Congratulations to PM Lawrence Wong

15 May 2024 by

The Humanist Society (Singapore) congratulates Mr Lawrence Wong, on becoming the 4th Prime Minister of Singapore today, and thanks Mr Lee Hsien Loong for his 4 decades of public service to the country.

Never has a transition in leadership been overnight. The process where talent has been meticulously groomed, and knowledge has been carefully institutionalized, spans across multiple years of history.

These years of dedication and preparation from Singapore’s cabinet ministers and government are now reflected in this smooth and orderly handover.

For those interested in Mr Wong’s perspectives on thorny issues involving race and religion, his 2021 speech offers valuable insight:

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/lawrence-wong-racism-speech-ips-rsis-forum-1941591

At its core, humanism asserts that we all share one world, one reality, and one humanity, and despite the immense challenges of maintaining harmony and building consensus, we remain committed to advancing society united towards our shared future

We as the Humanist Society (Singapore) trust that we can uphold our pledge to be a force for societal good under his leadership, and we will be working alongside our leaders democratically and wisely elected through due process to work on the issues as addressed as a people proactive in fostering positive change.

We will uphold our values—goodness for its own sake—and are prepared to embrace this new era of leadership for Singapore’s betterment, no matter what challenges arise.

Executive Committee

Humanist Society (Singapore)

15th May 2024

Announcements, Blog, Featured Articles/Letters

President’s Column: On freedom of speech and discourse on war in Gaza

9 May 2024 by

The 2023 Israel–Hamas war, ongoing since Oct 7 2023, is closely observed around the world, including in Singapore and within the Humanist Society, our community of non-religious and like-minded individuals.

While the Humanist Society has stayed focused on our home country, Singapore, daily news updates from the frontlines have been heart wrenching, with strong views expressed from various camps with entrenched views, both rational and emotional, even within the Society from members in their private capacities.

Writing about the Israel-Hamas war is very difficult, given that the conflict is a multilayered one with many overlapping grievances. Nonetheless, with recent events involving the Israeli embassy’s Facebook post and subsequent response by the Singapore government, I felt it is worth some discussion and reflection in my private capacity.

Broadly speaking, whenever the government acts against a published content that is detrimental to harmony and safety within Singapore, there will be two opposing views among vocal non-religious individuals.

The first view would be that freedom of speech must be protected, and that all ideas, including religious ones, should not be protected from criticism. Proponents of the first view would even argue that, with the widespread availability of the internet, it is impossible to shield someone from views that are critical of their beliefs.

The second view would be that harmony and safety within Singapore comes first, and while freedom of speech is important, raising tensions unnecessarily is counterproductive and ineffective in persuasion.

Whenever views are censored or taken down, there will be, inevitably, some unhappiness from people holding the first view. The big question would be what’s the right balance between freedom of speech, and staying practical about Singapore’s multi-racial, multi-religious context. After all, the Society is based in Singapore and must be effective and credible within our own country.

This is where I looked into the core values of Humanism. Indeed, while freedom of speech and critical inquiry is important, it is worth remembering Humanism carries a wider spectrum of values. Extracts from the Amsterdam Declaration indicate that:

  • Personal liberty must be combined with a responsibility to society.
  • We should be motivated by the benefits of helping and not harming, enabled by reason and compassion.

I do believe as Singaporeans, we have a responsibility in helping to keep Singapore safe and harmonious. This safety has benefited all Singaporeans, both religious and non-religious, and also helps generate the conditions for dialogue, including voices from the non-religious.

I also believe keeping Singapore safe and harmonious allows the flourishing of reason and compassion. When tensions are high and people are entrenched in opposing camps, reason gives way to tribalism, and compassion takes a backseat. Attempts at dialogue lead to impasse and no one benefits.

With the above, and considering all points of views, I support the swift and decisive response by the Singaporean authorities in addressing the post made by the Israeli embassy staff. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a prolonged one, and a sustainable productive approach ensures that reason and compassion prevails.

I believe this approach has paid off. On 30-31 August, the Humanist Society will host the International Humanist Conference, with representatives from humanist/non-religious groups around the world. For those who are unfamiliar with this conference, it is akin to the “United Nations” of humanist/non-religious groups around the world. Prior to that, the Humanist Society has already hosted two Asian Humanism Conferences in 2015/2019.

All the above would not be possible, if Singapore does not have a reputation of being a safe and reliable host for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE).

We encourage you to sign up for the conference. It will be a vibrant forum for engaging in critical discourse, exploring diverse perspectives, and discovering the region’s and Singapore’s approaches to secularism and interfaith harmony: https://humanist.org.sg/2024-ihc/ga2024-programme/

Norhaiyah Mahmood,

President of Humanist Society (Singapore)

Note : All views expressed are personal.

Announcements, Blog

Socials in May 2024

3 May 2024 by

Hanging out with Humanist on 3 May 2024

We enjoyed yet another delightful evening hangout session. Two new guests joined us, Dr. Bern Johnston and his wife from Penang, who stopped by to say hello. It turns out they are old friends of HSS who had been out of touch for a while but have now reconnected with us. As always, the evening was filled with lively discussions, and our table was one of the more animated ones in the room.

We discussed the session from last month, during which we had to endure a guest who spent two hours arguing that humanism is futile in addressing conflicts like the Gaza war or global issues. Consensus was unanimous among us that we welcome such interventions as a form of entertainment. It seemed apparent that the individual may have been seeking attention and attempting to provoke a reaction from us, but his efforts were met with indifference. Eventually, he left the group.

Note : We have more people actually. Not everybody is in this picture.

