PM Lee meets with MPs about hijab issue

SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met with Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim and other Malay People’s Action Party MPs to discuss the hijab issue today (Nov 5).

Posting on his Facebook page, Dr Yaacob said Mr Lee understood that the issue is important to many Muslims.

“PM stressed that his aim was to create an environment where Muslims and other faiths can practise their religions freely and peacefully,” said Dr Yaacob. “But he also explained why we must manage and balance the diverse needs of our multi-racial and multi-religious society. Hence the need for accommodation and compromise by all parties.”

Dr Yaacob said that constructive dialogue is the best way forward. “This is the Singapore way, and has served everyone well over the years,” he wrote.

He expressed confidence in finding practical solutions “if we continue to engage with goodwill”.

The hijab issue was first raised at a forum on race in September, when a polytechnic lecturer asked why nurses were barred from wearing the Muslim headscarf and sparked a debate on whether front-line officers should be allowed to.

Last week, Dr Yaacob commented that wearing a Muslim headscarf at the workplace would be “very problematic” for some professions that require their staff to be in uniform. He called for a respectful debate and urged the Malay-Muslim community to remain patient while he and his colleagues continued discussions with the community.