Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2^nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 837-9666

I am happy to be here this afternoon with you to discuss a very important topic for all of us. Allow me to share with you very candidly my views on some key issues and challenges facing the community.

Earlier this year, the Prime Minister released a report documenting the progress of the Malay/Muslim community over the last 10 years. Our achievements in education are on an upward trend. Many more Malays now have post-secondary education qualifications as compared to 10 years ago.

The profile of our Malay workers has also changed for the better. There are now more workers with technical and managerial skills as compared to those with low level skills. At the professional level, we are seeing more Malays with jobs in areas such as medicine, engineering, legal services, business management, IT and many other areas which offer better salaries and privileges.

Our community today also has a lot more disposable income. And this rise in disposable income has also contributed to the rise in zakat collection over the last few years. Thus, these upward trends of our community’s achievement have a direct bearing on our community’s ability not only to consume and share wealth with others, but also as a stronger base to make further improvements in the community.

Our community should feel proud about its achievement thus far. But, the data also show areas which we must continue to pay attention to.

In education for example, there is room for improvement in many areas. Despite improvements in our PSLE performance, there remain a significant group of students who face difficulties in Mathematics and Science at a very early age. These are subjects which are important for the new economy. A good grasp of these subjects in the early years of schooling will help to lay a long-term foundation for sustaining the educational achievement of our children. Schools have put in place a variety of assistance programmes to help school children. Our parents must take increased interest and initiative to assist their young children to overcome some of these challenges.

While more of our students enter the polytechnics, the number going to the junior colleges and universities has not increased significantly in the last few years. There evidence that many polytechnic students do eventually upgrade themselves by getting a degree from universities. While this route towards a degree may be increasingly popular, the traditional path via the junior colleges cannot be discounted for a variety of reasons. Government and the various statutory boards offer scholarships primarily to junior college students. From this group, we seek to identify those who can make a career in the Administrative Service and other prestigious appointments in the civil service. If we want to see a Malay permanent secretary, we must therefore ensure more Malays going to the junior colleges and universities and winning government scholarships.

To increase our numbers in junior colleges and universities more Malays must sit for the O-level examinations. Dropout rates in secondary schools must be arrested and performance at the O-levels must improve in order to have more Malays qualifying for junior colleges.

In terms of our workforce, structural changes in the economy will continue to threaten to displace our older and less-skilled workers. As a community, we have the largest number of elderly and mature workers at risk of being retrenched. The solution is the continuous upgrading of skills. The government will continue to assist the various agencies such as NTUC and PSB to provide wide ranging options for retraining and upgrading of skills. There are also a wide array of programmes by Mendaki and AMP to assist Malay workers to upgrade their skills. Our workers must grab all these opportunities to upgrade and remain relevant to the economy. The impact of not making the right choice is not only on the individual worker but his family and ultimately our community.

In terms of our consumption patterns, the ownership of personal computers and access to Internet lags behind that for items such as video machines. The Internet is fast becoming a key part of modern living. Many government services are being offered online. Internet has become an important means of communicating and providing information and services to the general public. The use of IT in schoolwork and work is on the rise. Despite the upward trend in personal computer ownership and Internet penetration rates, our community needs to continue to push for greater gains in this area.

In 1999, the Malay MPs decided that it was important for our community to be an active participant of the new economy. Against some resistance and criticism from some quarters, we mobilised the community to discuss and map out some strategies and programmes for our community. A report was produced which documented the steps needed to ensure that our community became ready for the new economy.

There is now a growing awareness of the demands of the new economy within our community. The recently concluded e-celebrations and Malay Internet Week drew a large audience from all strata of our community. Many housewives and mature workers attended IT training courses conducted by Mendaki and AMP. Efforts are underway to give free personal computers and IT training to the low-income families. The number of such families coming forward is on the rise.

On the business front, more Malay SMEs are now turning to the Internet to find new business opportunities. Recent seminars conducted by private service providers and Minda2000 Tech Club attracted a growing number of Malay SMEs. Many young Malays have also taken the plunge into the dot com world. It is a tough world, but many analysts believe that the growth potential of the IT sector is still strong and robust.

Allow me now to share some ideas on key areas which the Malay MPs have been thinking about recently.

My colleagues and I remain committed to the vision of a learning, creative, and confident community. It is a vision of a community, which strives continuously to improve itself, and strengthens its place as a key pillar in Singapore. It is a community that is able to compete globally and plays an active role in nation building.

Our vision for the Malay community seeks to move the community forward by developing the talented and uplifting those within the lower-income end. In the latter group, a twin strategy of higher educational attainment among the underachievers and greater social mobility for the low-income earners is being worked out. For the talented, opportunities to excel in more competitive environment should be provided.

Of late the issue of integration, especially of the Malay community has resurfaced. I am sure many of you do not feel that this is a problem. I share your views. Nonetheless, I believe it is useful to examine why it has surfaced and what we can do to show that the Malay community is committed to integrating with the larger Singaporean community.

First we must clearly understand that integration is not assimilation. It is not expected that everyone becomes like everybody else. Rather, it is a forging of a sense of common purpose and shared ideals towards the preservation and strengthening of the ties that bind us as a nation. The government understands that each community would like to keep its identity. Its approach is to enlarge the common ground while maintaining private spaces for each of the ethnic groups in Singapore.

The key to enlarging the common ground is interaction. In order to interact, we must participate in all aspects of national life. The government will continue to put in place policies and facilities which will help bring the various communities together.

Questions of integration will arise if one community seeks to reduce, consciously or otherwise, the common ground. Are we guilty of this? Given the data and the achievements I have outlined earlier, I am of the opinion that our community has been actively moving towards the centre of the mainstream in Singapore. Would a community that is not interested in integration pursue vigorously a higher standard of living and higher educational achievement? The answer is very clear – no. We are interested in integration.

