36th Storey, PSA Building, 460 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119963.

Tel: 3757794/5

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Haji Mohd Syariff Sheikh Ahmad, Chairman

Haji Abdul Majid Abdul Hamid, Vice-Chairman

Management Committee, Principal and Teachers of

Abdul Aleem Siddique Nursery & Kindergarten

Parents and Students

Assalamualaikum wr. wb.

Maulana Abdul Aleem Siddique Al Qaddari must be pleased to know that his sacrifices had not been to no avail after his demise. Tuan Haji Abdul Majid, Encik Khairunan Ali and Ustaz Abdillah Al Jufri are just to name a few individuals who have made the Abdul Aleem Siddique Kindergarten and Madrasah possible to this day.

All of us have heard how, in his National Day rally, the Prime Minister voiced his concern about the performance amongst our full-time Madrasah students. He rightfully said that the knowledge-based economy (KBE), which the nation is gearing to, can open many opportunities and challenges. Students need to be competent in English and have good fundamentals in Science, Mathematics and Information Technology to be able to gain fully from this new era. So is there a place for Madrasah students especially the drop-outs?

Prime Minister Goh has called for a study to be made by MUIS, Mendaki and the Madrasahs on the drop-out rate. Hopefully, the study will tell why the drop-out rate is rather high – is it because of the students’ own attitude, lack of family support, difficulty in mastering Arabic Language, inappropriate curriculum, or ineffective method of instruction? Whatever the reasons, it is hoped that the Madrasahs can overcome their weaknesses. If not for anything else, let it not be that the good name of the Madrasahs be questioned.

The Madrasahs have been and always will be a part of the education system in Singapore. They have produced many religious leaders, teachers and scholars. This is important to ensure that the Muslim community remains balanced. Their role become more important as Singapore goes global and is inadvertently exposed to all things positive as well as negative.

Prime Minister Goh verified last week that the Government had no intention of closing down the Madrasahs, but they may have to adjust their teaching hours if compulsory education is introduced here. The objective is to see how Madrasahs can complement national schools while retaining their role. What we need is a balance between optimising manpower resources for a knowledge-based economy while achieving spiritual goals.

The Prime Minister’s recent announcement in Parliament on the proposed compulsory education to compel pupils to attend national schools until at least Primary 4 creates a new scenario in our national education. It directly requires that every Singaporean, including the Muslim community, to implement new strategies. The same can be said when more national schools are becoming single session schools.

I hope MUIS and the Islamic bodies can think about this together and arrive at a master plan to strategise what actions are needed to be implemented quickly in view of the latest development in education in this country. I hope that this master plan can be laid out clearly so that the path of Madrasah education is well defined and not hindered or stalled at the brink of the new millenium, only several weeks away.

The way forward must start from the basics. I have mentioned earlier that our children need their basic footing in Islam while still young. To keep them interested in learning about Islam, we need to introduce new social experiences through "enjoyable programs" which closely follow Islamic values. A child develops best in a nurturing environment with caring and competent teachers working hand in hand with parents. At the same time, we must not forget to equip our children with IT knowledge to face the ever expanding and challenging IT world. What is most important is that we train our children to be disciplined and have a positive attitude towards education now and in the future.

With this, I wish to congratulate all graduands of the Abdul Aleem Siddique Nursery and Kindergarten on your graduation today. Your parents must be proud of you. Insya Allah, they will always remain proud of you. You are our hope for the future. Thank you.

Wassalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.