Feminine face of Islam

It's all coming up roses

Malay-Muslim women make great strides in leading the community

By Lee Siew Hua, The Straits Times, 14 Apr 2012

MUSLIM women are newly visible as leaders and volunteers in the mosque and beyond. Determined to pool their talents with men to make a daily difference in the spheres of religion and community, they are the modern face of Islam in Singapore.

The number of women on mosque management boards that steer Singapore's 69 mosques has nearly doubled in a decade. In 2000, only 63 women sat on these executive boards; that grew to 111 women in 2010.

Women now make up 15 per cent of all board members. This will likely rise to 25 per cent in five years, according to a Mosque Convention report last December by Muis, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore.

Prominently, the chief executive of Singapore's first self-help group Mendaki is a woman. Appointed in 2010, Madam Moliah Hashim, 54, portrays both progress and convention in her roles as modern leader and a mother of four.

Cheered on by men, Singapore's new Muslim women also sit on a Fatwa Committee, head a madrasah, befriend the needy - and collectively influence the Islamic agenda to raise a community that excels.

And of course, the PPIS or Singapore Muslim Women's Association, being a fully women-led social organisation, has always had a woman at the helm ever since it was founded in 1952 when Muslim women had fewer rights.

Propelled by education and social changes in Singapore, Muslim women are rising in a day of mixed success elsewhere: There is a flowering of Islamic women's social movements in South-east Asia even as some cultures still use religion to suppress the roles and rights of their sisters.

In Singapore, women leaders bring a special edge to the mosque domain, say male colleagues such as Mr Paiman Supangat, 57, executive chairman of Al-Muttaqin Mosque in Ang Mo Kio.

'Women are more meticulous in terms of planning. They are stabilisers in the decision-making of mosque management and committed in fulfilling the tasks entrusted to them,' he observes.

'Coupled with the women's touch, compassion and maternal instinct, it is an extra edge for women to carry social causes,' he says, adding that it is a norm to have two or three women on his board of 11 to 15 leaders. 'They are key appointment holders based on their merit and commitment level.'

He works alongside women of faith and talent, and lists events in recent years that had Muslimah, or observant Muslim women, in leading roles. These include the President's Challenge Charity Briyani, a Muslimah high tea, and the first Muslim Women's Seminar organised by Muis last September.

The latter was a lively day-long dialogue to gather input from 500 female leaders and active volunteers ahead of last December's Mosque Convention, which charted the path of mosques for the next five years.

This mix of events alone suggests the diversity of women's leadership in realms ranging from charity to social life to religion.

Indeed, Muslim women have long volunteered in mosques alongside men but much of it was behind the scenes - involving cooking, the sale of donation tickets, and so on.

There is a difference now, says Mr Mohamad Helmy Mohd Isa, assistant director (mosques) at Muis.

'Especially in the last five years, we are seeing more Muslim women volunteers with diverse talents, experiences and qualifications coming forward to contribute in more strategic areas such as education, finance, governance and mosque management,' he says.

Muslims point out that there were already active, thinking women who were professionals and property owners in Prophet Muhammad's time in 7th-century Arabia. So Singaporeans are really replicating the vibrant systems and spirit of that exemplary era.

Ms Nurul 'Izzah Khamsani, 27, a young religious teacher, says the Prophet's first wife Khadijah was a capable businesswoman and he sought to lift up women who were commonly used as 'pets or toys by men'. He ended female infanticide.

'There was salvation for women,' she says, after that period of darkness and barbarism in the Arab world.

'It has always been a core principle in Islam that men and women are equal in standing in the eyes of Allah,' states a theme paper penned by the Mosque Women Network for last September's seminar.

Verses from the Quran that highlight this principle include: 'The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another: They enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil; they observe regular prayers, practise regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger.'

Based on this principle, the paper continues, women are enjoined to do good in society.

Larger societal forces in Singapore amply support women who want to live by that Islamic principle.

Clearly, education has opened the first big door for Muslim women. The number of Malay women attending tertiary institutions increased substantially from 5 per cent in 2000 to 14 per cent in 2010.

The proportion of economically active Malay women in 2010 rose to 45.6 per cent, from 36.44 per cent in the previous decade.

