Muslim leaders were told six months ago that the Government is considering allowing nurses to wear the tudung, or headscarf, at work, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday.
He had said then that the Government was discussing this internally as it could see good reasons to make this change, he disclosed. The Government will announce the outcome after consulting the community and other groups.
"Our view is there is likely to be a change," the minister said at a dialogue with senior Muslim religious leaders at the Khadijah Mosque in Geylang Road.
Three of the leaders at the meeting last August - Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi Hassan, president of the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (Pergas), as well as Pergas' elders council members Ustaz Ali Mohamed and Ustaz Pasuni Maulan - were also present yesterday and confirmed that he had delivered those remarks then.
Ustaz Hasbi told reporters the update was a positive step, saying: "We did not raise the matter publicly because the discussions were closed-door."
Mr Shanmugam said that discussions are ongoing and will take a few more months. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will also meet community leaders.
The minister's comments come two weeks after two Malay/Muslim ministers' speeches in Parliament on the issue drew a reaction from some in the community.
Yesterday, Mr Shanmugam made clear that at a previous closed-door dialogue he had at the same mosque on August 31 last year, Ustaz Hasbi had asked him about the issue of nurses wearing the tudung.
The minister replied at the time that the Government can see good reasons to allow nurses to don the tudung if they choose to do so - a point he reiterated yesterday.
He also said the Government was consulting the community before making a change and had discussed the matter with the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore and taken into account its views, which were helpful.
Yesterday, Mr Shanmugam also said that this position on the issue is consistent with what Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Maliki Osman told Parliament on March 8.
Mr Masagos had said the Government empathises with nurses who wish to wear the tudung as part of their uniform, and the matter was being discussed. Dr Maliki also told Parliament there is consensus that the issue is a sensitive one and best discussed behind closed doors.
Mr Shanmugam said that because Mr Masagos was making his remarks in public, he was more careful. Mr Masagos' response meant the Government understands the feelings of those who wish nurses to be allowed to wear the tudung.
"It is to signal flexibility," he said. "He did not say no. Unfortunately, (there's been) lots of misunderstanding about what Ministers Masagos and Maliki have said."
