SPEECH BY MR SIDEK BIN SANIFF MINISTER OF STATE FOR EDUCATION

AT THE FEDERATION OF INDIAN MUSLIMS NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATION

AT JAMIYAH, LORONG 12 GEYLANG ON SUNDAY, 26 JULY 1992 AT 8.00 PM

I am indeed privileged to be the Guest-of-Honour this evening and to

deliver a speech to all of you, respectable and learned audience, and

especially to our guests from abroad. I am honoured also to be given the

task of being the Chairman of your Advisory Committee

I would like to suggest from the outset that your- organisation work

closely with AMP MENDAKI. as well as SINDA. and make full use of the

resources available in these two organisations except activities which

you think are special and unique to your organisation.

They are born into an environment that is global in nature now heaving

behind the one that prevails in a village where living boundaries and

options are limited. To the Singapore Muslims, the world is their scope for

They are privileged to be in Singapore because option. for

development are varied and unbounded. The Muslim boy or girl can choose

to do anything he or she wants to do that is beneficial to himself or

herself, the family, and the community. There are many avenues for

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advanced training and academic schemes and these are readily available

to t-hose who merit themselves to benefit from them fully.

The Singapore Muslims are also fortunate because financially the

families have better resources now. More Muslim families are able to pay

for better options in providing their children with good health and

education. Many Muslim organisations, too, are now better organised and

are stronger financially. These open up new vistas for more substantive

ventures and personal development.

The Singapore Muslims are also most privileged because they have the

rare opportunity of being able to secure for themselves the highest

possible standard of living in material terms and, at the same time, to

pursue a meaningful spiritual life as practising Muslims, The highly

modernised character of Singapore must also be the most enriching

environment for Singapore Muslims to become dynamic

Muslims/sophisticated Muslims/Melayu-Islam Canggih.

These are exciting features of the Singapore Muslims and their

community in Singapore. They enjoy the benefit of the material and the

spiritual aspects of life and they can do so without fear of social or legal

constraints. All these will mean that the Singapore Muslims have a higher

readiness to contribute to and benefit from the best that is in Singapore.

Their task is to prepare themselves to take on more challenging tasks of

development, and merit themselves to become active contributors in

mainstream development together with other Singaporeans.

This is the focus of my speech with you this evening and I like to

share with you my perceptions and conviction about these future

challenges, particularly, "How through education, the Singapore Muslim boy

or girl and the family as well as the Malay/Muslim organisations should

prepare themselves during the next 10 to 20 years."

There are many issues that can be touched upon. I would like to limit

myself to some issues that revolve around the nature of outlook or mental ----

framework, and the '"functional paradigms" that are critical to making

Singapore Muslims, substantive members of a multi-racial, global society

that is geared towards a highly-paced modern nation.

Structural development as opposed to Straight-Line development

The Singapore Muslims, no doubt, must ensure that the policies that

have given them the higher material development and a free berth to

practise Islam ought to be safeguarded or - better still-enhanced. This

is imperative.

Beyond this, they need to look to the future - and the future is not

just to increase what they have achieved so far in an aggregative or

"straight-line" manner. They should not just work harder or multiply what

they have been doing in the past. Instead, they need to look for new

dimensions, new niches, be standard-setters, venture into new areas, and

make themselves key inputs to mainstream development for the exciting

years of the 2lst century. All these call for new paradigms in thinking, in

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creating high skills, in managing their personal, family and community

affairs, and in maintaining the highest degree of intellectual,

technological and professional integrity. Let me give some details of my

perceptions and convictions:

1) Make "good character' synonymous to development in a modern society

Development in the 21st century will entail. not just high

sophistication in technological terms. Equally important is the

need for honesty, reliability, and a high level of sophistication in

personal, corporate and civil integrity. For the kind of global

industrial society that Singapore aims to become in the 21st century,

the strength Lies in the propensity of Singaporeans to become a

community of people who are hard working, highly capable, and

extremely dependable in terms of their personal, professional and

civil integrity.

