Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Chairman of Mendaki’s Board of Directors,

Mdm Zuraidah Abdullah, CEO Mendaki,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

1.             I am happy to join you this evening to celebrate Mendaki’s 25^th anniversary. I am also pleased to present the Mendaki Awards to top Malay/Muslim students and the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award to deserving youths.  The recipients of these Awards represent a new generation of Malay/Muslim youths – well-educated, energetic, and confident in outlook.  They excel in many disciplines, and compete not only with the best in Singapore, but also the world.

25 Years of Achievement

2.             Mendaki was the first community self-help group to be formed in Singapore.  After the 1980 census results were published, Malay/Muslim leaders recognised that the community was performing poorly in education and socio-economic development.  Malay MPs got together and decided to launch a concerted, long term effort to get the community to uplift themselves.  With the support of community leaders, they held a Convention on Education in 1981, and set up Mendaki in 1982.  Through Mendaki, they mobilised successful Malays to pitch in to help the weaker members.  

3.             It was not an easy task.  The Malay/Muslim community then was anxious that it was doing poorly in many fields.  It was also divided between those who wanted to work with Govern­ment to improve the community, and those who did not trust the Govern­ment’s intentions.  Many community leaders were brave to face the new realities and understood the challenges ahead.  But the broader community was not sure whether they could really cope with meritocracy, and compete with other Singaporeans who were well ahead of them in educational attainments and economic success. 

4.             When Mendaki was launched, the community felt that now at least the Government and community leaders were focussing attention on helping them.  But there was no euphoria.  They realised that the road ahead would be tough – ‘berliku-liku’ (many twists and turns).  But 25 years later, we see the wisdom of this self-help strategy, and the fruits of a quarter century of hard work.

5.             Therefore tonight’s 25^th anniversary of Mendaki is also a celebration of 25 years of achievements by the Malay/Muslim community.  I asked for a comprehensive report to show how far the community has progressed since 1982.  We had compiled a similar report in 2001, and the ministries have updated the findings.  We are releasing this 25^th anniversary report today.  It shows how far the community has come, and how much it can be proud of.  Year to year, improvements have been gradual, but over 25 years the transformation has been dramatic.  Whether in education, socio-economic levels, or housing, we see a new Malay/Muslim community, confident that it is progressing with the others, and succeeding through its own efforts. 

Significant Progress in Education

6.             Let me highlight some of the key achievements.  From the beginning, Mendaki focussed its efforts on one vital issue – education.  This consistent, sustained emphasis has paid off hugely.  Mendaki started out with 6 tuition centres and 900 students.  Today, it operates 48 centres, serving 6,000 students.  Over the years, a total of 150,000 students have benefited from the Mendaki tuition scheme.  But the results cannot just be measured by the numbers in the scheme.  More important has been the impact on the mindsets of Malay parents and students generally.  Because of Mendaki’s campaign, they now understand the paramount importance of education as the key to progress in many other areas.  Hence they have applied themselves to their studies, with gratifying results.

7.             Many statistics tell the same story.  The percentage of school enrolment is almost 100%, the number of school dropouts has come down steadily, and educational outcomes have improved significantly.  For example, in 1980 only one in six Malay students achieved five ‘O’ level passes at the GCE ‘O’ examinations.  Today more than 60% do so, a fourfold increase.  

8.             With better results, more than 80% of Malay students now make it to post-secondary education, into the ITEs, polytechnics and pre-university centres.  The community is on track to achieve its target of 90% entering post-secondary institutions by 2010.  The percentage entering tertiary institutions – the polytechnics and universities – has also increased sharply from 1.3% in 1980 to 34% in 2005.  More are making it to the universities – 5%, a ten-fold increase in 25 years.  And in universities, more students are in professional and technical disciplines like Accounting, Engineering and Life Sciences. 

9.             We are honouring some of the outstanding Malay/Muslim students this evening, but many more are doing well.  Each year there are more success stories of Malays making a mark, in Singapore and internationally.  Graduates and professionals are building their careers and getting recognised, both in the public and private sectors. 

