In any social change that affects a particular community, we must be careful because it not only impacts that community but also society’s perception of that community.
This is not unique to the tudung issue. We can also look at how the Government views the gay rights issue, for instance. The Government did not budge on this matter.
We should not just be concerned with what we want. We should know that every community wants its rights to be met. As Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has said, we have remained a harmonious society not because every community is given its rights, but because each community has sacrificed something that is very precious to them for the sake of that harmony. This is something that we truly hold dear.
Hence, I hope that in all these matters, we must be wise. We must think long and hard, we must go with those who are learned in these matters - what is the religious issue, its impact on religion, its social impact, its impact on society and so on.
Think it over carefully because when we solve an issue, and if the issue is a complicated one, we must tread lightly.
- Masagos
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