Malay/Muslim community can be proud of its progress, achievements: SM Lee

SINGAPORE – The Malay/Muslim community has achieved much to be proud of, said Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He highlighted progress made in education and jobs, the community’s role in maintaining racial and religious harmony, and the impact its leaders have had.

He also shared his hope that the community will continue to progress, fostering “a strong spirit of unity and citizenry” as it does so. This means helping one another through difficulties and celebrating successes together, he said in Malay.

SM Lee was speaking on Sept 20 at a dinner hosted by community self-help group Mendaki and other Malay/Muslim organisations. Held in a ballroom at the Singapore Expo, the dinner was to thank him for having served the nation with honour and distinction as prime minister from 2004 to 2024.

More than 600 guests from the Malay/Muslim community attended the event, including serving and retired MPs, as well as leaders from community, religious and youth groups.

In his speech, SM Lee highlighted several “sensitive and important” issues he had worked with the community to tackle. These include

the wearing of the tudung for nurses,

the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code, and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“The Malay/Muslim community has handled these issues with maturity. You upheld your values and viewpoints, while acknowledging and respecting others who hold differing opinions,” he said.

He added that he treasured the privilege of working on such issues with Malay/Muslim leaders, with many “direct, candid and heart-to-heart discussions” often taking place behind closed doors. These “helped us greatly in managing the issues, and built mutual trust and confidence between the community, its leaders and the Government”, he said.

With Prime Minister Lawrence Wong now at the helm and society staying united, “I am confident that Singapore will continue to progress towards a better and brighter future for all”, SM Lee said.

He also delivered a pantun, a form of Malay verse used to express intricate ideas and emotions.

The pantun went: “The Malay community has advanced rapidly, through our close and strong partnership, we are together; our hearts and aspirations are united, a vision is etched: a community of success.”

SM Lee also detailed the group’s progress in building a “community of success”.

Many more Malays are employed in growth sectors today, he said. The proportion of Malays who hold professional, manager, executive and technician positions also increased from 23.4 per cent to 39 per cent between 2000 and 2020.

In education, the proportion of university graduates among Malay adults went up fivefold during the same period, from 2.1 per cent to 10.8 per cent. And the proportion of young Malays with post-secondary or higher qualifications more than doubled – from around 30 per cent to around 80 per cent.

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), supported by the community, also succeeded in improving the quality of education offered by madrasahs through the Joint Madrasah System, he noted.

He named several Malay/Muslim organisations that contributed to this success. They include: AMP Singapore, a non-profit serving the Muslim community; Muslim women’s association PPIS; Malay youth literary association 4PM; and Islamic non-governmental organisation Muhammadiyah.

Their work complements initiatives from Mendaki, the People’s Association Malay Activity Executive Committees Council, Muis and the Government, he said.

SM Lee also said the community has long understood the importance of racial and religious harmony, and has done its part to preserve and strengthen it.

“Through moderation, give and take, and building bridges with other groups, the Malay/Muslim community has been able to practise your faith confidently and harmoniously alongside other communities,” he noted.

The community’s mature handling of difficult issues, along with the Government’s work to better understand the sensitivities and views of different groups, allowed Singapore to resolve such issues and move forward as a nation “in a careful, considered manner”, SM Lee added.

This was how the country has been able to handle the threat from the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group since the 2000s, he said. He expressed his gratitude to the religious scholars known as asatizahs, who stepped forward then to denounce and tackle JI’s radical misinterpretation of Islam.

The asatizahs formed in 2003 the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), which also guided and rehabilitated JI members.

Elaborating, SM Lee said: “The RRG was crucial in preventing the Malay/Muslim community from being led astray, and mistrust and mutual suspicions from dividing us.”

The RRG will still play an important role in maintaining Singapore’s security, as the threat from Islamist extremist terrorism remains, he added.

SM Lee said the RRG’s success is in large part due to the strong leadership of its co-founders. 

“We are fortunate to have had strong, respected and progressive religious leaders, who have shaped an Islamic community in Singapore that is moderate, inclusive and forward-looking,” he said.

“Our imams and asatizahs have provided wise religious guidance to Muslims, grounded in our values and local context. They worked willingly with the Government to foster the inter-religious peace and harmony that we are fortunate to enjoy.”

He added that Malay/Muslim community leaders have played a catalytic role in other fields, and exemplified the spirit of “gotong royong” – literally translated as the joint bearing of burdens.

SM Lee pointed out that successful entrepreneurs, professionals and youth have contributed their time, abilities and energy to the needy and helped them realise their aspirations. These efforts have uplifted individuals, families and, ultimately, the whole community, he said.

“This is the way we do things in Singapore – working to build every community, and at the same time bringing all our communities together to celebrate our shared identity as Singaporeans,” SM Lee said.

In a recorded tribute shown at the event, Ustaz Mohamed Ali, the RRG’s co-chairman, said SM Lee’s approach seems to show that even though Singapore is secularly administered, religion and religious groups are always important.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli, who was also interviewed for the video, said one outstanding feature of SM Lee is that he was always present at events by the Malay/Muslim community. “Only through close cooperation and deep understanding will we be able to build trust in one another,” he added. 

Mr Masagos also praised SM Lee for making courageous decisions based on wisdom, and not out of concern that they would affect his popularity.

“Foundations of leadership are trust and ability,” he added. “Clearly in this regard, SM Lee has proven himself to be a man of great honour, and he expects the same level of integrity from his team.”