PM Lee Hsien Loong at Al-Muttaqin Mosque for Buka Puasa 2022

Hello everyone!

Selamat petang. Saya harap saudara saudari berada dalam keadaan sihat sejahtera. Saya amat gembira dapat bersama anda dalam majlis berbuka puasa ini. Situasi COVID-19 di Singapura semakin baik. Ianya tidak akan beransur pulih tanpa usaha dan sikap bertanggungjawab rakyat Singapura, termasuk masyarakat Islam kita.

Saya ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada masyarakat Islam kita atas segala pengorbanan and kecekalan yang ditampilkan selama dua tahun ini.

Terutama sekali, kepada kepimpinan Jawatankuasa Fatwa dan Mufti Dr Nazirudin, serta barisan asatizah yang telah memberikan bimbingan yang tepat dan sesuai untuk konteks Singapura.

Kini, lebih ramai masyarakat Islam dapat kembali ke masjid-masjid. Kegiatan seperti solat Jumaat dan Tarawih bersama dapat dijalankan hampir secara biasa. Bertahap tahap, kita menyuburkan kembali semangat persaudaraan di antara kita.

Saya harap kita dapat meneruskan amalan-amalan baik yang telah dipelajari sepanjang pandemik ini, dan memperkukuhkan lagi nilai-nilai murni kita agar dapat lebih berdaya tahan. Inilah matlamat gerakan SalamSG yang akan saya kongsi lebih lanjut dalam Bahasa Inggeris.

Good evening everybody.

I am very happy to join you in-person for Buka Puasa this evening. With our mosque leaders, with the volunteers, with the Ramadan Service Ambassadors, as well as leaders from the different faith communities. Also, a big hello to everyone joining us virtually. I can see many of you on the screen in front of me.

A Community of Resilience

First, let me thank the Muslim community for your sacrifices and understanding, and for cooperating with the authorities as we worked together to manage the pandemic.

This year’s Ramadan feels special – because for the first time since the pandemic started, we are able to resume some normalcy. The last two years have been a very challenging and difficult time for everyone. But you understood the public health challenge, and you adapted your practices to comply with the national guidelines and safe management measures.

The mosques made a huge effort to keep the virus at bay and ensure that prayers could be conducted safely. You took the opportunity to hold religious programmes and donations online, so that the community could participate actively and safely during the pandemic. I am happy the SalamSG Movement will build on this to allow more Muslims to view, participate and benefit from mosque programmes. This demonstrates clearly the community’s resilience in the face of uncertainties, and bodes well for the future.

The Importance of Faith Leaders in Strengthening Racial and Religious Harmony

Secondly, I want to thank all faith leaders for your leadership and efforts to deepen the harmony and trust amongst the different communities in Singapore. The racial and religious harmony we have is hard-earned and very precious.

So I am very glad that you are rallying together to nurture this harmony, and to contribute beyond your own faith communities. Including by celebrating each other’s faiths and festivals, just like how leaders of other faiths are joining today’s Buka Puasa with our Muslim friends.

I am happy to see our faith leaders lead their communities by example, to bring about positive change in our society, to strengthen mutual respect and understanding between different groups, and to reinforce common values across the different religions, for example, compassion and kindness. This builds a reservoir of trust and respect, which we will need to draw on, but also to continue to build on, during times of crisis.

I hope we will continue these efforts to strengthen our multi-racial and multi-religious harmony, as one cohesive and united people, so that Singapore can continue to thrive and succeed for many more years to come.

I thank all of you for joining today’s Buka Puasa. I wish all our Muslim friends Selamat Berpuasa and a blessed and meaningful Ramadan.

Thank you very much.