Source : Straits Times - 23 Sep 2008
I REFER to the article ‘Church pumps in $220m more’ last Tuesday.
I question the appropriateness of awarding a civic and cultural project to a religious group.
JTC, in a reply to me when the news was first revealed that the site will be developed via a joint venture between New Creation Church and CapitaLand, stated that a church will not be allowed to be built in One-North and that the site has been zoned for civic and cultural uses.
However, it was reported that the church will use the building to hold its services. Since the building’s primary purpose is for civic and cultural events, will the religious services create barriers to the holding of such events?
Moreover, the church had revealed that it plans to hold its services on Sunday, which is a highly probable day for civic and cultural events to be held. Will religion be in the priority queue?
In multi-religious Singapore, it is very common to see different religious groups using the same facilities for their own events. One such example is the Singapore Expo, which has been utilised by many different religious groups. Singapore Expo is managed by a neutral party, which will not hesitate to allow its halls to be used by the different religious groups.
I am concerned that the building will be allowed to be used only by the church, as it is the main developer, and other faiths will be rejected from holding their religious or non-religious events there. As a civic and cultural centre, it is very important to allow the building to be used by all Singaporeans and not just a certain religious group.
I hope that the plans for the complex will be reviewed again and that it will be a complex for all Singaporeans, regardless of affiliation.
Lester Lam
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