Their pay packets are also bigger, with more Malay women moving into income brackets of $3,000 and above.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his 2009 National Day Rally speech, highlighted the strides taken by Malay men and women. 'Malay educational performance has improved year by year. More Malay students are studying science and technology in the polytechnics and universities,' he said.

'The community has progressed with Singapore. We have seen some families go in one generation from poorly educated parents doing unskilled jobs, to children who are professionals like doctors and engineers. Many others have also taken full advantage of the opportunities, excelling in business, professions, public service, sports and the arts.'

Women bring this many-hued professional acumen into community service and leadership positions, says Associate Professor Noor Aisha Abdul Rahman, deputy head of the Malay Studies department at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

She adds: 'With fewer children and more available time once the children grew up, contemporary women have at their disposal greater freedom and time to contribute.'

Mufti champions women

FROM the Islamic perspective, education has very much been a driver for Muslim women to move up fast.

Says Ms Farah Mahamood Aljunied, 37, an education specialist who is a Muis deputy director of curriculum and youth development: 'In religious teaching, we have been taught that acquiring knowledge is compulsory for every man and woman.

'There's no discomfort in acquiring knowledge and being the best you can be.'

Indeed, this saying was attributed to the Prophet by a friend: 'Seek knowledge even as far as China.'

Another societal factor: Women believe that men here support their rise, starting with the Mufti of Singapore, Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram, who is deemed a champion of women. The Friday sermons prepared by the Office of the Mufti include themes on women.

Several women interviewed note that quite often, Muslim men take the first step to usher them into leadership, and do seek their opinions.

Ms Musni Hussain, 54, a lab technologist who is secretary of Al-Amin Mosque in Telok Blangah, says a male neighbour recruited her for a mosque management board.

She has since served 23 years at two mosques. 'The men, especially the chairman, listen, taking the advice of women because we make sure we have facts and figures. With our work experience, women are professional and detailed.'

The global tide of religiosity is yet another force sweeping women into leadership. People return to faith, with the tsunami and rampant injustice globally stirring a painful uncertainty, says Ms Nurul 'Izzah, the young religious teacher, who sits on the Fatwa Committee.

'People believe doomsday is near,' she says. In this light, women who are religious feel a responsibility to shape the future of their communities. She adds: 'They want younger generations to be successful in this world and in the hereafter, God willing.'

Dr Noor Aisha of NUS thinks changes in the mosque institution have made the role of women more obvious. 'The greater visibility of participation for both men and women at mosque activities today is largely due to the enhanced centralised activities and function of the large satellite mosques and the disappearance of small village surau or prayer houses,' she says.

Traditionally, Malay women in villages were key players in religious activities and ceremonies. Female preachers hosted religious classes in mosques and at home.

Historically, this was played out at a time when Malayan women, including those in Singapore, were active in the independence movement against colonial rule. Muslim women also contributed their talents to welfare and culture.

In a contrarian vein, she argues: 'Greater participation of Muslim women beyond the community today has nothing to do with Muslims being more inclusive now or the uniqueness of their identity as Singaporean Muslims, as commonly perceived.

'The development is conditioned by the larger changing socio-economic conditions and social change affecting all.'

Seeking younger women

DESPITE these glowing conditions, Muslim women see a couple of 'myopic mental images' that pose a challenge. At the seminar, participants felt that younger women shy away from mosques as the stereotype prevails that volunteerism is the province of mature women, and activities are closed to the public.

And by and large, women on mosque management boards still play a supportive role and are limited more to 'women's issues'.

Still, the consensus is that Muslim women are talented, have diverse experiences and can play greater, more meaningful roles.

For this, they can be better trained.

Dr Albakri Ahmad, dean of the Muis Academy, says that anecdotally, women, especially younger ones, form the majority at all training courses and skills workshops.

Courses include mosque leadership and governance, counselling, as well as case management for befrienders.

Women volunteers also sign up for strategic planning workshops run by mosques to chart their mid- and long-term plans.

'Younger women leaders were more active in roundtable discussions, discourse and seminars on contemporary issues,' he notes.

And so, the signs are bright that younger women will continue to rise in mosques and far beyond.

Awakened by 9/11
By Lee Siew Hua, The Straits Times, 14 Apr 2012

MADAM Moliah Hashim, 54, Mendaki's chief executive, looks back on 9/11 as her 'rude awakening'.

