Surat Penghargaan PM Singapura Pada Muftinya Yang Bersara

Ini tulisan ucapan penghargaan dari Perdana menteri Singapura kepada bekas muftinya yang kini bersara:

Shaikh Syed Isa bin Semait

Dear Shaikh Syed Isa bin Semait.

On your retirement as Mufti of Singapore on 31 December 2010, I write to thank you for your sterling contributions over the past 39 years.

You became Mufti in 1972 at the age of 34. A whole generation of Singapore Muslims has grown up under your religious leadership.

You helped them to transform themselves into a successful, forward looking community, and also touched the lives of Singaporeans of all races and faiths.

1972 was only seven years after Singapore became independent. Our fledging nation was going through major changes.

The Government was acquiring and clearing large areas of land for public housing and industrial estates. Many mosques, along with temples, churches and other places of worship, had to make way for redevelopment.

This was understand­ably a sensitive issue for the followers of these faiths. The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) was then less well established than many other Muslim organisations.

It was not easy to gain the trust and respect of the Muslim community, but you did. Our Muslims accepted the mosque clearances and supported the Mosque Building Fund scheme, which has built 23 new and modern mosques in all major housing estates.

As Singapore society progressed, you guided the Muslim community to respond to emerging moral and religious issues. One important case was organ transplants. Initially Singa­pore Muslims, like Muslims elsewhere, had strong reservations about such transplants, especially from donors who had passed away.

You discussed this with the MUIS Fatwa Committee and other respected asatizah. The Fatwa Committee ruled that Muslims could make voluntary donations under the Medical Therapy Education & Research Act.

However, voluntary, opt-in donations yielded only meagre results. The next step was organ donations based on presumed consent, under the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA). Muslims were at first excluded from HOTA, because they were not yet ready to accept an opt-out scheme.

But over the years, as the medical benefits of transplants become clearer, Muslim attitudes gradually shifted. Under your guidance, the Fatwa Committee found a way consistent with Islamic teachings to include Muslims under HOTA. This saved the lives of many Muslim and other kidney patients.

I also deeply appreciate your steadfast efforts to build bridges between different religious groups. You have long been a member of the Inter-Religious Organisation, and served as its President in 1994. You also served on the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony, the Inter-Religious Harmony Circle, and the National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious Harmony. You helped draft the Declaration of Religious Harmony that is recited at major inter-faith events. Your inter-faith commitment set a strong example for all 68 mosques in Singapore to join Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks and the arrest of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group put our multi-racial society under stress. Fortunately, your clear and unequivocal public stand encouraged the Muslim community to acknowledge the problem, condemn the extremists and their actions, and reach out to Singaporeans of other faiths.

As a result we strengthened our ethnic relations, and deepened trust and confidence among Singaporeans.

Out of the public eye, you helped on more than one occasion to manage and defuse highly sensitive issues, often involving relations between Muslims and other groups. I recall personally working with you on some of them. You were steady and reliable.

You handled the issues with discretion, sensitivity and sound judgement, maintaining trust and good faith with other religious leaders, and reassuring and calming the involved parties quietly but firmly. Thus you helped preserve our religious harmony, one of our most precious assets.

Internationally, you are a well-respected and widely recognised representative of the Singapore Muslim community.

Singa­poreans, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, are proud to have had you represent Singa­pore Muslims abroad, and show others how Muslims live in peace and harmony with other groups in Singa­pore.

I thank you for your tireless efforts as Mufti of Singapore for almost four decades, and for your wisdom, judgment and leadership which have helped to create a modern, forward looking and self-confident Muslim community. May you have a long and happy retirement.