But integration goes beyond merely participating in national life. The question is whether the glue that binds us as a people can hold during good and bad times. How each community views each other and the level of trust we have in each other are important factors in answering this question. Let me dwell a bit on how our actions can shape the views the other communities have of us. In any relationship, a demanding or assertive posture from one party will invariably attract a strong response from another. This is a fact of life. Community relationships are not forged overnight. It takes years of effort and interaction. Understanding how other communities behave and think is important in putting our points of view across. As we demand more private spaces, especially in common areas where we seem to have had no problems before, we will raise alarm bells in the other communities. The negotiation of private spaces must therefore be done with wisdom and patience. We are in fact asking the other communities to accept a new image of the community. But we cannot insist and assume that they accept the new image readily and quickly.

Thus I would urge that we continue to examine the changes in our community in relation to the common ground we share with other communities. This is simply because we do not live in a vacuum. For example, as mosques begin to conduct new programmes which are available elsewhere, we must expect an impact in the participation of our community in public and community places. But if we integrate mosques into community life and rationalise the functions and roles of mosques and other public facilities, I am confident that our community can enjoy both our private and common grounds and allay concerns over the willingness of our community to integrate.

The development of the Malay community in Singapore is a challenging one. It requires solutions on many fronts and a collective effort by everyone who has a stake in the community and nation. The need for fresh and innovative ideas is more urgent given the changes taking place in the country. We cannot expect Singapore not to progress. In a sense we have no choice. But we also need to systematically move the community forward so that we become partners in progress with the other communities.

I have listed the many challenges facing us. But the one key challenge which I believe is important for all of us to think about is that of leadership within the community.

We need talented and committed individuals to come forward and contribute to the community’s well being and nation’s progress. Community leaders like you play a vital role in mobilising the community towards some desired outcomes. Leaders, such as yourselves, not only have to cater to the needs of our community, but would also have to consider our relationship with other communities. As leaders, we need to take a long-term view of things and help our community to focus on the more important things that contribute to our community’s well being. The madrasah debate demonstrated this very well. The Malay MPs and community leaders were committed to preserving madrasah education in Singapore. But in deciding the future shape of madrasah education, we recognised the need to take into account changes taking place in Singapore now and in the foreseeable future. However, the ensuing debates on and fear that compulsory education would cause the demise of the madrasahs in Singapore, resulted in a lot of suspicion and unease and in the community opting for a less than ideal solution. My colleagues and I are saddened by this turn of events as in the end it is the community that would suffer in the long run.

Leadership is not about grandstanding and playing to the gallery although this is very tempting and easier to do. It is about doing what is right even if difficult and guiding the community towards progress and success. Leadership is about leaving a legacy of hope and ideals which succeeding generations can cherish and turn to for their own progress and success.

Our task as current leaders is to develop the next generation of leaders who are able to carry on what we have achieved thus far. But the next generation leaders cannot be nurtured in a vacuum devoid of history and a strong grasp of the realties of the day. Just as importantly, the next generation must also be imbued with a progressive philosophy.

Many of you have been providing a progressive leadership to the community in a quiet unassuming way. You have seen how the community has moved forward and developed to what it is now. You have played a key part in that process by providing the bridge to the other communities in Singapore. When the community was reluctant to be a part of community centres, you did not hesitate to offer your services. You have been central to the process of integrating the Malay community in Singapore by ensuring that Malay participation in community activities is taking place. You have helped to preserve our culture and helped make it known to other communities. Grassroots leaders such as all of you are the silent majority in our community. The presence of MAECs is a testimony that integration is an active process taking place everyday in the various functions rooms at community centres and other public places. When the Malay MPs launched the KBE movement, the overwhelming support from the grassroots served to reinforce the notion that seeking knowledge and the culture of lifelong learning are important for our community’s future.

The leaders of our community must have a commitment to a vision of excellence and a philosophy of life that is developmental and progressive. And I believe you understand that this vision must operate within the context of a secular and multiracial Singapore. In the articulation and implementation of the vision, we must recognise that other communities share the same public space with our community. The role of leaders, in this regard, must facilitate the smooth interaction among the communities towards a common good.

For the last 35 years our community has been progressing steadily. This has been the result of our government’s effort at uplifting the entire nation. And also of the community’s response to the challenges and opportunities created for every Singaporean. Meritocracy, despite its opponents here and elsewhere, is in fact the best environment for our community to succeed provided we work hard and commit ourselves to excellence. The future holds a lot more promise. Yet the Singapore of the future will be a very different one. The shift towards a knowledge economy is taking place. Employability will become more relevant than employment. New growth areas such life sciences will emerge. Our community must also change. Our emphasis on education must continue but with a greater focus on the culture of lifelong learning. Continuous knowledge acquisition and skills upgrading must become a norm in our community.

In this sea of change, there are areas which remain unchanged. The composition of our society will remain multiracial with many more different groups making their presence in Singapore. The building of trust and the forging of ties among different communities are works in progress which do not have a completion date. The process of integration must continue indefinitely. Yet the components involve will change as new generations emerge with their own expectations and aspirations.

As leaders, we must anticipate this and pave the way for succeeding generations to integrate smoothly with the other communities and move along with the nation. We do this by ensuring that every group in the Malay community succeeds as the other groups in other communities. As long as every Malay feels that he has a place in Singapore, we deepen our community’s stake in Singapore’s future. This is a lasting legacy that we can leave behind to succeeding generations. As community leaders you have an important role in creating that legacy.