Malay Muslims have done well in Singapore: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at 3rd National Convention of Singapore Muslim Professionals 2012

Community has made progress without affirmative action in system, he says

By Lydia Lim , Andrea Ong, The Straits Times, 1 Jul 2012

THE Malay-Muslim community has done well in Singapore's merit- based system and without affirmative action, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an address to about 500 Muslim professionals yesterday.

He was speaking at the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) convention, held once every 10 years to take stock of the community's progress and chart new directions.



Its achievements include higher household incomes, more young Malays entering tertiary institutions and fewer dropping out of school.

Some problems remain. These include drug abuse and a fall in home ownership rates in the last decade - the result of families suffering financial difficulties and break-ups.

But overall, the community has done well, Mr Lee said.

'It has done well and achieved what it has achieved in a meritocratic system, through its own efforts, individually, collectively and hand-in-hand with the Government, but without any affirmative action.

'There are not that many communities in the world which have made this progress and can say this,' he added.

Mr Lee also addressed a longstanding concern of how the Malay-Muslim community is faring relative to other communities. Indeed, in a report released yesterday, the AMP highlighted some worrying trends, one of which is the decline in personal median income among Malays in the last decade, when incomes for other groups went up.

In his speech, Mr Lee said: 'We should not just focus on the difference between the Malay community and the other communities because it's a moving target.

'It's better to concentrate on doing your best, the best possible you can do for yourself and aim for steady growth.'

The Prime Minister also gave his view on the AMP's plan to set up a community forum, to re-position Malay-Muslim organisations into groups that 'engage a national, inter-ethnic, issue-oriented agenda'.

He acknowledged the AMP's belief that issues affecting Malay Muslims cut across communities and are national issues.

But he also urged the AMP and other Malay-Muslim organisations to 'have a care if you are venturing into civil society issues which are not primarily to do with the Malay- Muslim community'.

If the AMP, a self-help group that receives government funding, diverts its attention to other civil society issues, 'it will lose its focus on its primary task, which is to tackle the social and economic issues in the Malay-Muslim community and to improve the well-being of the community', he said.

He also had this reminder: In Singapore, 'we try very hard not to debate our national issues along ethnic lines'.

Since 1990, the AMP has played a key role in the community's success, helping 260,000 people including students and low-income families.

At a press conference later, Mr Nizam Ismail, chairman of the convention steering committee, gave his assurance that the community forum is designed to address issues that are relevant to the Malay-Muslim community.

AMP chairman Azmoon Ahmad said 'we have heard PM well'. Both also expressed support for the yearly Community Leaders' Forum, a platform funded by Mendaki for Malay-Muslim groups to discuss community issues.

The AMP yesterday also unveiled 18 other strategies to help the community progress. These strategies cover economics, social issues, education, religion, leadership, civil society and young professionals, and Muslim expatriates.

Panels of experts met and drew up the strategies, which include a debt advisory centre, programmes to encourage deeper knowledge of Islam among young people, and a research network on education.

The AMP also launched an online portal called the Muslim Expatriates Network, which will run like a social networking site.

At the end of the convention, all participants agreed, by a show of hands, to support a communique stating that they endorse these proposals.

'Graduates in every family' call
Malay-Muslim group's strategy comes amid fears that community is lagging behind
By Lydia Lim, Andrea Ong, The Straits Times, 1 Jul 2012

The Association of Muslim Professionals wants to raise the number of Malay-Muslim university graduates under a new strategy it is calling 'graduates in every family'.

Only 6.8 per cent of Malay-Muslims had a university degree in 2010, according to a study commissioned by the AMP, compared with 28.3 per cent across all races.

Worries over how the community is lagging behind the other races at the top of the educational ladder surfaced yesterday when Malay- Muslim professionals engaged Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a dialogue during an AMP convention.

Three participants expressed concern about under-performance in education, which Mr Lee acknowledged was a difficult issue that the community had been 'wrestling with' for a long time. Still, he highlighted the progress made.

'Over the last 40 years, the Malay community has been raising its standards and catching up, in terms of raising its education... and the culture of focusing on studying and emphasising school and education as a way to success in life.'

On university graduates, he said: 'It's 6 per cent today, Malay students in university, but if you look at it 30 years ago, it was about zero; 20 years ago it was 1 or 2 per cent, so in fact the progress has been very considerable, compared to where it started from.'

He noted that in the last 10 years, the share of Malay-Muslim students who went to universities and polytechnics had risen from 20 per cent to 40 per cent.

Mr Lee also advised against focusing only on university graduates for the AMP's 'graduates in every family' strategy. Even in Chinese families, some children made it to university while others went to polytechnics or the Institute of Technical Education, he said.

Comparing the different levels of achievement in communities to a pyramid, Mr Lee said the wise approach was to aim to move each level of the pyramid up a little.