She remembers tearfully viewing the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America as they unfolded on TV and hugging her teenage children who asked difficult questions such as 'Why is this happening in the name of God?'

She had always viewed Islam as a very personal relationship with God. 'I was raised as a typical Muslim child, attended religious classes, read the Quran.

'But that moment, I felt I had to be responsible for how Muslims are seen and defined by non-Muslims, even if I was in safe, harmonious Singapore thousands of miles away,' she says.

'There was a more active desire to role-model an effective Muslim leader.'

Early the next morning, yearning to connect with a non-Muslim, Madam Moliah, then principal of Northland Primary School, dropped in unannounced to see a Chinese friend and fellow principal. She sobbed for a few minutes, then headed to her school to address pupils and teachers about the tragedy.

She has since connected and modelled Muslim values as an interfaith champion and uplifter of the community through self-help organisation Mendaki.

Her resolve to reflect the modern face of Islam was steeled further last year when she attended a conference in Istanbul by the Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (Wise) - an offshoot of the American Society for Muslim Advancement.

There, she mingled with political and religious leaders around the world, including a young Palestinian judge, a Kenyan MP who campaigned successfully to end genital mutilation, and Indonesian social enterprise stalwarts.

That experience more than convinced her that there is 'a needless mono-branding of Islam', which is more diverse and dynamic than many imagine. Unlike some other cultures, she knows Singapore and the Malay-Muslim community itself are so grounded in meritocracy that women can advance themselves.

'If you see the way our community accepts good leadership, it's no longer gender-based. We have moved on, even 10 years ago.

'Never, never use the fact that you are a woman or a Muslim as an excuse for not doing well. That's not an impediment to career advancement or helping the community move forward.'

It is a gift to be a woman, she remarks. 'The woman in you is not to be defended; you don't have to be apologetic. Women must know they are a force for the community and family.'

In her case, the mother of four children aged 13, 20, 26 and 28 relishes the dual gifts of being a progressive leader, yet a conventional woman at home.

Her family's maid left two months ago, leaving her in charge of the cooking, washing and ironing at home, mostly done with her children. 'I don't do floors and toilets - entirely my husband's territory.'

She describes cooking sour, spicy assam pedas with one hand, while cradling her five-month-old granddaughter. 'I am maidless in Singapore,' she says, laughing. 'I want to start a mini-blog on that.'

She says: 'While I am a progressive modern Muslim woman, I am also very conventional. I am as comfortable in traditional clothes as in shirt and pants.

'I serve my husband tea complete with saucer. It doesn't take away my liberal attitude. If he asks me to stop work today, I will,' she continues. As it is a relationship of trust, she knows he will have authentic reasons to ask her to quit; it will never be about 'manhood'.

Her spouse, who asked her to reveal nothing about him in media interviews when she took up the Mendaki mantle in 2010, knows, however, that she is excited to make a difference daily in Mendaki.

She talks about its learning culture and the educational strides of Malay children. 'Some say we made tuition fashionable,' she quips.

'We are almost one of the largest tuition agencies in Singapore. We made it possible for the low-income to think intervention.'

The arts and social sciences graduate of the then University of Singapore also sits on several boards, including the Media Development Authority, Health Promotion Board and Islamic Religious Council of Singapore.

Unconventionally, she thinks the edge that women bring to leadership is sincerity, even when this means a willingness to make known her vulnerabilities. 'If my vulnerabilities as a leader fail the management, it will be costly for the organisation and eventually, the community I work for.'

And leadership is not about the position. 'It is how you apply yourself in the leadership position to bring together what's needed to realise the aspirations of the community.'

Women helping women
By Lee Siew Hua, The Straits Times, 14 Apr 2012 

MADAM Sapiah Molla, 60, carries the flame of women-led social services organisation PPIS as its president.

PPIS, the Singapore Muslim Women's Association, has a reputation as a specialist in helping and empowering the Malay-Muslim community, with a focus on disadvantaged women. It manages 12,000 to 16,000 cases a year. Ninety per cent of its clients are Malay.

It runs 14 centres with a rich menu of programmes, including skills training for women and student care for the low-income. There are specialised services that support single parents, and counselling for remarried and minor couples.

