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Synopsis :

At the launching of a Malay Task Force at the PUB Auditorium, a spokesman from Mendaki or the Council for the Development of the Singapore Malay Muslim Community welcomes Acting Minister for Social Affairs Dr. Ahmad Mattar, final year pre-university and junior college students and representatives from the National University of Singapore, Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Technical College and the Institute of Education. A Secondary 2 student from Mei Chin Secondary School reads a few verses from the Koran. The Mendaki spokesman then quotes statistics from a report on how Malay students who are above five years of age  fared in various examinations like the O Level, A Level and Primary School Leaving Examination in 1980. The number of Malay students in the University is small. These figures reveal that there is a need to raise standards. Statistics also show that many Malay children don't go to school. The issue was raised by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Ministers Goh Chok Tong and Dr.Tony Tan Keng Yam at various events. Ten Malay Members of Parliament together with leaders from various bodies like the  Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura and Taman Bacaan  took the initiative to meet, discuss and decide on a coordinating body to address the issue. We also hear from two Malay students, one from Temasek Junior College and the other from National Junior College who have done well in their O Level examination.