SINGAPORE, Tuesday 8
March 2011 (AFP) - Singapore's founding father Lee
Kuan Yew has said he stands corrected on remarks that the
city-state's Muslims faced difficulties integrating into the
population, local media reported Tuesday.
In a statement, Lee said that his controversial view -- espoused in
a book "Lee
Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going", released in January
-- was outdated.
"Hard Truths was a book based on 32 interviews over a period of two
years. I made this one comment on the Muslims integrating with
other communities probably two or three years ago," he said in the
statement reported in local media.
"Ministers and MPs (members of parliament), both Malay and
non-Malay, have since told me that Singapore Malays have indeed
made special efforts to integrate with the other communities,
especially since 9/11, and that my call is out of date," added
Lee.
Singapore has a predominantly Chinese population, with minority
races including Muslim Malays and Indians.
"I stand corrected. I hope that this trend will continue in the
future," said Lee, 87, who remains an influential government
adviser with the title of minister mentor.
The statement followed expressions of unhappiness
by the local Muslim community over his remarks, amid growing
expectations the government will call for general elections within
the year.
In the book, Lee argued that Singaporean Muslims
faced difficulties in integrating because of their strict adherence
to Islamic tenets, and urged them to "be less strict on Islamic
observances".
"I would say today, we can integrate all
religions and races except Islam," he said in the
book.
"I think we were progressing very nicely until the surge of Islam
came and if you asked me for my observations, the other communities
have easier integration -- friends, intermarriages and so on," he
said.