Zaqy Mohamad concerned with incident in front of mosque at UOB Plaza: 'Harmony cannot be taken for granted'

Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad is concerned with the incident outside Moulana Mohamed Ali mosque at UOB Plaza on Friday (Sept 25) night.

A 50-year-old man was on Saturday charged for allegedly starting a fire in front of the mosque.

Police said in a statement that the man had placed an oil tin at the entrance of the mosque and set fire to a piece of undergarment placed inside.

The fire was put out by a member of the public and no injuries were reported in the incident, police added.

Reflecting on the incident in a social media post on Saturday evening, the acting minister said that the incident is a timely reminder that the peace and harmony in Singapore cannot be taken for granted.

"Keeping our society safe and cohesive is a shared responsibility," he added.

Zaqy also thanked the member of public who acted quickly to put out the fire.

He also updated members of the public that the mosque remains safe and its operations are unaffected.

负责穆斯林事务的代理部长扎基·穆罕默德对周五（9月25日）晚间在大华银行广场毛拉纳·穆罕默德·阿里清真寺外发生的事件表示关注。

周六，一名 50 岁男子被指控在清真寺前纵火。

警方在一份声明中表示，该男子将一个油罐放在清真寺入口处，并点燃了放在里面的一件内衣。

警方补充说，火灾被一名公众人士扑灭，事件中无人受伤。

代理部长周六晚间在社交媒体上发帖反思此事，称该事件及时提醒人们，新加坡的和平与和谐并非理所当然。

“维护社会安全和团结是每个人的共同责任，”他补充道。

扎基还感谢了迅速行动扑灭火灾的市民。

他还向公众通报，清真寺仍然安全，其运作未受影响。