Presidential Council for Religious Harmony

The Presidential Council for Racial and Religious Harmony (PCRRH), along with the Presidential Council for Minority Rights (PCMR), is a key instrument of the state to protect and promote racial and religious harmony in Singapore, a country considered one of the most religiously diverse in the world. The PCRRH was initially established as the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony (PCRH) under the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA), passed on 9 November 1990. The act was introduced to prevent religious tensions and conflicts caused by insensitive and provocative acts, and to promote understanding, moderation, tolerance, and respect regarding religions.

Earlier, the PCRH was formed as an advisory body to consider and report on matters affecting the maintenance of religious harmony referred to it by the Minister of Home Affairs or Parliament. The council will also recommend restraining orders against any leader or member of any religious group or institution who incites inter-religious strife or who engages in political or subversive activities under the pretext of propagating or practising any religious belief.The President will be the final arbiter and must confirm any restraining order issued against an individual. The Chairman and members of the PCRH are appointed by the President. The council serves a three-year term and is typically chaired by a senior judge, with members drawn from various religions, including a few lay members. The Indian community, including Tamils, is exceptionally diverse when it comes to religious affiliations and comprises Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. The PCRH may handle conflicts within or between religious groups in the Indian community or with other ethnicities. For example, the Hindu festival of Thaipusam, with its miles-long procession featuring musical instruments, has been a subject of past deliberations due to public noise restrictions and concerns about procession routes. The council strives to maintain cultural and religious practices while ensuring social harmony. When an individual within a community is seen as making inflammatory remarks or inciting disharmony between different religious groups, they would be severely dealt with, as was the case with an Islamic religious teacher from India, who was fined $4,000 for making offensive remarks about Christians and Jews.

The PCRH also mediates interfaith tensions between groups like Hindus, Muslims, or Christians within the community, or between the Indian community and others. The council is committed to addressing any issues affecting religious harmony across all communities, including the Indian community, with fairness and impartiality. In 2025, a new law—the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Act 2025—was passed by Parliament to promote the maintenance of racial harmony and to establish a Presidential Council for Racial and Religious Harmony. The new council’s focus includes both racial and religious matters. Additionally, the new council has the authority to review government-issued restraining orders and provide guidance on their appropriateness, with the President determining whether to act on the Council’s recommendations.



For more information
“Presidential Council for Minority Rights.” President of the Republic of Singapore. Accessed 1 August 2025. https://www.istana.gov.sg/Presidents-Office/Other-Presidential-Councils
Maintenance of Religious Harmony. Singappore: National Library Board, 26 December 1989. https://eservice.nlb.gov.sg/flipviewer/data/booksg_publish/b/bea6d0b6-acfb-4d60-828d-c53b5c61814a/web/html5/index.html
Lim, Jean. “Maintenance of Religious Harmony Bill.” Singapore Infopedia. Accessed 1 August 2025. https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=3edc3e5f-7333-4ae9-ba2d-7c355c4a1cee
“Presidential Council for Religious Harmony is formed.” National Library Board Singapore. Accessed on 1 August 2025. https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=e787b4de-c6b7-4d59-9650-a4d050d892d3
“Background on the Presidential Council for Religious Harmony.” Ministry of Home Affairs Singapore. Accessed on 1 August 2025. https://www.mha.gov.sg/docs/default-source/media-room-doc/annexf6bc317198234fafaf873c1f66fd7d63.pdf?sfvrsn=1f978426_0
Menon, Malavika. “Changes Proposed to Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act: 5 Things to Know about the Law.” The Straits Times, 2 September 2019. https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/changes-proposed-to-maintenance-of-religious-harmony-act-5-things-to-know-about-the-law
David Sun “Public Invited to Give Feedback on Newly Proposed Racial Harmony Laws.” The Straits Times, 16 April 2024. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/public-invited-to-give-feedback-on-newly-proposed-racial-harmony-laws
PM Lawrence Wong. “DPM Lawrence Wong at the 75th Inter-Religious Organisations’ 75th Anniversary Celebration.” Prime Minister’s Office Singapore, 23 January 2024. https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/DPM-Lawrence-Wong-at-the-75th-Inter-Religious-Organisations-75th-Anniversary-Celebration
Wong Pei Ting “Considerable value in having president, new council safeguard race-based restraining orders: Shanmugam.” The Straits Times, 5 February 2025. https://str.sg/CYkh
Goh Yan Han. “New law to protect racial harmony passed.” The Straits Times, 4 February 2025. https://str.sg/oVh86

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.