Tag: Thaipusam

High Court: Thaipusam Instrument Ban Legitimate

The High Court has dismissed a move by three Thaipusam participants to challenge the ban on the playing of musical instruments during the Hindu procession.

Justice Tay Yong Kwang made clear that, while the playing of instruments in the course of the procession is a religious practice protected by the Constitution, such a provision is restricted by public order concerns as provided in the same laws.

“In my judgment, the police has shown legitimate public order concerns and their measures were directed at preserving public order,” he said in judgment grounds released last week. “The risk of a disruption of public order was not unreal. The connection between the music restriction and the preservation of public order was neither illogical nor unreasonable.”

Messrs R. Vijaya Kumar, Balasubramaniam and M. Sathiamoorthy, who participated in the Thaipusam procession in February, had applied to court to lift the ban on the use of instruments – such as the urumi, a type of drum – and authorise their use at next year’s event.

The application implicated the Government’s 42-year-old policy forbidding the use of musical instruments during the foot procession, which in recent times had been modified as police authorised religious hymns to be sung throughout the procession and broadcast from public address systems at three locations, noted Justice Tay. Musical instruments were also played within the temple grounds at the start and end of the procession.

The applicants, represented by lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam, argued that their constitutional right to religious freedom had been breached by the police decision to restrict musical instruments for Thaipusam processions as this was a religious practice. He said “public order” must stem from “some real threat of violence or disturbance to public safety”.

Senior Counsel David Chong for the Attorney-General disputed the claims, arguing that the applicants had no case for the relief sought, among other things. He said the application was premature as the Hindu Endowments Board had collated feedback on potential modifications for future processions, which was expected to be discussed with the Government soon.

He explained the restrictions were meant to address the risks for communal disturbance and stressed that the potential public order issues cannot be underestimated. He pointed to the crowd build-up and congestion, given that the procession lasted more than 24 hours on a 3km route and affected major roads.

Religious “foot processions” are fundamentally different from non-religious ones as religion is a sensitive issue in Singapore’s multi-religious context, the Senior Counsel added. He noted that riots had arisen out of a religious foot procession in 1964.

Justice Tay accepted that the playing of instruments is an essential part of the procession, based on a Hindu expert’s report and the applicants’ submissions, but found it is not a universal practice. The judge also accepted that the trio had the legal standing to mount the court judicial review application.

But he found that the police had shown there were legitimate concerns based on their ground intelligence and were in a better position than the court to decide what was necessary for public order and safety. He found the police had taken a “calibrated approach”, balancing applicants’ rights against public order issues.

He also noted that Thaipusam had a religious dimension which attracted “public order considerations of a different degree and kind”, compared to the non-religious theme of the Chingay Parade and the secular nature of the St Patrick’s Day event, which the applicants had brought up.

“History and current events in Singapore and around the world give ample justification to the police to pay special attention to events involving a religious element,” said Justice Tay.

The applicants are appealing to the apex court, while the Attorney-General is also cross-appealing on the decision that the applicants had the requisite standing to mount this application, and the judge’s finding that, to some Hindus, the playing of musical instruments during the procession is part of Hindu practice.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

September 21, 2015
Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam To Defend 3 Charged In Thaipusam Case Pro Bono, Help By Donating

Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam has taken the Thaipusam case to the High Court on behalf of 3 Tamil Hindus . He has undertaken this work pro bono, ie voluntarily and without payment.

Having interacted with him over this case, I am strucked by his professionalism, dedication and vast amount of time and resources spent on this case. He has even laid down $20,000 as security deposit in order to pursue this case as required by the High Court.

We hope Singaporeans, especially the Tamil community will rally behind and support this cause as the 3 men need to raise at least $30,000 to pursue this matter .

Pls contribute here http://voicesofsgindians.blogspot.sg.

Source: Joseph Lefort

September 17, 2015
Suliyati Sufian Maryam: Lack Of Alternative Voices In Parliament, Fair Representation Of Minorities Unlikely

<suli>After the results of last night’s GE, I came back from my best friend’s wedding to witness the area around my block littered with hell notes, smoke and ashes flying into my eyes and my Chinese neighbours fervently lighting up joss sticks along almost every inch space of the grassy patches around the area. No, I wasn’t annoyed or frustrated; I thought “oh it must be the last day of the hungry ghost, that’s why they are going all out.” I didn’t feel like I should be telling anyone that they should be more considerate in their burning or that they should pick up the stray notes after they are done because I accept it as a way of living in singapore and I actually enjoy seeing this experience although it gets hot (I mean on top of the haze!) and sometimes ashes do get blown into my flat. It is part of living here and I accept it as it is.

But then I started thinking about how I had to perform my acts of worship when I was in school or when I was still working and I felt sad. I felt sad because I always had to do it in secret, as though what I was doing was a crime. My friends and I would look for corners along dusty staircases, back alleys, helping each other keep a look out for teachers or other students who might pass by. And when I began teaching at a secondary school, I had to pray in secrecy at an area where broken chairs are kept and even then, I was warned not to let anyone see me enter that place to pray. When the boss eventually found out about the prayer place though, it was forbidden to us and all of us who have been using that dirty abandoned place to pray had to look for staircases to perform our daily obligation. Yes, for those of you who dont know, Muslims HAVE to pray five times a day abd for most of us, we've been doing it like how I describe it above, like we are criminals.