The Swiss had had such strengths for many years in the field of

banking. The Gurkhas are famed as a supreme and unchallenged

community of dedicated, trusted and dependable defenders of

trusteeship properties.

For the Singapore Malays, there have been similar traditions of

loyalty, dedication and dependability: the Boyanese are always the

best chauffeurs; the Javanese are the reliable members of land-

surveying teams; and the Malays, exemplary valets. Our Indian and

Chinese Muslims too have their own traits. What we need to do in

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the future is to sustain that quality of character but to operate at

a much higher level-engineers, managers, scientists, entrepreneurs

of the highest loyalty, dedication and dependability, and people of

good character! Including politicians. Especially so politicians.

I am deeply inclined to feel that Singapore Muslims, with their

grounding in Islamic teachings, have a strong propensity to make

this high character a requisite part of their intellectual,

technological and professional development and application in life.

Without character you are faceless. Empty. Nil. Our Prophet said:

2) Family as the primary educational institution

Like most Asian communities, the Singapore Malays for instance have

strong traditions in nurturing family ties as the basis of community

living. In Singapore, the Malays have donesomething more in this

respect. The Malay boy and girl who decide to get married are

required, by administrative practice, to undergo a weekly course for

about 5 weeks. The rationale of this is to prepare themselves to

become responsible and effective Muslim parents, and to make the

family institution the basic infrastructure of life.

I do not think many communities in the world do such a thing which,

in a glance, appears quaint, if not irksome. Nonetheless, I see

strength in this practice. Since we now have a system where all

future Malay parents are brought together for 5 weeks, why not help

them to become effective and competent parents as well? If, indeed,

the young Malay parents become more conscientious and are able to

i

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care for and develop their children from infancy, there will be a

better chance that their children will grow with good health and

proficient learning skills.

The focus for the next 10 to 20 years is to get the young couples,

through such courses, to understand and acquire better knowledge

andskillsinthefieldofearlychildhooddevelopment. Thischance

must not be lostastherearesomuchresearch andfieldexperiences

0thatreaffirmthateffectiveearlychildhooddevelopmentiscritical

in providing the child with good health, proficient language, love

for books, a joyous predisposition, and an enriched base of

knowledgeabouttheenvironment,science,maths,history,geography,

thinking skills,etc. The young parents should be given all these

and I wouldliketoseethis happen as soon as possible. At the same

time I believe that the problem of divorce and drug taking among the

Malay/Muslim willalsobefurther curbed.Maybeitistimelvtoform

0an alumni for the young married couples especially those who have_

undergone the marriage guidance course.

3) The Malay/Muslim organization as a dynamic infrastructure

If more parents become better parents and are able to look after

their own children, my wish is to see that this "conscientious

parenting" becomes anintegralpartofthetraditions and folklore

of the Singapore Malays and Muslims. With this, the parents will

take on the responsibility to provide their own children with the

basic educational foundations, especially in languages, reading

habits, general knowledge, socio-emotional maturity, good

nutritional habits, etc. Thus the parents and the family

institutions become self-reliant resource for basic development.

With such a development, they become less dependent upon the Malay

and Muslim organizations for these basic development, The role and

quality of the Malay and Muslim organisations, as a result, will have

to change. I see in this another critical paradigm change.

Malay and Muslim organizations will now have to function in a

setting of sufficiency not insufficiency, then to setting of growth.

They must not be too bogged down with helping the Malay/Muslim

families on issues pertaining to basic needs. This is what is still

happening now. This should not happen or at least should be

minimised by young and future parents. As more Malay/Muslim

parents and families are capable of looking after most of their needs

and are competent in providing their own children with most of what

is needed for success in life, school, etc, remedial tuition classes,

for example, should be drastically cut. Confine it to the ones that

most need it. Till the end of this century we would have given more

than 20 years of tuition or remedial classes. We must be poised now

to embark on sessions that stimulate greater growth come year 2000

or the 21st century. This should become the norm. Financial schemes

will not be for basic needs on account of insufficiency any more.

