Celebrating 75 Years of Sikh Advisory Board: Raising Awareness and Honoring Legacy
The Sikh Advisory Board marks its 75th anniversary, aiming to increase awareness within the Sikh community and honor the contributions of past leaders. The historical background reveals the evolution of the SAB and its significance in providing assistance to the community. Recognizing the importance of educating stakeholders on Sikh traditions, the SAB continues to play a pivotal role with the support of dedicated individuals.
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Opening Speech by Mr Malminderjit Singh Chairman,Sikh AdvisoryBoard SAB 75thAnniversaryCelebrations Mr Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Ministerand Ministerfor Finance Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Culture, Community& Youth and Trade & Industry Mr Pan Kin Keong, Perm Sec, MHA Ms Liew Wei Li, DG of Education Ms Shie Yong Lee, Commissionerof Prisons Mr Jimmy Toh,CEO of PA Prof Tan Tai Yong, President, SUSS CommunityLeaders, DistinguishedGuests and Friends Background 1. It gives me great pleasure to be here today, on behalf of the SAB to welcome you to this momentousoccasion. 2. When the SAB team met last year to discuss this milestone we asked ourselves why celebrating the 75 years should matter? and if it did how should we markthis occasion? 3. After all, the SAB has always operated in the background of the Sikh community. A little bit of soul searching never hurts and in doing so we arrived at what appeared to us to be sensible and important reasons fourof them to be exact - to undertake this exercise.
Raising Awarenesswithin Sikh Community 4. The first was the need to increase awareness about the SAB within the Sikh community. 5. Unless you are associated with a Sikh organisation, I dare say that other members of the community may have little or no knowledge and understandingof the SAB, its role and what it stands for. 6. And that is unsurprising given the low profile of the organisation and the manner in which it exists. With no permanent office, no full-time staff and no resources of our own, the SAB has originally been set up as purely an advisoryboard. 7. But that hasn't stopped the SAB from making a difference as is evident from the tribute video we saw earlier. Past SAB teams have certainly worked hard for the community and the nation. And that is why we are gratefulto have some of our previous Board memberswith us today. 8. A special mention to four outstandingindividuals former SAB Chairmen Mr Bhajan Singh, Mr Harmit Singh, Mr Jarmal Singh and Mr Surjit Singh for their tireless and exemplary leadership of the SAB and the community in the past. Please join me in applauding them. 9. To be honest, some of the depth and extent of our predecessors contributions was also unknown to me. On a personal note, the exercise
offindingoutabouttheSABshistory andevolution wasvery enrichingas it gave me a greater perspective of the work we do. A few things stood out for me. 10.As you heard from Prof Tan in the video earlier, the colonial government set up the SAB a fewmonths after the Indian Mutinyof 1915 in Singapore. It is also unsurprising then that the highest-ranking Sikh police officer of that time was traditionally appointed the Chairman of the SAB. In some years where there was no suitable Sikh available, the Inspector-General of the police,an Englishman,would be appointed chairperson. 11.IamgladthattherequirementofapolicemantochairtheSABisnolonger applicable I would probably not have qualified. 12.So why is it important that we create an awareness of the SAB in the community? As you would have seen from the explanatory video just before this, there are many instances where Sikhs here need assistance tohelp themeducateother stakeholdersofouruniquereligioustraditions and values. Often, they don t know who to go to for such assistance or what channels to explore. The Gurdwaras are certainly a touch point for these matters to be channelled to the SAB and that arrangement has worked very well. But we also want to tell the community members that
the SAB is well-placed to help you with these challenges and that we are onlya phone call or email away. RaisingAwarenesswithin theWider Society 13.The second objective of undertaking this 75thanniversary exercise is to help increase awareness about the SAB and the Sikh community within the wider society in Singapore. The Sikh community is a minority within a minority community in Singapore. Yet we are privileged to be regularly on the minds of government leaders and our partner organisations, as is evident today. 14.For that we have a lot to thank the MCCY, the SAB s chief stakeholder, for ensuring the Sikh community is a constant part of the wider social fabric. MOSAlvinTanandthe MCCYCREDteamarehere today tojoinusinthese celebrations, and they are a key part of this equation as are Minister Edwin Tong and PS Tan Gee Keow who always make themselves available for the SAB and the Sikh community. MOS will tell you that on several occasions, on our request to make time for the Sikh community, he has had to add to his already packed schedule. We are indeed grateful for the time you make for us.
