Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs has denied the country’s Public Servants make policy decisions that favour particular religious groups.
The Minister, K. Shanmugam (pictured) was responding in Parliament to Leader of the Opposition, Pritam Singh who had broached the possibility of religious bias among senior Public Servants.
Mr Shanmugam stressed that neutrality and fairness were essential, otherwise the Government would quickly lose the trust of the people.
“If there is evidence of such a lack of integrity among current senior Civil Servants, that should be stated and dealt with,” Mr Shanmugam said.
Mr Singh asked about the risk of Government policy being subtly influenced by religious people who were not necessarily radical.
“Is there a danger in Singapore that laws and policies could be tilted towards the dominant religious beliefs of senior Civil Servants or people of influence?” Mr Singh asked
Mr Shanmugam said leaving the public with that impression about current top Public Servants would be seriously wrong.
“If the statement was meant only to cover a future possibility, without any hint or suggestion of a lack of integrity among current top Civil Servants, then that should have been made crystal clear,” he said.
The Minister said that while “not everyone is, or can be expected to be, a saint” he believed Singapore’s current top Public Servants had dedicated their lives to public service “loyally and faithfully”.
Singapore, 3 March 2021