And then I think of the ban on music during Thaipusam and I also felt sad for my Hindu friends and I started to think what is the rationale behind the ban? If it’s the music that’s too loud, then we should also ban music during Malay weddings and Chinese funerals cos these can get very loud too. If the govt is afraid of ppl getting too carried away by the music during thaipusam, I am sure there are 1001 ways to work around that issue because they’ve been doing for years without much incident.

When I was deciding what faculty to enrol in as I was about to enter NUS, I ruled out Nursing after Medicine (and I didnt get into Medicine) because I know nurses in Singapore cannot wear hijab but I accepted it as it is. So even though I wanted to go into healthcare, I ended up taking a basic Life Science degree instead because one option was already out for me because of what I wear on my head.

My dear friends who are part of the majority, I want you to know that I have nothing against you and am indeed happy for you that you have every opportunity to pursue your dreams or climb that social ladder as long as you work hard for it. Or that as you are burning hell notes for youtlr ancestors, you dont have to do it like a thief and make sure no one sees you doing it. But pls pls don;t let your experience of life here be your only measurement of life for others who are not part of that majority. Don’t say “where got unfair? If you work hard sure can get it what. Govt doesnt discriminate against religion also, so what are you talking about?” because you don’t experience life here as a minority, and with an obligation that makes you stand out (im talking about the hijab). Only those of us who have been dealing with it on a daily basis know how difficult it can get at times and even then, we;ve been very tolerant about our situation for years and years and how can we know this? Despite having our basic right to practise our religion without being discrimated against violated, you dont hear of riots by Muslims do you? Instead we have been engaging the govt in diplomatic ways thru petitions and dialogue sessions. So pls dont tell us things like we need to do more to assimilate – we have been assimilating for as long as we can remember despite the restrictions placed on us.

So back to the GE story, I was predicting PAP to win and I am happy that they have won because I do think they are strong and capable of leading singaporeans. But when you think of this country declaring itself as a democratic country and you see 83 out of 89 seats in govt occupied by one party, you must think to uourself, where is the democracy in that? Where is the chance for alternative views to be heard? 6 voices out of 89 will be drowned out, so how can issues that the incumbent party have for years dodged get addressed properly without being shot down as asking for more privileges?

So i hope you can understand our frustrations when we see our hopes for alternative voices get voted against by ppl spreading fears of “freak elections”, or that the GE was held immediately after the ruling party has pampered its citizens with money and SG50 celebrations. It’s not that we want to see the PAP toppled; it’s that they are only going to have their policies checked against by 6 voices outof 89. There is no way that there will be fair representation for us minorities with that kind of statistics.

Source: Suliyati Sufian Maryam

September 14, 2015
Police Report Lodged Against Dr Lam Pin Min

Local film-maker and activist, Martyn See has filed a police report against Minister of State for Health and Member of Parliament of Seng Kang West SMC, Lam Pin Min over his facebook posting on the Thaipusam incident in February.

Mr See in his police report, filed a complaint against Dr Lam for offences committed under the Sedition Act (Chapter 290) and sub judice contempt of court.

Dr Lam in his facebook posting wrote, “An example of how alcohol intoxication can cause rowdiness and public nuisance.”

The incident which Dr lam commented on, took place during the Thaipusam festival on 3 February, Tuesday.

It was said that police officers had pulled urumi drumers for a kavadi carrier into an alley after playing musical instruments despite being disallowed. This subsequently erupted into a scuffle between the police and the men who hired the drummers.

3 men are now accused of using vulgarities and injuring one police officer.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) had initially issued a statement saying, “All three men were believed to have been drinking earlier as they smelt strongly of alcohol.” but has since stopped referring to this allegation.

The article, “What really happened at the Thaipusam scuffle?” by Lovely Singapore which Dr Lam had linked to, has also since been deleted.

However, Dr Lam’s comment on his public facebook fanpage still remains.

Mr See claims that Dr Lam’s comment has distorted an allegation by the SPF into a statement of fact. By doing so, he has :

1. Incited enmity towards the Hindu community by stating as fact that devotees were intoxicated while participating in the holy festival of Thaipusam.

2. Caused ill-will and hostility between different races and communities. The responses on his facebook page show overwhelming hostility to his remark. Yet, he has allowed his offending words to remain online.

3. Committed sub judice contempt of court by risking prejudice which may affect the final determination of the ongoing case against Ramachandra Chandramohan, Jaya Kumar Krishnasamy and Gunasegaran Rajendran, who are due to undergo trial for alleged disorderly behaviour. The three men were charged in court on 7 February.

TOC has sought the comments of Dr Lam and will include them when he replies.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

February 26, 2015
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

February 14, 2015