IRO Day Harmony Carnival 2026

President of the Inter-Religious Organisation, Mr K Elango,

Religious leaders and members of the IRO,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

A very good morning to all.

• It is my pleasure to be here at the IRO Day Harmony Carnival, celebrating the spirit of interfaith harmony that makes Singapore truly special.

Celebrating Harmony in Action

• Presently, we are seeing a movement away from multilateralism and multiculturalism in the international environment. There are a lot of conflicts going on in different parts of the world.

• In a world where differences of race and religion are increasingly a source of division, what we have in Singapore is something that we must continue to nurture and protect. Multilateralism and multiculturalism have been the foundation of Singapore’s society.

• We are one of the most religiously diverse societies in the world. We do not really have a religious majority or a single dominant religion in Singapore. I think that is frankly a strength because that allows us to be diverse. We can celebrate our strength in diversity, which is also the basis of how IRO was founded.

IRO’s Intentional Efforts to Build Bridges across Communities

• When I first started in MCCY, I attended an IRO event, the IRO National Day Observance Ceremony, where I was given a small book of the history of IRO and how it first started in 1949.

• I must tell you that the genesis and creation of IRO in 1949 was in itself an amazing journey. It showed how much our religious leaders back then were thinking far ahead of their times and thinking of our well-being.

• The IRO was formed because of the atrocities then; it was a dark and terrible period for Singapore. That is when our religious leaders came forward to say – never again will we see a country where communities were spilt into different groups along racial and religious lines. Today we celebrate the strengths of each and every one of our communities.

• The IRO has continued the steady work of building inter-religious understanding across our communities through platforms such as the IRO Youth Wing and Women of Faith network. These efforts ensure that the values of mutual respect, understanding and harmony are carried forward by future generations.

Every Singaporean an Active Contributor to Harmony

• There are three areas – three “Cs” – that we as a society must continue to ensure. The first is ‘Communicate’ – we have to communicate to our citizens, to our youths the genesis of IRO, how it started, and why having an inter-religious organisation is so important, and even more so today.

• The second is ‘Connect’ – where we need to connect ourselves to one another, and to people who are different from us.

• The third is ‘Care’ where we show how we care for one another. Caring is part and parcel of every religion. Every religion adopts a perspective of care – care for community and for society. The notion of care, though there may be variations from religion to religion – by and large, it is always about caring for one another.

• The three “Cs” will form the foundation of peace and stability for Singapore in an uncertain world.

• Today’s carnival is a celebration of the interesting journey of IRO and the work that has been done by people in our community to bring about interreligious harmony and understanding in Singapore.

• It is particularly important for our residents and our young to know that what we have has been painfully forged over the years, and we must not forget how we started, where we are today, and what we need to do for the future.

• Having this carnival here to engage residents on the work of the IRO is a wonderful way to build understanding and appreciation of the IRO’s work in building harmony in Singapore.

• I wanted to add that this whole notion of outreach is not easy because IRO has a very lean structure and will need the support of partners, volunteers and many others who have put in a lot of effort. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you.

Conclusion

• I wanted to end by saying that while we come from diverse faiths and backgrounds, when we come together, it is a demonstration of our strength of Singapore society as a whole.

• From time to time, we will be tested, but we will have to stand together. Let us continue to celebrate our harmony and make diversity our strength.

• I wish all of you a truly meaningful Harmony Carnival.