Dialogues soon for Malay/Muslims to discuss concerns with political leaders

Malay/Muslim Singaporeans will get the chance to discuss issues of concern to them with political leaders at a series of dialogues that will be held next year, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Defence Zaqy Mohamad.

These dialogues fall under the Ciptasama@M3 programme, and the insights gathered will inform policy decisions to continue the good progress by the community, said Mr Zaqy on Dec 18 at a group media interview with other Malay/Muslim leaders.

"There are specific issues, concerns and aspirations of the Malay community that I think many in the community wish to express. This is one platform we find useful to engage the community better, to bring and rally them together," he added.

Introduced last year, Ciptasama@M3 or Co-creation@M3 is a Malay/Muslim-focused programme that aims to encourage the community's participation in policymaking.

It is an initiative under the M3 collaboration by three key Malay/Muslim organisations: Mendaki, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore and the People's Association Malay Activity Executive Committees Council.

Mr Zaqy said two sessions are planned so far for next year.

The first one will be on "Seizing Opportunities in the Age of Digital Transformation". It will take place on Jan 7, with Mr Zaqy and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Maliki Osman participating.

The second dialogue will focus on "Strengthening Malay/Muslim Families". It will be chaired by Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam on Jan 12.

The dialogues will be held in conjunction with the Singapore Together Emerging Stronger Conversations, in which Singaporeans share their hopes and plans for a more caring, cohesive, and resilient post-coronavirus society by co-creating policy solutions.

During the interview on Dec 18, Dr Faishal said a new framework will be set up for Muslim wedding solemnisers here to help them better develop their careers and to empower them to help strengthen marriages in the community.

This is a follow-up to the announcement M3 made last year about the Bersamamu (Malay for With You) programme, which makes it compulsory for all Muslim couples applying to register their marriages to first meet a naib kadi, or wedding solemniser, before their solemnisation ceremony.

The naib kadi will continue engaging the couple over the next two years, offering support and advice to help them lay the foundations of a strong and stable marriage.

Dr Faishal said that more than 6,000 couples have participated in the programme, and that the Government will build on its success with this new training framework.

The framework will spell out ways for these solemnisers to be either "generalists" or "specialists", he said, adding that more details will be provided when it is launched next month.

Figures released by the Department of Statistics show that the number of Muslim divorces is on the rise. There were 1,697 divorces among Muslim couples last year, up from 2018's figure of 1,682 and 2017's figure of 1,637.