10.        Recently I was at a National Day carnival in Seng Kang.  There was a display of racing cars.  Besides the Lamborghinis there was one racing car built by a team of NUS engineering students.  Every year the mechanical engineering students build a racing car as a major project, which they enter in an international competition in Detroit, where they usually do very well.  I was shown around by a young Malay engineer, who impressed me with his thorough knowledge of the project.  I made some quiet inquiries.  His name is Mohd Sharael bin Mohd Taha.  He had done national service as a vehicle mechanic, and was a wizard at auto engines.  His professor (an old friend of mine) had talent spotted him as a second year student, to join the team and take charge of the engine, the key part of the racing car.  He did very well.  After graduation, he stayed on in the department as a research engineer, and has supervised the students doing the racing car project each year.  His professor told me that he had earned great respect from all the students and staff.  Sharael is just one of a growing number of Malays who are making a name for themselves.

Higher Socio-economic Attainment

11.        Success in education has fed through and raised the socio-economic status of the Malay/Muslim community.  There is a growing middle-class with increasing purchasing power.  Malay/ Muslims are holding higher-skilled and better-paying jobs.  Incomes have correspondingly increased.  I know this not only from the statistics, but also from the pages of advertisements that I see in Berita Harian every morning. 

12.        More Malay/Muslim households have upgraded to better housing.  The vast majority (93%) own their own homes.  The proportion living in HDB 4-room or larger flats and private properties have increased by more than 6 times (from 11% in 1980 to 71% in 2005).  There has also been a steady increase in ownership of consumer durables, including cars, air-conditioners, PCs and handphones.  Collectively, these indicators reflect a community enjoying higher living standards and better quality of life.

Dysfunctional Families

13.        The community has also made headway dealing with social issues.  One major victory is in tackling drug abuse.  This used to be a grave problem.  But through your collective efforts, and the dedicated leadership of men like the late Harun Ghani, the number of cases has plummeted. 

14.        However, some pressing and spiky issues remain to be tackled. One of these is dysfunctional families.  This problem manifests itself in many ways: the rising divorce rates, the growing number of single parent households, and the unacceptably high number of teenage births and early marriages. 

15.        Dysfunctional families form a minority within the Malay/Muslim community.  A large segment of the community is making steady progress, but this small group is lagging behind.  They must be helped to sort out their problems and catch up.  Otherwise though they may be a minority, they will become a serious social problem, besides being a human tragedy.

16.        Dysfunctional families are one factor affecting the educational performance of the Malay/Muslim community.  School enrolment rates are high, but nearly 300 Malay students still drop out from secondary schools each year.  Many more students nominally remain in schools, but are underperforming.  They lack a stable and supportive home environment, and so cannot concentrate on their studies and do their best.  Teachers have recounted to me how they try to help – arranging to waive school fees, even providing free transport to bring the child to school, but still the child does not show up regularly, because the family is dysfunctional, and the parents (or often the single parent) do not consider schooling important.  Without support at home, the child makes no headway in his studies, loses interest and runs into delinquency problems.  This will permanently blight the child’s life chances, and risks perpetuating the problem into the next generation.

17.        In the last two years, the community has started to tackle these issues.  But you need to muster a major effort focussed on this problem, and work out practical and effective solutions.  In this area, your self-help efforts are critical.  It is much harder for the Government to intervene, or for other VWOs to take action, without being misunderstood or triggering a defensive reaction.  The community itself must make the effort to reach out to vulnerable families and individuals, counsel and mentor them, be compassionate but firm when necessary, and help them to get their lives back in order. This is the only way to break the vicious cycle.

Summary of Achievements

18.             While we must tackle this problem head on, we must also see it in perspective.  Overall, the Malay/Muslim community is much better off today compared to 25 years ago.  It still lags behind other communities in a number of areas, because the others too have moved forward within this period.  It will take many years to narrow or close all of these gaps.  But on any absolute measure, and also in international comparisons, Singa­pore Malays are doing well.  For example in the “Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study” (TIMMS) which compares achievements in Mathematics and Science among students of different countries, our Malay students rank well above the international average.  What counts is that the Malay/Muslim community has made real gains, and continues to make progress across a broad front. 

Future Directions for Mendaki

19.        This is the situation which Mendaki faces today domestically: greatly improved compared to 1982, but with more work to be done.  Externally, globalisation has accelerated the pace of change and intensified competition.  You are not just competing against other Singaporeans but also against people around the world, all striving to get ahead in life.  You need not only to operate in Singa­pore, but also to seize the abundant opportunities all over Asia, especially China, India and the Middle East.  Hence, it is even more important to gird ourselves, upgrade our skills, and stay abreast of our competitors.