Instead, more money will be used for programmes that allow for

growth of greater creativity amongst children, promotion of

inventors' clubs, research activities, learning of foreign languages,

creative mathematics, analytical skills, etc.

l l

The Malay and Muslim organizations must be capable of anticipating

these changes and they must start building up the policies and

leadership for these more exciting ventures. This is the new

challenge. This is the new paradigm for the associations. I hope we

will see these changes soon in the realm of education. We must also

ensure the same strategy is applied in the community's economic

field from gotong-royong spirit and its refinement like ASM, Sino-

Malay Corporation, Pilgrimage Scheme to individual's

entrepreneurship and endeavour. Creativity and challenge.

I am confident that we are capable of achieving all these as the I am confident that we are capable of achieving all these as the

record of the Malay and Muslim organizations in Singapore has been

good. Their finances are good and we are seeing the growing of a good. Their finances are good and we are seeing the growing of a

good generation of young and highly educated leaders. The

associations should become more innovative. We have already seen associations should become more innovative. We have already seen

leaders who are more future-oriented. leaders who are more future-oriented. They must look for They must look for

opportunities where the achievement of parents can be extended opportunities where the achievement of parents can be extended

further and raised to yet high levels. further and raised to yet high levels. And in all these, it is And in all these, it is

imperative that there is always this balance betweenhigh material

development and the greater spiritual development and the greater spiritual refinement of refinement of the the

Malay/Muslim parents, children and community leadership.

I see now that more and more Malay parents are sending their I see now that more and more Malay parents are sending their

children overseas for further education. They are now willing to children overseas for further education. They are now willing to

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spend for their child‘s education. This is a new phenomenon. I am

excited, for example, of the possibility of Malay/Muslim

organizations working closely with such parents in buying

Properties in UK for instance, like they did in Cairo, through

donations and sponsorship etc to establish a place to stay for their

children. Every time I am overseas I meet students from Singapore

and I am moved to see students of all races interacting together with

endearment and a strong sense of camaraderie. This effort of setting

up a place to stay or hostels by Singaporeans, not just

Malay/Muslims, for our students overseas is one example of the kind

of new challenges to Muslim and non-Muslim associations.

4) Education for Living & Service/Khidmat

With these kinds of scenarios of development, Malay/Muslim parents

need not be overly concerned or bogged down with caring and

developing their pre-school children only to prepare them for

Primary One, or even for PSLE. All these should be within the means

of most Malay parents to handle, and their children would becapable

of achieving high grades as a matter of course.

Education and schooling will not be a stressful matter to parents

and children and this will allow parents to view education as a life-

long process. This is important as education in Islam is a crucial

prerequisite in the fulfillment of their responsibilities not only

in Islam but to mankind. For the children, education is of great

significance to prepare them for puberty or Akil Baligh which

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carries a profound meaning in our lives, Upon reaching the age of

puberty, the Muslim boy or girl, will have to bear more

responsibilitiesof Fardhu 'Ain and Fardhu Kafayah. The teaching in

these two fields of responsibilities are very consistent with the

concept of education for "living and service" and the fulfillment of

life responsibilities as good persons and good members of the wider

community. To the Singapore Malays/Muslims, this will be an

integral thrust of education of families and children, in the context

of the education for academic and material development. Without

khidmat/service an individual could endanger not only himself, but

his family and finally the community as a whole. The nation.

CONCLUSION

The Malays/Muslims in Singapore have a long tradition of self-

improvement. The last 20 to 30 years have been most enriching. The

Singapore Malays/Muslims with their associations must now gear

themselves for the far greater challenges that offer them exciting scope

for self-development. With a good and caring government, political

stability and harmonious relationship in the multi-racial and multi-

religious society of ours, further significant progress will be charted. I

look forward with joy and deep gratitude to meeting these challenges. I

will be delighted to be with the Malay parents, their children and the

organization leaders for we are now better requipped, thanks to the global,

dynamic, open and enabling environment that exist in Singapore.

