What happened to the demos?

Feb 6 The recent controversy over the imposition of a ban over non-halal food in Boon Lay Garden Primary school strike a deep chord within me and made me feel compelled speak out. First, the religion issue. The principal unilaterally imposed a rule on the school that infringed on the state constitution that calls for a multi (ethnic, religion, racial.....) society. His draconic rule banning non-halal food is totally unacceptable in such a diverse scociety. I understand the necessity for Muslim students to consume only halal food and their difficulty of having more choices and more varied range of halal food. However, I do not see the purpose of banning non-halal food in a cantten served by only halal-certified stalls. Secondly, a principal who had the audacity to impose such a insensitive rule on the whole school should be investigated his level of understanding of the role that religion plays in daily life and be counselled accordingly. That a highly educated person can still be insensitive to the needs of other people shows that academic education has no correlation that a person's character can be and the possibility of a person losing touch with reality once he is in a positon of power. This bring me to the last point of the abuse of power. I assume that the since Mr Wan Imran Woojdy's rule was enforced by his subbordinates, namely teachers and school administators, the school staff supported him, overtly or tacitly. Of course not! The school staff may be gossiping amongst themselves, grumbling and complaining, but finally play along with the new rule and not take any real actions to register their displeasure with the rule. They had no sense to oppose the principal simply because of his authority. But the moment that the right to authority clashes with the right to eat non-halal food, there is room for concrete steps to be taken to oppose the authority. I'm sure that this situation is familiar to many Singaporeans: remain passive when their own values and principles are violated. Some Singaporeans however resort to the higher-ups to resolve the conflict. Normally, this course of action should be recommemded as it is the least disruptive and most respectful. However in times of crisis or when the rot reaches the top, this becomes a real problem: when a highly placed individual abuses his power as seen in the NKF scandal, the fallout is enormous. This weakness is one that can bring Singapore to ruins if ever a rogue goverment comes to the fore, as feared by MM Lee. If Singaporeans are educated but meek, it would be a real shame that their potential would never be realised and they would forever remain under someone else's shadow and be subjected to their whims. This fundamental faultline in the Singaporean psych must be corrected if Singpapore is to stand tall among the giants. Of course I am refering to products of the rote learning education system in Singapore. Never be boxed in your thinking, think outside the box, as often urged on by our teachers and political leaders. Do what is appropiate and act according the principles of humanity, both yours and others around you. Then Singapore can sooner be more cultured like Italy and Austria. (From The Straits Times: Feb 6, 2008)
MOE LAYS OUT POSITION AFTER BOON LAY SCHOOL CONTROVERSY All schools must have mix of halal and non-halal food
School apologises while ministry reiterates need to maintain common space for interaction
By Sandra Davie, Education Correspondent
THE Education Ministry wants all schools to make sure their canteens provide a mix of halal and non-halal food suitable for children of all religions. It made this clear yesterday, a day after news broke about a primary school which banned pupils from eating non-halal food in its canteen. On learning of this on Monday, the ministry said that Boon Lay Garden Primary had made a mistake. Yesterday, a ministry spokesman said the school 'will ensure that there will soon be a mix of halal and non-halal food items in its canteen'. A few schools, including Boon Lay Garden Primary, have only halal-certified canteen stalls, which means all serve food suitable for Muslims even though the meals may be prepared Chinese, Indian or Western style. The decision to have all of Boon Lay Garden's canteen stalls halal-certified was made by the school's previous principal, Mrs Florence Lim, in 2004. FEELING AT EASE 'My seven-year-old daughter has Indian and Malay friends, and I want her to feel free about eating...and playing with them.' ... more SENDING WRONG SIGNALS Mr Rhazaly Noentil, a veteran mosque leader at Muis, said moves such as those made by the school would make non-Muslims think Muslims are not accommodating towards others. But the controversy arose after its current principal, Mr Wan Imran Woojdy, wrote to his pupils' parents last Friday informing them that only halal food - suitable for consumption by Muslims - would be allowed in the canteen. School staff also conducted checks to make sure pupils did not have non-halal food in their lunch boxes. Some non-Muslim parents upset by the rule told The Straits Times that while they did not mind that all the food stalls were halal, they felt it discriminatory to ban non-halal food. Yesterday, parents received another letter from the school, this time apologising for the error and saying the children were free to bring and eat non-halal food. The school also said it was making arrangements to provide both halal and non-halal food in its canteen. About 20 per cent of its 1,700 pupils are Muslims. The ministry spokesman said that schools will continue to educate children to be sensitive to the different races and cultures here. Schools have been emphasising this by creating opportunities for meaningful interaction among students of different races in both the formal and non-formal curriculum. The spokesman added that it was important to 'maintain the common space where our students from all communities grow up together and build bonds of friendship'. Parents interviewed by The Straits Times yesterday said they were glad the ban was lifted. Mother of three Aileen Cheng, 40, said: 'My seven-year-old daughter has Indian and Malay friends, and I want her to feel free about eating with them and playing with them. 'Banning non-halal food and sectioning off a part of the canteen are not going to encourage that.' Several Muslim leaders interviewed yesterday also felt that Boon Lay Garden's mistake in declaring its canteen a 'halal zone' had set back efforts to get people of different religions to understand one another's beliefs. Mr Rhazaly Noentil, a veteran mosque leader at the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), said such moves only left non-Muslims thinking that Muslims are not accommodating towards others. The Muslim leaders interviewed also said Muslims are free to eat with non-Muslims as long as the Muslims consume halal food.