Speech by Minister Desmond Lee at the Kampong Gelam Mass Iftar on 1 April 2023
Apr 1, 2023
Mr Zaki Ma’arof, Chairman of One Kampong Gelam
Ms Denise Phua, Mayor of Central Singapore District,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction
1. A very good evening and thank you for inviting me to join you all for this mass buka puasa.
2. The time of Ramadan is a time of reflection, a time of forgiveness, a time to come together as a community. And what’s uniquely Singapore about us is that in a number of buka puasa, we open up to Singaporeans of all races and all faiths. We come together to understand the significance of Ramadan. We are appreciative of this multiracial, multicultural way of celebrating our festivities.
3. Central to Ramadan is the emphasis of giving back to society and making a difference to someone’s life, through the simple act of giving. In this regard, we are happy that tonight’s dinner is part of a community initiative to support the many communities supported by the Community Chest as well as Masjid Sultan.
4. So, I warmly welcome our friends, including those invited by MUIS, People’s Association, Community Chest, AMP, and many others. Welcome to this dinner.
Raikan Cahaya Ramadan
5. Today’s Mass Buka Puasa is part of the “Celebrating the light of Ramadan” festivities. This is thanks to the very hard work of One Kampong Gelam, supported by Masjid Sultan, Kampong Gelam Alliance, Malay Heritage Centre, the local grassroots under Mayor Denise Phua. I want to thank all of you for making this very special event, in this very special month of festivities, possible.
9. I met some of you online virtually, during the peak of Covid in 2020. We had the Emerging Stronger Conversations and you shared with us your concerns about Kampong Gelam, your ideas and you told me what you’d like to see Kampong Gelam look like after COVID-19 is over.
10. I am glad to be able to meet you in-person this year, and see the good work that has been done over the past 3 years.
Plans for Kampong Gelam
11. Indeed, we have been working very hard with the community to make sure that very important cultural and historic precincts like Kampong Gelam remain unique, vibrant and relevant for future generations.
12. The Kampong Gelam Alliance unveiled the draft Kampong Gelam Place Plan last November, and since then we have reached out to over 1,600 residents who live in Kampong Gelam, businesses, social, religious, cultural organisations, as well as members of the public. And there’s so much feedback that we’ve received, so many ideas.
13. Many we spoke to were very enthusiastic about working together on initiatives to showcase Kampong Gelam’s culture and history, and to also organise events that build on existing practices, but also bring in appropriate new ones, so that Kampong Gelam continues to appeal to every generation.
15. So we will study all the feedback, and incorporate key suggestions into the final Place Plan and we will see how we can make changes to Kampong Gelam in an appropriate way so it remains this cultural historic centre for Singapore. So I look forward to working with all of you.
16. With that, I wish you a Blessed month of Ramadan and let’s enjoy this buka puasa together. Thank you.