of the organisers of the rally against the Internal
Security Act, has issued a statement in response to Archbishop Nicholas
Chia's comments on a blog post written by Mr Alex Au. Mr Au, in his post
published on Tuesday, had suggested that the Archbishop was pressured
by the Government into retracting a letter he had sent to the rally
organisers expressing his support.
Here is MARUAH's press statement in full:
"MARUAH, a human rights NGO, is a partner with Function 8, in particular
for the June 2nd 2012 event to mark the 25th Anniversary of the alleged
Marxist Conspiracy. MARUAH's position is that it is timely for a
Commission of Inquiry to be set up to review the detentions under
Operation Spectrum.
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Archbishop Nicholas Chia responds to Au's blog post
The head of the Catholic Church in Singapore, Archbishop Nicholas Chia, has responded to a blog post suggesting he was pressured into retracting a letter he had sent in support of a rally against the Internal Security Act. Blogger Mr Alex Au, in his post published on Tuesday, claimed that Archbishop Chia first sent a "warmly-worded" letter to rally organisers Function 8 and Maruah, but later, under pressure from the Government, sent them another letter to retract his original letter.
The statement, which TODAY obtained, did not address the allegation made by Mr Au, that Archbishop Chia's first letter was unsolicited, nor did it reveal the contents of both letters.
Here is the press statement from the Archbishop in full:
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Understanding rage, and its antidote
Just days ago, I was asked over a dinner conversation with several
interfaith practitioners: "Why are Muslims such an angry people?" The
riots over the film Innocence of Muslims was certainly on their minds.
It took me a while to respond.
First, there is an unstated presumption that most, if not all, Muslims are prone to anger.
Second, a string of incidents from recent decades seems to suggest
that any form of provocation to the Muslim faith is sure to lead to
riots and vengeful killings across the Muslim world.
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S'pore Govt asks Google to restrict access to anti-Islam film
The Government has requested for Internet search engine Google to
restrict access to the YouTube video clip "Innocence of Muslims" in
Singapore.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said today
that "in view of security concerns that have arisen following the
release of the film", it took the "pre-emptive measure of asking MDA
(Media Development Authority) to make the request to Google to block
online access to the film to prevent similar violent incidents from
taking place here".
Since its release, the controversial
anti-Islam film has sparked off violent protests and riots that resulted
in deaths and injuries in many parts of the world, including several
countries in the region
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High Court rejects application for open trial on S'pore's S$4.9b loan to IMF
The High Court has rejected Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam's application for an
open trial on the legality of Singapore's US$4 billion (S$4.9 billion)
loan to the International Monetary Fund.
Mr Jeyaretnam's
lawyer Louis Joseph told reporters that Justice Tan Lee Meng, who heard
the trial in chambers today, said matters that were pure legal issues
are usually heard in chambers.
However, Mr Jeyaretnam's application to sit in the chambers hearing was granted.
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Committee leading national conversation holds first meeting
Instead of papers and presentations, the "Our Singapore" committee
started its first meeting with scissors, magazine tear-outs and colour
pencils.
Using the materials given, the 26-member
committee chaired by Education Minister Heng Swee Keat created mock-up
newspapers depicting their ideal Singapore in 2030.
Describing the meeting in a Facebook post yesterday, Mr Heng said: "We
were wearing many different hats - as parents, children, students and
working adults. We raised different and sometimes conflicting ideas of
how we would like Singapore to be like."
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MediaCorp presents Mandarin forum "A Conversation with PM Lee"
MediaCorp is presenting a Mandarin forum on Singapore's future, "A Conversation with PM Lee".
Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be joined by Acting Minister for
Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing, Minister of
State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo and Senior Parliamentary
Secretary for Education and Law Sim Ann.
This programme comes a
week after a similar forum conducted in English on Channel NewsAsia to
meet people from all walks of life to discuss the nation's future.
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