Zoomify Fridays on 24 May 2024

Our second Zoomify Friday session. Zoomify Friday is a casual and complimentary online social event designed to connect like-minded individuals and expand your network within the humanist community.

This session, we were delighted to be joined by friends from Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

They shared their visions for the future of humanism and recognized HSS as a beacon for the Humanism movement in Southeast Asia. They appreciated Zoomify Fridays as a platform to connect globally and expressed hope that future sessions will attract even more humanists.

We were also joined by another group attending an HSS social event at one of our member’s homes, enjoying a movie night. They shared their thoughts on the film they had just watched about Hypatia of Alexandria.

Blog, Featured Articles/Letters

A letter of encouragement

16 April 2024 by

To the dedicated Exco members of Humanist Society (Singapore), past and present,

Your commitment to building a society guided by reason, compassion and evidence is inspiring.

In a increasingly polarized world where dogma and misinformation is entrenched, your work is more important than ever.

Your tireless efforts to foster communities of critical thinkers, empathetic souls, and proactive changemakers will not go unnoticed.

Every month, you have created spaces where individuals can explore their beliefs freely, find solidarity in shared humanist principles, and work together towards a brighter future for all.

Photo above: A visit to Labrador Nature Park in November 2023.


In moments of doubt or fatigue, remember the impact of your work. A famous saying goes:

“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.”

Greek Proverb

Each gathering, discussion, or initiative you spearhead is planting the seeds for a better future.

Even for those who live in the present, they will find your dedication to reason and compassion is a guiding light in the darkness.

So keep organizing, keep advocating, and keep spreading the humanist message far and wide. You are making a difference, one thoughtful action at a time.

Thank you for your unwavering commitment to building a better world rooted in humanity’s best ideals. Your efforts are invaluable, and your passion is contagious. Keep up the incredible work!

Norhaiyah Mahmood

President

Humanist Society (Singapore)

Blog, Featured Articles/Letters

Why do we take photos at each event

13 November 2023 by

Photography provides HSS the following:

  • An effective way to encourage people to join our events, but assuring them it is well organised
  • A means to teach new Exco and volunteers what happens on the actual day
  • Better publicity because social media algorithms favor visuals rather than text

Good photography is an essential addition to break up grey walls of text.

Photography on site is also crucial because while an event can be written up after its over, photography can only be done on the actual day itself. A moment once over, is gone forever.

Uncategorized

Identifying HSS/Exco

13 November 2023 by

At our events:

  • There are newcomers at each event.
  • The events venues change from time to time.
  • The Humanist Society Exco and volunteers have no uniforms.

Under such circumstances, it can be challenging for a newcomer to locate the HSS event and locate the HSS person-in-charge.

It is good to have banners, lanyards, table signs to help people identify where the HSS event / venue is.

It makes HSS more visible and appear more professional.

The HSS pamplets are also useful when explaining HSS in a nutshell. A newcomer who is not attended by any Exco, can read the pamplet and learn about HSS in a nutshell.

Uncategorized

Why promote on so many social media channels?

13 November 2023 by

Social media has proven to be the best way to reach out to the non-religious demographic so far.

The non-religious do not have a specific place of gathering, unlike religious individuals who have a physical place of worship.

Reaching out on social media is the most effective way to approach potential attendees of Humanist Society events.

Unfortunately, social media platforms have a relatively short life and some do not last more than 5-10 years. In addition, people have preference for different social platforms.

Because there is no catch-all social media channel, the Humanist Society needs to have a diverse range of options to reach out to people.

If one channel fails, at least we have a few others to back us up.

Some might also ask, what is the point of a website?

A website can do the following things:

  • Websites are less dynamic and thus better for documenting information.
  • Website URLs rank higher on Search Engine search results
  • Website are less liable to spam attacks (on comments section) and thus it needs less monitoring
  • Website allows us to restructure the UI/UX of the site to our own preference.

Uncategorized

Why do we monitor, and use registration forms to do it?

13 November 2023 by

We use registration forms because it allows us to monitor the level of RSVPs we are getting.

  • If turnout is going to be low, perhaps publicity is ineffective. Exco may choose to spend on advertising the event.
  • If RSVPs are strong and hitting venue capacity limit, Exco may need to close the registration.
  • At the end of the day, the event will be wasted if people have not even heard about the event.

Furthermore, registration form is a private way for people to RSVP for an event.

  • If they RSVP on social media, the social media channel will prompt their friends (and potentially family members) that someone they know is joining the Humanist event.
  • For some of our members, they are privately non-religious and have not informed their family.
  • People might also avoid an event that has very few RSVPs, bringing the RSVPs down even further.

Uncategorized

Why form Working Groups?

13 November 2023 by

From time to time, people have been calling on the Humanist Society to scale up, and do more.

Exco cannot do everything. Furthermore, our internal channels will be flooded with messages from multiple projects.

Thus, once Exco gives the go-ahead for an event, the nitty gritty details should be decided in a seperate Working Group, made up of selected Exco but also other volunteers.

A seperate Working Group makes decisions easier to track.

Working level decisions can also be made at the WG level, instead of seeking Exco’s permission again.

Uncategorized

Why Exco needs to decide efficiently

13 November 2023 by

If Exco is to maintain control over the Society it is responsible for, it needs to demonstrate effective leadership.

Volunteers needs to have confidence that the Exco is listening carefully and making decisions on time.

For this reason, it is important for Excos to reach consensus clearly, and quickly.

Individual Exco does not always have the time to reply, and clear rules are needed to decide what does the default “silence” means.

For this reason, Exco decides accordingly to General Rules 4.5 and the strategic direction.

These guidelines ensure that Exco is always making a decision at the end of the day, and not leaving things in limbo.

Uncategorized
« Previous Page
Next Page »