20.        Another aspect of globalisation is exposure to influences which can strain our social fabric or endanger our security, especially the deviant views of extremist terrorist groups.  Over the years, we have built up trust and understanding across our communities, strengthened our social cohesion, and developed a national consensus on major issues.  The sense of participation, of moving forward together with the rest of the society, is critical to this.  We must maintain this to safeguard our racial and religious harmony, and enhance our sense of belonging as Singaporeans.   

21.        How should Mendaki respond to all these changes?  First, education must remain a top priority.  This has made the difference for the community, and remains the main path to success in life.  Going forward, therefore, Mendaki should maintain its broad emphasis on education, and make sure that the community continues to focus on it, so that we will make further progress year after year.  The community needs to get poor families to send their children to kindergartens or childcare centres, as an early headstart is especially beneficial for them.  Money should not be a constraint, because the Government’s Kindergarten Financial Assistance Scheme (KiFAS), and the community’s own Education Trust Fund exist specifically to help these families.  Beyond that, every child should complete ten years of schooling, and progress to post-secondary education.  This will equip him with the knowledge and skills to meet the challenges of a globalised economy.   

22.        With the experience of the last quarter century, and a better sense of the specific educational weaknesses of the community, Mendaki will want to design focussed programmes targeted at these areas of need.  It has done so with niche programmes like Math-Trix and M-Power for improving the mathematics skills of students.  These will complement Mendaki’s general education programmes, and help Mendaki to get maximum results from its efforts and resources.  But the simple message, that education is crucial, and that parents and students must focus on it, remains as relevant today as it was when Mendaki started.

23.        Mendaki should also be tackling the problem of dysfunctional families, and mobilising a community-wide effort to address this together.  Mendaki has already started working on this.  It has put in place programmes for at-risk youth, and helped to set up drop-in centres for troubled teenagers, including two new ones in Bukit Batok and Yishun, run by Ain Society and Clubilya.  Going forward, Mendaki will need to come up with new programmes and adjust existing ones to deal with this problem.  For example, in its education programmes, it would make sense to give priority to school-going children of dysfunctional families, and to get the parents to take greater responsibility for their children’s studies. 

24.        As important as the programmes will be a sustained effort to recruit and train volunteers and helpers, to do the painstaking, slow work of uplifting families one by one.  In particular, Mendaki should engage more young people, to get them to commit their time and energies to the community’s development.  Today, Mendaki has a 5,000 strong pool of volunteers of all age groups and races.   I am glad that the Mendaki Club is also reaching out to the growing number of young Malay/Muslim professionals.  You should continue to draw more in, involve them in Mendaki’s work, and encourage them to take on leadership positions.  They will bring fresh ideas and energies, to connect to their generation of Singaporean Malays, and help Mendaki achieve more successes in the years to come.   

25.        However, Mendaki cannot do everything alone.  Other Malay/Muslim organisations such as Jamiyah, AMP, LBKM, PPIS, and 4PM must rally around to support Mendaki with their own programmes to tackle the problem of dysfunctional families.   They must not shy away from what will be an arduous and difficult mission. 

26.        The Community Leaders’ Forum (CLF) is a valuable means to exchange views and coordinate your efforts.   Several concrete measures have been initiated through the CLF.  The Pertapis Centre for Women and Girls has set up a shelter for unwed teenagers.  AMP and PPIS are running two Inspirasi centres to counsel young couples, help them make better decisions and provide support when needed.   Inevitably, there will be some friendly rivalry between the Malay/Muslim organisations.  But you must combine your efforts, complement one another, and work together to achieve maximum results. 

Conclusion

27.        Over the last 25 years, Mendaki has grown and matured, together with the Malay/Muslim community.  We can see the achievements across many indicators.  But beyond the statistics in the report, there is a new mood and confidence in the community.  It is willing to seize opportunities and move ahead, and just as ready to recognise problems and tackle them openly and objectively, even when they are sensitive and difficult.  That is why the community has made progress, and is in a strong and confident position today.          

28.             Ultimately, there is no short cut to uplifting the community.  Progress depends on hard work and perseverance.  But provided you continue to make this effort, I am confident that you will continue to improve on what has been achieved so far, and overcome any problems that come your way. 

29.        On this Silver Jubilee celebration, I thank all the Malay/Muslim community leaders and volunteers, past and present, for your hard work and many contributions.  You reflect the spirit of the Malay community – strong, united and self-reliant.  Your efforts to uplift the community have full Government support.  From the progress that we have seen, and the Malay/Muslim individuals I have met, I am confident that Malays can make it – the Singa­pore way.