Asatizahs, or religious teachers, have potential to help Malay/Muslim community even more: Masagos

SINGAPORE – Nearly 30,000 Malay/Muslim couples have benefited from a programme to support them in their marital journey, with a study showing positive results.

Since 2019,

Bersamamu has paired soon-to-be-wed couples with a solemniser

to journey with them before their big day and within the first two years of their marriage.

A study by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Registry of Muslim Marriages in 2022 found that couples were highly satisfied with the programme, and said it was useful in guiding them.

The programme was expanded in August 2023 to rope in female asatizahs, or religious teachers, to provide religious and emotional advice to women on familial and spousal issues. 

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli said Bersamamu is one of two programmes that Singapore’s asatizahs are encouraged to take on.

He added that there are many people who work as asatizahs and have the potential to effect larger change in the community.

“They are training themselves to provide beyond the religious services – like social work and counselling. That has got our asatizah community to uplift and upgrade themselves in order to address the issues upstream and prevent the problems that every society faces, like divorces,” he said.

Mr Masagos, who is also Minister for Social and Family Development, was giving a five-year update by M3 – a collaboration between the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), Mendaki and the People’s Association Malay Activity Executive Committees Council – on Oct 10 to the media at the Singapore Islamic Hub.

The second programme by M3 that asatizahs have also taken up is one to address the reoffending rates in the Malay/Muslim community. 

The Family and Inmates Through-care Assistance Haven (Fitrah) programme was established in November 2018 to provide support to Muslim incarcerated individuals and their families, through in-care and aftercare services.

It is a collaboration between the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore Prison Service, Muis and mosques as well as other community organisations.

The programme includes lesson plans for the inmates to improve their Quranic literacy, as well as discussions of sermon text and basic Islamic teachings. 

Fitrah’s asatizahs, who also serve as religious counsellors, play a crucial role in providing spiritual guidance and support within the rehabilitation system, Muis said in a statement on Oct 14. Since 2018, Fitrah has recruited about 180 asatizahs. 

About 3,000 inmates have benefited from the programmes and services while in-care, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim at the Oct 10 briefing.

Inmates also receive support after their release from prison. Fitrah officers and volunteers will receive them at the prison gate and give them an aftercare package, which consists of monetary vouchers, an ez-link card and information on various channels of assistance. 

About 400 former inmates have been engaged since 2019.

Close to 30 mosques are also involved in the care services for inmates and former inmates, offering religious counselling, Quranic courses and tattoo-removal programmes.

Mr Masagos said the three organisations of M3 have sought to tap the growing number of professionals in the Malay/Muslim community.

In the past five years, M3 has rallied for these professionals to give back to the community by banking on their competencies. 

For example, lawyers have helped individuals prepare their lasting power of attorney documents, and doctors have worked to address health issues.

Mr Masagos said while the past five years have been focused on putting processes in place, the next five years are aimed at measuring impact and outcomes of M3 programmes through research and studies.

He made note of the International Conference on Communities of Success – an event organised by Muis that was first held in 2022 to look at how contextualised religious guidance and progressive religious leadership can help Muslims contribute within diverse societies, like Singapore. 

During this year’s iteration on Oct 14 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, the annual Muis awards were given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the Muslim community here. 

Mr Suhaimi Salleh, who served as the president of non-profit scholarship fund board LBKM for a decade, was conferred the highest accolade – Anugerah Jasa Cemerlang (Outstanding).

Under his leadership, the board became a cornerstone institution that provided comprehensive educational support, offering bursaries and scholarships for both secular and religious education. 

Mr Suhaimi pushed for policy changes to allow LBKM to offer multiple bursaries per household, expanding its reach to benefit more than 35,700 students from primary to postgraduate levels since 1965, and disbursing more than $31 million.

Speaking to the media on Oct 10, he said he is heartened to see the educational achievements of the Malay/Muslim community over the years, and how the number of graduates from institutes of higher learning has increased manifold.

He added that the mindset change among parents on the importance of education for their children has also gone up over the years.

Mr Suhaimi hopes the community continues to focus on improving its educational capabilities.

“We are still lagging behind the other communities – we need more graduates in the various professional fields like engineering, medicine and information technology. These are the professions of the future, and it is important for us to increase our number of graduates to achieve a community of success,” he said.