APPENDIX A

PROGRAMMES FOR THE NEW PARADIGMS

If parents effectively develop their own children from infancy and during the first 3 to 5 years their children will have a good chance of attaining interesting. if not- superb development in the following respects by age 5 or 6:

The children are healthy and rarely get ill (also recover rapidly should they become sick)

* They like good food and are sensitive towards junk-food

* They have a high sense of personal safety

Emotionally they are mature. joyous. inclined towards goodness and are keen learners

Physically their stature is agile. strong. good poise and are skillful in gymnastics and sports: they can swim. ride a bicycle. skateboard. ship. brachiate. ride a horse. do good archery, etc.

They have very sensitive tactile skills and fine manual dexterity

They understand and speak at least 2 languages - meaningfully and with etiquette (‘adab’)

They love reading and are able to read in at least 2 languages

Their knowledge of mathematics (as a language) is high and are skillful in basic processes

*

*

They know many things and are constantly curious about their environment

They are highly creative in being able to discern the connectedness of things, understand key facts rapidly. able to create new and better ideas. and are keen and able in solving problems

They can read the A1 Quran. Doa and are sensuous about religious matters

They are musical and are able to sing many songs with good pitch and melody

They draw and write well and are fine in manual dexterity. eg in origami and handicraft

They are able to adept in varying situations and are usually placed in positions of leadership.

If by age 5 or 6, they attain these superb development, then it is crucial that they be given advanced programmes so that they will continue to develop superbly up to age 12 (ie the age of puberty or Akil Baligh). Following are some examples of the ‘6- 12 gear old’ programmes that. are suitable for children who. at age 5 years. have attained the developments listed above:

1 ADVANCED SPEECH & LANGUAGE PROGRAMME

- Refinement of speech especially perfect pronunciation in Malay. English and Arabic

- Learning of foreign languages

- Activities that develop skills in oratory. oral commentary, debate and advocacy

- Learning the history and use of languages

- The science and ethics of selling

2 ADVANCED READING PROGRAMME

- Spectrum reading based on a good selection of reading materials

- Reading to expand on existing knowledge of personal interest or choice

- Reading of biographies

- Reading for research and hobbies

- Reading technical materials and instructions

- Reading to acquire the rationales and history of ideas (the Why’s and When’s of ideas)

- Developing a personal library with knowledge in classification and catalogue system

3 ADVANCED WRITING

- Fine manuscript and khat writing

- Personal diary

- Letter writing (pen-pals. grandparents. relatives, teachers. news. etc)

- Writing stories and books

- Research and commentary writing

- Advocacy writing

- History and development of the science of symbolic and affective language

- Use and application of statistics

- Science of advertisement. and mass media

4 ADVANCED MATHEMATICS

- Algebra and geometry

- Use and application of mathematics in daily life (tools. machines. cooking. games, etc)

- Mathematics in statistics. business. industry and management

- Mathematical concepts & theories

- Creative hobbies that require the utilization of mathematical knowledge

5 HOBBIES & HANDICRAFT

- Hobbies that expand understanding of generic classification system

- Hobbies that require the use of knowledge

- Hobbies that require use of creative and design skills

- Hobbies that teach “concepts of higher value added products and services”

- Activities that require the use of typing skills. computer knowledge. productive tools. etc

6 MUSIC

- Learning of musical instruments

- Reading and writing of musical scores

- Learning the history and classification of music

- Developing skills and interest in composing

7 EXPLORATION & RESEARCH

- Exploration and expeditions

- Research projects and report writing and presentation

- Activities that sharpen skills in observation. recording. writing. classification. presentation

- Activities that develop the ability to view problems from varying perspectives

- Activities that develop skills in effective problem solving

- Activities that develop rational thinking based on Scientific- Religious-Cultural validity

- Development. of personal resource and reference materials

- Participation in clubs pertaining to use of knowledge, exploration, research. creativity. etc.