In response to a polytechnic lecturer's question on whether Malays were less hungry than other races for educational achievements, Mr Lee highlighted instead the problem of low-income families in which parents did not fully realise the importance of education.

Another participant asked for the government-funded Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy to be liberalised so more Malay students could benefit. Mr Lee said that was a decision for self-help group Mendaki, which administers the scheme.

Mr Lee also fielded two questions on ways to draw more Malay and Muslim immigrants and expatriates. These newcomers should share a cultural affinity with Singaporeans, he said. If the numbers from far-flung places such as Turkey and the Middle East were too large, integration might be a problem, he warned.

One participant asked when the Government would do away with the classification of citizens into one of four race categories: Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others.

Mr Lee said these main groups would stay for some time. 'The balance of the groups will also stay for some time because, as a matter of policy, we will not let the balance be upset.'

Frank talk of policies concerning Malay-Muslims
By Andrea Ong, The Straits Times, 1 Jul 2012

Questions about policies seen as discriminating against Malay-Muslims surfaced at a frank dialogue between professionals from the community and the Prime Minister yesterday.

Mr Muhamad Ali Aman from the Motivasi Youth Association asked PM Lee Hsien Loong if he would consider doing away with the ethnic quota for public housing.

He knew of a Malay family who got a queue number to select a Build-to-Order flat but was later asked to re-apply because the quota for Malay households was filled.

Responding, Mr Lee said: 'Sometimes the Malays hit the limit and then they have to apply again. I don't think that is being unfair to Malays. I think that can happen to any community.'

Chinese and Indian Singaporeans have gone to him for help when they could not get a unit as the empty flats in the block were reserved for other races, Mr Lee added.

He stressed that it is 'necessary for us, even today' to have rules ensuring a mix of ethnicities in public housing. Otherwise, in five to 10 years, ethnic enclaves might form in different parts of the island and lead to 'a very different Singapore'.

Another participant asked Mr Lee when policies governing ethnic participation in the military would be removed.

Mr Lee reiterated that the Singapore Armed Forces work on the basis of merit. Each soldier is assessed on his abilities and contributions and posted to 'where he is best able to make that contribution'.

The situation concerning Malays in the SAF is one 'that is moving', he said, adding that Malay officers and specialists have been doing better and getting promoted year by year.

Another participant said some Malay-Muslims have told him they emigrated because they felt discriminated against in Singapore.

PM Lee said he would be hesitant to attribute their departure to discrimination as people from all races leave the country for various reasons.

While Singapore remains a multiracial society, Mr Lee stressed: 'To the best of our ability, we deal with one another on the basis of your contribution - what can you do, how good are you.

'Is it perfect? Maybe not 100 per cent. But I would say we get an A grading compared to any other society in terms of meritocracy.'

Government looks after all Singaporeans: PM Lee at Jamiyah's 80th anniversary dinner
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia, 29 Jun 2012

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has emphasised that at the national level, the government looks after all Singaporeans, regardless of ethnic groups.

Speaking in both Malay and English at Muslim community organisation Jamiyah's 80th anniversary celebrations, Mr Lee said this is done through the provision of high quality social services, such as housing, healthcare and education, to develop Singaporeans' potential and to prepare Singaporeans for good jobs.

Mr Lee said the government has been managing social challenges across the board, regardless of race, language or religion.

"This national approach has worked well for us. All communities have progressed with Singapore including the Malay/Muslim community. People have made achievements based on merit and fair competition, so that every Singaporean can take pride in their accomplishments and progress and we have strengthened the Singaporean identity as we have improved our lives together," said Mr Lee.

"But at the same time, while the government works at the national level, we recognise that each different community has its unique needs especially in the social cultural fields," he added.



Turning to Jamiyah's contributions to Singapore, Mr Lee said it has made a valuable contribution to the progress of the Malay/Muslim community.

It focuses on education as a foundation for social mobility and set up the Jamiyah Kindergarten and the Jamiyah Business School.

It also operates homes for the less fortunate, like orphans and disadvantaged children, substance abusers and destitute seniors, besides providing free services such as medical care, marriage counselling and legal aid.

The prime minister also added that while Jamiyah's focus remained on the Malay/Muslim community, its programmes are open to all, regardless of race, language or religion.

It has had long cooperation with the Buddhist Lodge, and also many joint initiatives with Catholic Archdiocese, The Hindu Endowments Board, Central Sikh Gurdwara, and the Taoist Federation of Singapore.

Mr Lee said this reflected the emphasis on inter-religious harmony, as this strengthened racial and religious harmony, which are important in Singapore's multi-ethnic society.

Mr Lee added that Malay/Muslim organisations like Jamiyah will continue to evolve and he has urged the organisation to stay abreast of changes, and review its programmes to stay relevant to the community.

He said with more Malay/Muslims succeeding in their careers and becoming PMETs, Jamiyah should craft programmes to take advantage of their skills and energies and involve them more, tap their time and expertise to do the projects and guide the younger leaders of the community.