BOOK GIFT FOR PM: Mr Lee receiving a book, The Next Wave, that profiles the achievements of talented young Malay-Muslims. Looking on are (from left) Mendaki CEO Zuraidah Abdullah, Mendaki chairman Yaacob Ibrahim, Head of the Office of the Mufti Ustaz Nazirudin Mohd Nasir and the book's author, ST journalist Zakir Hussain. -- DESMOND LIM

It is now a community 'confident that it is progressing with the others, and succeeding through its own efforts'.

But some pressing and spiky issues need to be urgently tackled, he said. Chief among these: dysfunctional families.

Mr Lee called on the community to 'muster a major effort focused on this problem, and work out practical and effective solutions'.

'Otherwise, though they may be a minority, they will become a serious social problem, besides being a human tragedy,' he warned.

Mr Lee was addressing some 1,200 students, parents and community leaders at community self-help group Mendaki's 25th anniversary dinner and awards ceremony.

He recalled how when Mendaki was set up in 1982, the road ahead was tough - 'berliku-liku' (many twists and turns in Malay).

'But 25 years later, we see the wisdom of this self-help strategy, and the fruits of a quarter century of hard work,' said Mr Lee.

Last night, copies of a report that showed how far the community has progressed were given to the guests.

Mr Lee outlined the achievements.

In education, Mendaki helped to change the mindsets of parents and students. 'They now understand the paramount importance of education as the key to progress in many other areas,' he said.

In 1980, one in six Malay students achieved five O-level passes. Today, more than 60 per cent do so.

Success in education has in turn raised the socio-economic status of the community.

There is a growing middle-class. Malays live in better homes and incomes have risen. 'I know this not only from the statistics, but also from Berita Harian - thick newspaper with lots of ads!' Mr Lee quipped, to laughter.

But the community still lags behind other communities in several areas because they too have moved forward.

'It will take many years to narrow or close all of these gaps.' But what counts, he said, is that real gains have been made.

Sounding a sober note, Mr Lee observed that the problem of dysfunctional families manifests itself in many ways - divorce rates, single parents and the 'unacceptably high' number of teenage births.

Without a supportive home environment, youths drop out of school.

'This will permanently blight the child's life chances and risks perpetuating the problem into the next generation,' said Mr Lee.

In tackling this, self-help efforts are critical. So going forward, Mendaki needs to come up with new programmes and adjust existing ones.

Today, Malay-Muslims are well-placed to tackle these problems, he said. 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.'

Speaking to reporters later, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said a review of programmes on the dysfunctional family problem is under way to see where the gaps are.

'And if those gaps are critical and strategic to the community, we'll probably have to move our resources there,' he said.

One possible issue is the need to train people on the frontline. Malay organisations have told him they encounter such families when giving out aid, 'but they stop there'.

'Perhaps there is a lack of understanding and expertise in the Malay organisations to... deal with the families in a holistic manner,' said Dr Yaacob.

The review will be presented to community leaders in November, he added.

(Tomorrow: Details of a report on the progress made by Singapore's Malay-Muslims)

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