PPIS was set up in 1952 by 22 idealistic Muslim women who, ahead of their time, reached out to women who customarily wed in their teens, enjoyed few rights and were sometimes abused.

'The socio-cultural thinking at the time was that only boys would be sent to school if resources were limited. A girl was to become a wife and stay at home,' says Madam Sapiah, PPIS president since 2008 and recently retired from Singapore Post, where she was an assistant vice-president of property development.

The reform-minded pioneers made representations before the Select Committee on the Women's Charter Bill, a landmark piece of legislation to protect the rights of women and girls.

'They provided English language and cooking classes so the women could be more independent and self-confident or start businesses. They gave talks to men, and advocated for our women.'

Madam Sapiah conveys this vivid history to make the larger point that the spirit of possibility persists in PPIS - now in its 60th year - and that all Muslim women can be visionary.

'This is the spirit, women helping women. Every woman must be visionary. If you're a mother, have a vision for your children and yourself. If you're a leader, have a vision for your organisation,' she says. 'If you fall, you should be able to come back, from divorce or a death in the family, for example.'

Since the early days of PPIS, Muslim women have made enormous strides professionally. Today, there are many Malay-Muslim women doctors, lawyers, accountants, government officials, principals and heads of school departments.

This trajectory of Singapore Malay-Muslim women, fuelled by education, is a 'progression' rather than a sudden turning point in her eyes. This message of progress can be spread to women of every background, she hopes.

The seed of volunteerism was sown in secondary school. Her Malay teachers were very socially conscious in the 1960s and 1970s.

Their message was distinct: Study hard, get a higher education, and give back to society. 'We were idealistic and wanted rapid transformation in society,' she says.

As a University of Singapore undergraduate - her BSc (Hons) is in economics - she and her friends would visit kampung families. They advocated for education and some gave tuition.

Her journey in PPIS really began in 1983 when she was looking for a kindergarten for her daughter. She was pleasantly surprised that PPIS was pioneering one where children would learn through play. Moral values such as honesty and hard work were also imparted, says Madam Sapiah, a mother of four children aged 21 to 33. She has three grandchildren; her husband is a retired teacher.

That year, she began to volunteer at PPIS, mostly in administration and human resources. She chaired its As Salaam family support centre in 2002, where she oversaw programmes for single-parent families and grief relief.

Because PPIS has so much experience working with Malay-Muslim clients, it offers consultancy services to train non-Malay-Muslim social workers. This helps them understand the community's view and attune their counselling programmes to those needs, she says.

PPIS has a staff strength of 180, and 95 per cent are women. Most male employees are social workers.

As she surveys the legacy of PPIS and the changes it has wrought - women have emerged from homelessness and joblessness to new lives with work and dignity, for instance - she yearns for more women to lift up women.

'We feel we should attract educated and talented women to volunteer. We must provide a platform for them to contribute,' she says.

'They can be role models, mentors, ambassadors and consultants. In Singapore, our girls and women can go as high as they can.'

Dynamic and Islamic

A dozen women get together to boost mosque sector

By Lee Siew Hua, The Straits Times, 14 Apr 2012 

TWELVE spirited Muslim women leaders have banded together to bring Singapore's 69 mosques and their 3,000 active female volunteers to the next level.

Among them is vocal Ms Rahuma Tun Neesa, 40, who sets key performance indicators (KPIs) for a Cairnhill mosque popular with young people and non-Malays like her. She is Indian-Chinese, and confesses she is not fluent in Malay yet.

There are also a couple of single mums, an accountant with a listed company and a police inspector.

The core dozen, who are from their 20s to 60s, are from the Mosque Women Network. It was set up last year to recommend how best to harness the prodigious energy and talent of women for the mosque sector.

Their recommendations were presented to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), which staged a Mosque Convention in December last year to chart the path of mosques for the next five years.

'In the past, women were always behind the scenes,' says Madam Rodziah Atan, 53, a housewife who has been a mosque management board member for 27 years. 'Women are the backbone of mosques. The men can't deny it.'

She adds: 'Fund-raising is tedious, for example, but we always do it. In my mosque, our voices are heard, our words have weight.'

She is part of the core team working on a bundle of issues that will have a far-reaching impact on Singapore's Muslim women for decades.