15.This relationshipislong-standingMCCYand SABteamspastandpresent havesharedacloseandtrustedrelationship.DPMhimself,duringhistime as MCCY Minister, contributed greatly to this partnership. 16.I recall clearly how, in 2013, DPM attended the Harmony Games hosted by the Sikh community in this very location and only two years ago, he was in this very same room to grace the 30thanniversary celebrations of the SSEF, on the invitationof the SAB. 17.Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, who we are very honoured to have with us today, was also a part of this equation during his time as Minister MCYS. Mr Bhajan Singh has reminded me many a times of the role Mr Tarmugi played to support the SAB in much of its work for the Sikh community in the past. 18.The importance of the SAB to engage the wider society goes beyond that however. 19.Some may say it is clich to talk about the importance of racial and religious harmony in Singapore but that doesn t mean that it shouldn t be spoken about. Today, nearly marks the end of the very first racial and religious harmony month in Singapore and it is fitting to see that spirit alive in this roomtoday. It is a Sikh community event, but we have in our
midst our friends from the different faith groups the SABs interfaith family. 20. We share a special and unique bond we meet each other a few times a month at formal occasions, informally to chat, to attend training and development together and to participate in each other s celebrations. We write to wish one another on our respective festivals. I am so grateful for your friendship and foryour supporthere today. 21.This is rare in most places in the world. And that is why we need to constantly remind ourselves of the importance of racial and religious harmony clich ornot. 22.But what we have hasn t come easily. Every faith group has worked hard to outreach, to focus on positives and similarities, rather than differences, to place unity and pragmatism over factionalism and extremism. The Sikh communityhas been no different. 23.You have heard about how the SAB contributes through the Harmony Games and the National Steering Committee of Racial and Religious Harmony, among other initiatives. We are not alone every Sikh institution in Singapore plays their part to contribute to racial and
religiousharmony.Here are someexamples of how Sikh institutionshave been outreaching to other communitiesin such efforts.[slide] 24.However, there is much more work to do on this front. With the society in Singapore becoming more diverse overtime, the Sikh community,as a minority group, has to work even harder to ensure it is recognised, understood and contributes to stronger societal bonds - something it has always done. That is why we are using the opportunity of the SAB s 75th anniversary to reiterate the Sikh community s story to Singapore. We shouldn t miss any opportunity to create awareness and strengthen bonds and this is as goodan opportunityas any other. 25.In a few minutes you will see the launch of the SAB 75thanniversary book, which aims to document the community s contributions through the SAB and tell many stories of nation-building. The book is currently being put together by my two esteemed predecessors Mr Bhajan Singh and Mr Surjit Singh and we are honoured that DPM will be launching its cover today. 26.The exhibition you view downstairs and the videos you saw on the screen earlier will also be useful tools to shape these narratives as they will be shared widely on social media and we aim to take the exhibition and the
Sikh community to the grassroots like we did four years ago by bringing the Sikh HeritageDayto the residents of Tampines. 27.We believe these small steps will go some distance in building closer links between the communityand the rest of Singapore. Recognisingour Stakeholders 28.The third reason wefoundit useful to celebrate this milestoneevent is to take stock of the SAB scontributions and to appreciate our stakeholders. 29.The thing is, although the SAB was formed in 1915 by the British, we are today marking 75 years of its reconstitution in 1948. And the reconstitution marked an important turn in the SAB s history, notably its composition. 30.Up until then, the members of the SAB were appointed by the Governor of the Straits Settlements with meetings conducted in Malay. It was only afterit wasreconstitutedin1948,that theSABgotamoredistinctiveSikh flavour with meetings then conducted in Punjabi. And it was only then that it truly became representative of the community as nine out of the 12 members were nominated by the five gurdwaras then with the remainingthree nominated by the government. 31.That trend has continued until today where the seven gurdwaras nominate 13 out of the 17 SAB members with the remaining four
nominated by the government. Thus, the gurdwaras in Singapore are important stakeholdersand contributorsto the SAB. 32.Much of what the SAB does, including putting together tonight s event, could not have been possible without their support. When we need to present a perspective from the Sikh faith to the government on a policy matter, we seekthe wise counselof the gurdwaras. 33.We are grateful to the Gurdwaras for being with the SAB on this long journey and we lookforwardto this partnership fortime to come. 34.Though not our direct stakeholders, we also have the benefit of the support and cooperation of the other Sikh institutions that are present today. From co-organising events to working together to invite key government leaders and foreign speakers to their events, there are many examples of collaboration that we can take heart from. We look forward to honouring and thanking all ofyou tonight. 35.It would be remiss of me to not acknowledge the heart of the Board the SAB team itself. I would like to invite my teammates at the SAB to please rise to be acknowledged. They have worked hard behind many of the initiatives we have spoken about tonight and some for many years. Led byorganisingcommitteechairpersonandSABSecretaryMsSatwantKaur,
they have endeavoured to present these celebrations to the community and society. Thankyou friends. 36.I would also like to acknowledge two former SAB chairmen and yeomen of the community who could not be with us tonight. Unfortunately, Mr Jeswant Singh Bandal s health prevented himfrom joining us this evening. And sadly, as many of you would know, we lost the very humble Mr Harbans Singh earlier this year. We are grateful for their many contributionsto the Board overthe years. 37.Whenonedoescommunityorpublicservice,onedoeshavetolosealittle of one s self. That underscores the concept of sewa in the Sikh faith and is also synonymous with servant leadership in the wider context. The SAB team is no different often spending their own resources, social capital and time to contribute to the Board, community and nation. Many would also sacrifice family time, choosing to attend to important community matters over time spent with loved ones. It is an important, and sometimesnecessary,sacrifice. 38.And that is why we are pleased to have with us today the families of two of our previous chairmen the families of the Late Mr Sardool Singh Narula and of the Late Mr Nirmal Tej Singh Chopra. Thank you for joining
us today and weare grateful forthe foundationsyour ancestorshave laid for the SAB to reach this milestone today. TheWayForward 39.Lastly, as we look back at the past, these celebrations are also a useful reflection point on how the SAB should move forward and to gear up for current and future needs and challenges. Already, the current SAB team has workedon a number of areas that we see as challenges. 40.You heard earlier about the setting up of EnKaur to increase the level of female leadership within the community. In the past two years we have also worked with the MSF to strengthen family relationships and marriages within the community. 41.This is the tip of the iceberg and there are many more challenges that we can work with the community on. Perhaps this is a discussion for another dayandthe mandateofthe next SABteam.Butdiscusswewill.Ifin 2011, we could bring the community leaders together to brainstorm and work towards several solutions to the issues we faced then, there is no reason why we can t do the same again. 42.For that we look forward to the support of all our stakeholders both those present here tonight and those who are not with us. Please continue to support,guide and collaboratewith us.
