The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) will have a new president from next week.
Mr Mohamed Sa'at Abdul Rahman, 60, will be the council's ninth president, taking over from Mr Mohammad Alami Musa, 65, on Aug 7. Mr Sa'at, editor of Malay news publication Berita Harian, was appointed by President Halimah Yacob.
Mr Alami is stepping down after 18 years. He was first appointed president of Muis in September 2003, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) said in a statement yesterday.
Muis is the statutory board that looks after the administration and interests of Singapore's Muslim community. The president of Muis holds a non-executive appointment and chairs the council.
Having served as Muis president since 2003, Mr Alami continued to chair Muis as non-executive president after August 2013, when the organisation was restructured and the post of chief executive created.
Mr Alami played a key role in strengthening Singapore's mos-ques, the ministry said. "Under his guidance, mosques have strengthened their programmes, capabilities and governance, including the introduction of social development schemes and establishment of the Mosque Executive Chairman scheme," it added.
Mr Alami helped to set guiding principles for Muslims here to live their religious lives in contem-porary multicultural Singapore, said MCCY, noting that he was instrumental in establishing the Muis Academy, the council's training arm. He also led efforts to streng-then the development of asatizah, or Islamic religious teachers.
He also played a pivotal role in improving Muis' capabilities to serve the community, and was a strong advocate of community bonding and religious harmony.
"He led Muis towards greater collaboration with Muslim and non-Muslim organisations, established the Harmony Centre and represented Muis at various local and international inter-faith platforms," MCCY said.
Mr Sa'at expressed his admiration for Mr Alami and noted that under his leadership, Muis had grown and made significant progress in many areas, including mosque, madrasah and asatizah development.
"I look forward to contributing to the Muis Council, which is an important institution for the Muslim community in Singapore," he said.
MCCY noted that as editor of Berita Harian since 2012, Mr Sa'at has worked closely with Muis and other Malay/Muslim organisations to address the needs and aspirations of the community.
He also serves on three other statutory boards - the Land Transport Authority, the Housing and Development Board, and the Street and Building Names Board.
President Halimah said in a Facebook post that Mr Sa'at has close contacts with the Muslim community and understands its challenges, socio-religious needs and aspirations: "With his depth of experience, he is well suited to lead the council and to inject fresh perspectives and impetus to its work."
She added that Muis' guidance and leadership have been crucial to the Muslim community's ability to remain resilient, and to adapt and grow within the context of a multi-religious and secular Singapore.
She also thanked Mr Alami for his many years of service.
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli also congratulated Mr Sa'at on his appointment. He made special mention of Mr Sa'at's experience in the media, and said the community will strengthen the capabilities of Muis as the council enhances its communications and engagement efforts.
Mr Masagos also thanked Mr Alami for his leadership of the council over the past 18 years.
"He has been instrumental in transforming Muis and the religious sector to meet the evolving needs of the community, and to guide Muis in working with other religious and community organisations to strengthen religious harmony," he said.
