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Tag: HEB

  • Government Agrees To HEB Recommendations For Thaipusam

    Government Agrees To HEB Recommendations For Thaipusam

    The Government has agreed to most of the recommendations by the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) on Thaipusam, which includes reinforcing the ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol during the annual procession.

    More religious music for devotees in the form of “music points” at seven locations on the Thaipusam route will also be added, said the HEB in a press release on Wednesday (Dec 2).

    The third recommendation, which calls for the improvement of the movement and flow of devotees along the route, will allow for the last kavadi – intricate structures of steel and wood incorporating body piercings – to leave the Sri Srinivasa Perumal temple at 7pm.

    These come after HEB completed a public feedback exercise – conducted over 10 sessions with more than 100 participants – on the religious festival.

    HEB said it had taken “serious note” of the Government’s view that the primary concern was to tackle disorderly behaviour  that occurred during the procession earlier this year.

    The Feb 4 procession was marred by the arrest of three Singaporean men who were involved in a scuffle with police officers along Desker Road.

    The trio were said to have hurled vulgarities at officers and injured one of them. They were later charged for disorderly behaviour and attacking police officers.

    They were allegedly part of a group which hired drummers in the procession, with the altercation arising when they were told by the police to stop playing.

    The incident, which was further inflamed by untrue remarks spread on social media, sparked a public outcry over the banning of music at Thaipusam, and led to Law Minister K. Shanmugam addressing the issue.

    In a separate statement, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said its priority was to ensure public safety and maintain law and order.

    It added that the foot procession “presents unique challenges in maintaining law and order”, as it draws around 10,000 devotees who walk more than 3km through the heart of Singapore over 26 hours. Thousands of supporters and onlookers also throng the route.

    “The Police’s approach is to strike a balance between facilitating the procession and ensuring law and order,” said the statement.

    “The actions of a few individuals can easily disrupt the event and risk the safety of other devotees and the public.”

    Besides agreeing to the seven additional music points, which include four music transmission points and three live music instrument points, the SPF is also introducing resting bays and a dedicated lane for women and children devotees along Clemenceau Avenue.

    HEB added in its press release: “The vast majority of participants are law-abiding and fulfil their religious obligations in an orderly manner. It is a small minority who seem to cause disturbance.

    “Rules are therefore needed to ensure that the majority enjoy a safe and orderly Thaipusam.”

    Later this month, HEB will start briefing participants of next year’s Thaipusam, which takes place on Jan 24.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Voice Of One Meets Hindu Endowment Board For Showdown

    Voice Of One Meets Hindu Endowment Board For Showdown

    The ‘Voice of One’ with a team of 6 spokespersons from the public attended the meeting with HEB on 6 Mar 2015 from 11:30 am to 13:30 pm .The main agenda of ‘Voice of One’ (VOO) for this meeting is to feedback the voices of many with regards to the restrictions imposed on the musical instruments to be played during Thaipusam procession in Singapore. Along with this, few other issues pertaining to Thaipusam was raised by VOO. The following are the main questions and feedbacks by VOO to HEB:

    1. The condition by HEB for Kavadi bearers to leave the temple by 5pm.

    2. The shortening of this time frame; from 7pm to 6pm and now to 5pm.

    3. The quota being placed for devotees to participate while it deprives others to participate and fulfil their vows.

    4. The condition on Kavadi participants to stop playing music at the temple by 3pm.

    5. The ambiguity in HEB’s guidelines for Thaipusam 2015, clause number 3 with regards to the restrictions imposed on singing and music.

    6. The underlying reasons for the banning of musical instruments.

    7. The lack of music support by HEB on the roads during the procession.

    8. The significance of music throughout the entire procession.

    9. To conduct research and survey before making certain important decisions that can affect the devotees.

    10. To uplift restrictions on musical instruments such as portable radios so that everyone has the opportunity to have music on equal footing.

    11. To better train and counsel HEB volunteers and members to improve their standards in managing the crowds.

    12. To stop stereotyping of Indians with rowdyism by using that as a reason for many of their rules and regulations.

    13. To support and encourage religious tolerance by relaxing their rules.

    14. To advocate better for the Hindu community by considering feedback from participants

    We will soon update the responses from HEB after finalizing our minutes. Stay tuned for more updates

    Regards
    Voice of ONE

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com

  • Thaipusam Shows Sensitivities Of Race And Religious Issues Remain

    Thaipusam Shows Sensitivities Of Race And Religious Issues Remain

    There have been recent instances where individuals had refused to heed attempts by police officers to keep the peace during the Thaipusam foot procession, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said today (Feb 13), in setting out why it imposes restrictions, including on the playing of musical instruments, for the religious event.

