Singapore to create committee to strengthen safeguards in Islamic institutions
Singapore will create a committee to review safeguarding mechanisms in Islamic religious institutions and propose ways to strengthen them. Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad announced this in parliament on September 8. The committee is being formed following the case of a man convicted in August of sexually abusing two young brothers; some of the crimes took place in a mosque.
As Channel NewsAsia reports, the convicted man was not an accredited religious teacher and attended the mosque as an ordinary worshipper. According to Mohamad, the man informally interacted with small groups of young people in the main prayer hall. These meetings were not official classes approved by the mosque.
Work of the new committee
The committee will be co-chaired by Associate Professor Razwana Begum and Ustaz Fathurrahman Dawoed. Its membership and terms of reference will be announced later. The committee will report directly to Zaqy Mohamad, and its findings will be presented to the community.
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Mohamad also tasked the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, MUIS, together with mosques, parents and the community, with strengthening safeguards for minors. Among the possible measures, he named clearer procedures for reporting incidents and escalating such reports, closer supervision of informal gatherings involving minors, training for staff and volunteers, and regular reviews of safety measures.
Screening for work with children
Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming said the government is considering expanding criminal-record screening to more positions involving contact with children. Authorities may also introduce voluntary screening for workers in unregulated sectors, including in the form of certificates.
Currently, applicants for regulated positions involving prolonged contact with children and youth are screened for past offences, including sexual crimes. This applies to full-time mosque staff, recognised religious teachers, employees of Ministry of Education schools, licensed preschool institutions and coaches from the national SportSG registry. Employers in unregulated sectors are not required to check candidates' criminal records.
