Sydney – DRESSED in a suave deep purple velvet suit, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop paid Parklea Sikh Gurdwara a visit on Friday, 12th June as part of her tour of the area and understand the needs of the Sikh community and the issues important to them.
On their visit to Glenwood Sikh Temple, Ms Julie Bishop and Mr Alex Hawke MP, Member for Mitchell, NSW were escorted to the Gurudwara complex by Sarjinder Singh Sandhu (President) and Jagtar Singh (Secretary) of Australian Sikh Association.
Ms Bishop and Mr Hawke were seen with their heads covered with grey and orange scarf, kneeling down to Guru Granth Sahib ji while paying their respect to the Sikh holy book.
During her two hrs stay, Ms Bishop visited the Gurdwara sahib complex and delivered a historic speech. She was also taken to the big Kitchen to show how the food (Langar) is prepared every day at no cost for one and all.
She also attended a closed door meeting with Sikh Association representatives to better understand the community issues, and was overwhelmed by the sense of warmth felt from the community.
During the brief meeting, ASA officials outlined the achievements and the future plans. The ASA committee raised issues ranging from the wearing of turbans (specifically during driving motorbikes), promoting Sikh identity (to counter terrorist mistaken identity), restrictions wearing a short ceremonial sword, fostering the idea of a community aged care in the area, and acquiring a piece of land along M7 for future Gurdwara complex extension.
Edited from SBS News