    In 2013, nine people were arrested after they ignored advice to stop shouting secret society slogans and playing drums within the procession route, it said in a press statement. This year, one person was arrested for possessing offensive weapons, apart from the three men who are being investigated for disorderly behaviour and assaulting a police officer, it added.

    In a separate statement, the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) also said it had received complaints over the years of “disamenities and disorderly behaviour that impede the progress of devotees in the procession and detract from the spiritual experience”.

    The arrests at the Thaipusam procession this year have been in the spotlight recently, with a woman accusing police officers of pushing her at the event and a petition being started for the Hindu festival to be reinstated as a public holiday. The petition has garnered more than 19,500 signatures.

    Cabinet ministers have come out to speak on the matter, with Second Home Affairs Minister S Iswaran urging calm over the incident, and Law and Foreign Minister K Shanmugam saying Hindus are given a special privilege not enjoyed by others, instead of being discriminated against.

    Today, the MHA said the reactions to the incident in this year’s Thaipusam “show that race and religion continue to be sensitive issues”.

    Noting that there have been misrepresentations and rumours circulating around relating to the Thaipusam procession, the MHA said today: “If such activities are deemed to incite enmity between different communities and races, the police will investigate and take firm action against anyone responsible for such offences.”

    Investigations are ongoing on allegations that have surfaced after the arrests this year and on the woman’s allegation, it added.

    The HEB also said it did not believe conditions for Thaipusam need to be tightened and that it had never asked the authorities to do so, contrary to misperception by some.

    Separately, the Manpower Ministry said any move to reinstate any one festival as a public holiday will invite competing claims.

    “Balancing the wishes of each community will not be a simple matter,” said its divisional director of workplace policy and strategy division Alvin Lim.

    Although it is “impractical” to make all important festivals of all faiths public holidays, he encouraged employers to show understanding and flexibility in allowing workers to observe their respective religious festivals.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • K Shanmugam: Hindu Endowment Board Should Find Out Wishes Of The People

    K Shanmugam: Hindu Endowment Board Should Find Out Wishes Of The People

    Calls for musical accompaniment at the Thaipusam festival should be looked into, said Minister for Law K Shanmugam, speaking at the recording of MediaCorp’s Tamil current affairs programme Ethiroli.

    “We should find out the wishes of the people. The Hindu Endowments Board will see how we can fulfil their wishes. They have to consult the people and see how to proceed,” said Mr Shanmugam.

    Edited excerpts from the interview which will be aired on Wednesday at Feb 11, 9pm on Vasantham:

    Foot processions have been banned since 1964, following riots. But the Hindu festivals Thaipusam, Panguni Uthiram and Firewalking have been exempted from this ban. Can you explain this?

    Following the racial riots in 1964, it was thought that there should be no religious foot processions in a multi-racial, multi-religious society like ours. Hence a law was enacted to ban all religious foot processions.

    However, Hindus were given an exemption, and since 1964 the government has allowed street processions during three Hindu festivals – Thaipusam, Thimithi and Panguni Uthiram.

    Others have asked for similar permission for processions. The Catholics have asked. The Chinese have asked. We’ve received applications asking permission for processions during Prophet Mohammed’s birthday. The Government, the police have rejected these applications citing the ban. Only Hindus have been given permission.

    At the same time, it’s fair that everyone expects the Hindus to conduct these foot processions in an orderly manner. We should find out the wishes of the people. The Hindu Endowments Board will see how we can fulfil their wishes. They have to consult the people and see how to proceed. The police have to agree to this.

    Musical instruments were allowed during Thaipusam several years ago. Why not now? Can this rule be relaxed?

    The ban on playing music during processions was imposed 42 years ago in 1973. Sometimes there has been music. They may not have enforced the rule very strictly. In some years, they would have enforced it strictly. But the ban has been there since 1973.

    Over the last few years there has been a gradual relaxation of the restrictions. The Hindu Endowments Board relaxed some of the restrictions within the temple premises. And outside the temple, the police also have been assisting in whatever ways they can.

    At the same time it is true that many believe that our Kavadi bearers should have music accompaniment. So it’s fair that many ask why music accompaniment is being banned. It’s something that we have to look into.

    These restrictions are in place because there are concerns that in a multi-racial society, the lack of restrictions may lead to problems. In fact these restrictions are a result of incidents in the past. If we are confident that they will not happen again, if we are able to assess it confidently, then we should say it. The Hindu Endowments Board should consult with the people. It should then discuss with police.

    Catch the full interview on Ethiroli at Feb 11, 9pm, on Vasantham.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com