8 FAMILY & COMMUNITY PROGRAMHE

- Activities that enhance love of the family, neighbours, teachers. leaders and the community

- Activities that provide opportunities to help others (family. neighbours. the poor. etc)

- Activities that enhance understanding of the relationship between self. family. community. humanity. environment and Allah SWT

- Activities that develop loyalty. sincerity goodwill (family members. neighbours, friends)

- Activities that develop love for the welfare of others

- Activities that. develop love for global and universal values

9 EXPLORATION & EXPEDITION

- Programmes of field studies and projects

- Excursions and expeditions (history, industry. exhibitions)

- Archives projects (places, people. ideas. products. events)

10 SPORTS PROGRAMME

- Sports that enhance intellectual-physical excellence. personal perseverance and goodwill

- Learning the history of sports

- Learning the application of science in sports

- Learning the history and of rules and operational systems in sports

11 LEADERSHIP & ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

- - Activities that provide opportunities to be loyal followers and group members members

- - A Activities that develop fine human-to-human interactive skills

- - Activities that. develop leadership skills and sensitivities

- - Activities r that develop develop skills skills in formulation. planning and implementation implementation

- A Activities that develop values of responsibility and trust

- Activities that. develop resilience arid perseverance

12 12 SPIRITUAL & RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT

- Activities that develop ability and predisposition to feel, think and act. on the basis of religious-scientific-cultural validity

- - Activities that develop awareness-interest in the use of knowledge- skills as acts of piety skills as acts of piety

- - Activities that develop lose for and ability in fulfilling daily acts of piety (Fardu ‘Ain) piety (Fardu ‘Ain)

- Activities that develop love for and ability in acts of community piety Activities that develop love for and ability in acts of community piety (Fardu Kifayah)

- Activities that develop love for cleanliness. gratitude. patience. humility, magnanimity. etc humility, magnanimity. etc

- - Activities that develop a keen awareness of the connectedness of things to the extent. that. the children readily perceive the Greatness of Allah SWT in all aspects of life SWT in all aspects of life

CRITICAL PREREQUISITES

Parents’ knowledge and commitment should be expanded and enhanced.

The 0-5 year foundational programme must he effective.

Bonding and contact between child and parents must be continuous.

Parents must desire these developments of excellence - and are convinced Parents must desire these developments of excellence - and are convinced that they are feasible and desirable. Parental examples are critical. that they are feasible and desirable. Parental examples are critical.

Parents must look after their health Parents must look after their health

b) MOSQUES : To serve as Operational Centres and Meeting Points as well as information resource centres

Parents will need support especially through parent groups or clubs

Parents will need to readjust their priorities so that. time and money are available for effective realization of these expanded programmes.

Opportunities must be given for the children to participate actively in formulating. planning and implementation of the programmes. The children must be made to understand the rationales and purposes of the programmes.

Certain key values must be imbibed in the children for example:

- Habits of saving

- Habits of being active contributors (time. service. ideas and understanding)

- Habits of helping to generate income and resources

- Habits for both parents and children to continually seek knowledge and skills.

Organisations and institutions that should be upgraded or developed to help parents:

a) PROFESSIONALS : To continually serve as Resource facilities

: Parent Groups. Clubs or Alumni

: Children’s clubs

To function as infrastructure facilities and development of the folk-lore of excellence

To provide resource expertise to parents

To invest. in developing student hostels overseas with parents participating as share- holders

To establish centres of intensive dialogue and research in education. development. and application of Islamic teachings in development

d) COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS

: To provide opportunities for children to acquire experience in work, business. industry. corporate culture and the profoundness of professional and business ethics.

Cc: INFORMATION5 (8812:GVT224) From: INFORMATION5 (8812:GVT224) Subject: [Federation of Indian Muslims National y Celebrations] Posted: Tue 28-July-92 15:15 SING Delivered: Tue 28-July-92 15:15 SING (119 lines) Msg ID: IPM-8812-920728-137321081

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