Officers donning religious symbols 'can affect perceptions'

SINGAPORE - If uniformed officers don religious attire or symbols like a tudung or a cross, it may affect perceptions of their impartiality, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

This is especially so if it is a dispute involving race or religion, he said at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) ministerial forum on Tuesday. He was responding to a student who asked whether a person's belief and dressing affects another if it is not imposed on the other.

Speaking days after a closed-door dialogue with Muslim community leaders, where he said the Government's position on the tudung is not static, but it cannot take actions precipitously that can have unintended consequences, Mr Lee gave an example of a Muslim policewoman mediating an argument between Chinese and Muslim neighbours when the former burns joss papers downstairs.

Problems may arise if the policewoman deems the Muslim family right and the Chinese family wrong, he said.

"In such a situation, let me ask you: would you prefer that policewoman to be wearing a uniform same like any other policewoman, or would you prefer that policewoman to be wearing a Muslim dress and identify as a Muslim?"

While the NTU student said it would not matter to her, Mr Lee said it would matter to the people arguing and "it will matter to a lot of people who are watching".

It is also not such a simple argument to make that the policewoman was making an objective, impartial judgment that had nothing to do with her religion, he added.

"Whereas if you are wearing exactly the same uniform, religion has nothing to do with it, I think that's clear," he said.

The same would apply to a police officer wearing a cross and having to mediate an argument involving Christians and another party, said Mr Lee.

"You have a race riot, you want to make absolutely sure there's no misunderstanding that the police are completely impartial," he added.

andreao@sph.com.sg

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