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"Code on Religious Harmony likely to be submitted to Govt by end March"

("Channel NewsAsia," February 10, 2003)

The final draft of Singapore's Code on Religious Harmony should be ready by the end of this month, and is expected to be submitted to the Government by end March.

And chairman of the committee overseeing it, Minister of State Chan Soo Sen, says he also has plans for a permanent liaison committee comprising representatives from the major religious groups.

It will be a platform for future discussions and will not replicate the work of the Inter-Religious Organisation.

"We already have this network while working out the draft. It would be a waste if we just dismantle the whole network," said Mr Chan, who was officiating at the Indian harvest festival.

Mr Chan said he'll meet the major religious groups again to get their input for the final draft of the Code on Religious Harmony before submitting it to the government by the end of March.

The Code is aimed at promoting greater inter-religious confidence among Singaporeans and to prevent religion from being a source of conflict here.

Mr Chan on Sunday witnessed a multi-racial celebration of harvest.

Women from different races cooked "Pongal", a traditional dish of milk, rice, sugar and ghee prepared during the Indian harvest as a celebration