Good Afternoon,

Mr Mohd Almi Musa

Chairman of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP)

Members of the Board of Directors

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Boys and Girls

I am very happy to join you here today at the Opening Ceremony of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP)’s second Child Care and Development Centre. As an old friend, I would like to congratulate AMP for this meaningful venture, reaching out to care for our younger generation.

Child care centres are set up to help the working parents. The need for quality child care programmes will increase as double income families increasingly becoming the norm. I understand that this Centre, like your Yishun Centre, is running at full capacity. In fact, there is a long waiting list for both Centres, 200 here and 100 in Yishun. This is an illustration of public approval for your Centres, both in terms of need and service quality.

An excessively long waiting list can generate problems. The frustration of having to wait long for something very good and desirable can generate "sour grape" attitude. If this happens, our image can be affected. As an old friend who is concerned about AMP, may I be allowed to suggest that more specific guidelines for admission be formulated and made public. This way, target audience of the Centre becomes more focussed. Those who do not meet the guidelines can be informed so that they would not have to wait. So demand would be under better control. Of course, if you prefer to increase supply by setting up more centres, I’m sure my colleagues in MCD would be prepared to consider your proposals.

I feel parents should also remember that while they place high expectations on the quality of the Centres, let us always remember that child care centres cannot substitute parental care. No matter how busy, parents should try to spend more time with children. AMP has experience and expertise in parenting courses and workshops. May I suggest that as part of customer service, you conduct some seminars for the parents on how to spend time with their children. This way, parents and your Centres could mutually reinforce each other while developing the children. Parental involvement will enhance the image of your Centre and effectiveness of your programmes. Parents would appreciate ideas on how to improve quality of time spent with their children.

I wish AMP success in your endeavours. Please keep up your good work!

Thank you.

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