Their recommendations include having at least two capable and committed women on each mosque management board, which usually has 11 to 15 members. They also want to develop their vision of the ideal Muslimah - a dynamic modern woman who is yet rooted in Islamic traditions.

In working with their male compatriots to push this agenda gently, each woman in the core team has learnt how to pitch her contributions right. They are armed with facts, ever professional, and well-planned.

And even if some are vocal, they know how not to tread on male egos.

Says Ms Rahuma, an executive in a hospital: 'I just have to make sure that I don't send the wrong signal, to be mistaken as confrontational. Especially with board members who are much older, I have to be sensitive. We must have situational skills; this is being respectful as well.'

She plays to her strengths. As a non-Malay, she was recruited by her Al-Falah Mosque in Cairnhill to reach out to young people, converts, expatriates and non-Malays.

'My strength is to get things organised. Mosques are very structured and I am involved in a lot of administration, defining job descriptions and implementing KPIs for my mosque.'

Ms Musni Hussain, 54, has also applied her skills of precision garnered at the National University of Singapore, where she is a lab technologist, to the Al-Amin Mosque in Telok Blangah. 'I check quotations for the mosque carefully. Women tend to be detail-oriented.'

She adds that there are many women in mosque congregations. 'They need a woman's voice,' she says. She has devoted 23 years to two boards.

Mr Mohamad Helmy Mohd Isa, assistant director for mosques at Muis, thinks capable sisters like her are bridges, as 'women are hugely over-represented in almost all mosque programmes'.

They converge on lectures, are active befrienders, and like parenting workshops. 'It is also the womenfolk who contribute more financially!' he says.

Women mosque leaders themselves enrich discussions and crack problems, he says. They contribute to decisions and policies at mosque leadership level.

The 12 women in the core team have bonded speedily over their shared mission, which began in March last year and included a retreat in Johor Baru where they discussed ideas past midnight.

At their meetings in Singapore, they also enlarge their pool of best practices. They hail from five mosque clusters, each with distinct strengths, like the ability to engage young people or hosting grand Hari Raya celebrations.

Meanwhile, they wonder: Will a woman chair a mosque management board one day?

They generally feel that the community is not so ready, though it is possible one day.

But there is something more urgent on their collective wish list: a desire to attract young women and professionals.

This will regenerate the ranks of women leaders in mosques, and help deploy more volunteers to social causes.

Madam Rodziah says: 'Younger women are full of zest. I am more of a listening ear now. I have already talked for 27 years; let others have a chance.

'Hopefully they can bring us to higher levels.'

United by faith to help others

Muslim immigrant communities find common cause in helping the less fortunate

By Jeremy Lim, The Straits Times, 14 Apr 2012

SOME Muslim immigrant communities here have used their shared faith to punch above their weight in the fields of charity work and community activities.

Small organisations like the Singapore Pakistani Association (SPA) and Turkish Cultural Centre are taking the lead to reach out to the less fortunate and to share their culture with locals.

Expatriate housewives often take centre stage in these groups as their husbands are busy working or travelling.

Most expatriate women are not working, so it is easy for them to commit to community work, says SPA president Sophie Shaikh, 59. She leads a committee of four women and four men, and has been president for three terms.

The Karachi-born housewife arrived here in 1988 and has five children aged 25 to 38. Her husband recently retired from a job in a pharmaceutical company and the couple are now Singapore permanent residents.

Many Pakistani men working here are bankers. A substantial number also work in IT and communications, or run small businesses, says the SPA. There are more than 500 Pakistani immigrant families living here.

The Pakistanis are small in number compared with the Indians or Bangladeshis, but they achieved great things in raising funds for their disaster-hit home country.

The SPA went into top gear after the 2010 Pakistan floods, which killed more than 1,500 and affected about 20 million.

It mobilised more than 300 volunteers and kicked off an array of fund-raisers, including concerts, bake sales, art exhibitions, auctions and bazaars. The association raised more than $200,000 to provide clean water, food, shelter and medicine for disaster victims.

One of the volunteers was Pakistan-born Farzana Danish, who is now a Singapore citizen. The mother of three children aged eight to 18 helped organise fund-raising efforts at Geylang Serai after the floods and channelled donations to Mercy Relief.

Immigrant Muslim groups also work with the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis).

'We want to help them feel at home in Singapore, and we believe they have much to offer to enrich the local Muslim community,' says Muis deputy director of strategic engagement Zainul Abidin.

In 2010, Muis invited foreign-born communities to join an annual event focused on iftar, or the breaking of fast during the month of Ramadan.

The SPA, Turkish Cultural Centre, Singapore Bangladesh Society and Indonesian Muslim Association of Singapore jointly sponsored 130 food hampers for needy Muslim families.

Volunteers from the immigrant groups fanned out across the island to distribute the hampers, worth $50 each, to needy families.

According to Muis, there are about 10 groups representing foreign-born Muslims, the largest of which is the Singapore Bangladesh Society, which represents a 90,000-strong community.

Other communities represented include Indians, Pakistanis, Turkish, Moroccans, Japanese, Indonesians, Iraqis, Palestinians and Myanmar nationals.

Each community brings different skills and mindsets to the table.

For example, Japanese Muslim volunteers help to bridge the language gap for Japanese tourists visiting mosques here. Ms Ei'shah Aoyama Abdullah, 35, a Kobe native who is married to a Muslim Singaporean teacher here, volunteers as a translator for Japanese tourists here keen to learn more about Islam.

From 2007 to 2010, she led Japanese-language tours of the 188-year-old Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam three times a week. More than half the mosque's visitors are Japanese as it is featured in Japanese guide books, she says.

'I'm happy to tell them about the religion and the history of the mosque,' says the housewife, who stopped regular tours after becoming pregnant with her second child but plans to restart soon. There are about 20 other Japanese Muslims in Singapore, most of whom are housewives who married Muslims here, according to the Japanese Association.

Another group with much to share is the Turkish community. Owing to their historical location at the heart of the Ottoman empire, the Turks have a rich Islamic heritage.

There are about 500 Turks here, up from 200 a decade ago, says the Turkish Cultural Centre, which was set up in 1999 to promote cultural sharing.

For the past three years, the centre has partnered with Assyakirin Mosque in Jurong to educate people about historical Islamic civilisations.

In 2010, the centre arranged for prominent Turkish historian Ilber Ortayli to give a talk on Turkish and Islamic civilisation at the mosque.

In the second half of this year, it is mounting a multi-mosque educational roadshow that will display photos of relics from Istanbul's Topkapi Palace. The palace is a Unesco World Heritage Site and houses Prophet Muhammad's cloak and sword, among other items important to Islam.

Representatives of the Turkish Cultural Centre visit about four local schools a year, which allow children here to try a spread of Turkish food, or try their hand at ebru, a special form of painting also known as water-marbling.

'The students are often amazed to learn that Turkey is part of both Asia and Europe,' says volunteer Emel Cona, 34. The Turk moved here from the Netherlands in 2009 with her banker husband and their three children aged three to seven. 'Turkey is like a bridge between the two continents,' she adds.

According to Mr Zainul of Muis, the Turks are very experienced in the area of interfaith dialogue and relations.

They certainly hit it off well with locals at IRCC@Heartlands, a carnival organised by the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles in September last year. About 1,500 people attended the event at West Coast Park, where the Turkish Cultural Centre set up a food-tasting booth.

The Turks have definitely found a quick route to the Singaporean heart - through the stomach. At cultural exchange events, Turkish food is always a big draw for Singaporeans.

Favourites of Singaporeans include cezerye, a sticky snack made of carrots and nuts, and sprinkled with coconut powder. Other offerings include the classic Turkish delight, Turkish ice-cream and Turkish coffee.

At the same time, many Turks are keen to embrace Singapore culture, says the director of the Turkish Cultural Centre, Mr Necmettin Eskici. They can learn from Singaporeans in being more systematic, offering efficient services and having a high standard of education, he says.

The Turkish Cultural Centre at 10 Hillcrest Road welcomes drop-in visitors from 9am to 6pm on weekdays.

Mr Eskici is keen to do more. 'We should have a greater presence on the ground, have more people-friendly events,' he says.

'In Turkey, there is a saying that your real home is not where you are born, it is where you eat,' he says. 'We don't feel like foreigners in Singapore, we want to integrate.'