Contrary to the views of many Muslims, the government does not control MUIS through funding. Government grants makes up barely 5% of MUIS operational expenditure.
Instead, MUIS is controlled through legislation, appointment of its senior officers by the President and Minister and through protocols as demanded for being a statutory body.
MUIS officers also regularly meet with and receive instructions from the PAP Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs, the intelligence departments and Ministry of Home Affairs.
While they do have some discretion in discussing specific, “non-sensitive” items in public, MUIS also receive instruction on what it should discuss and what it should not.
But MUIS is not the only body the PAP uses to promote its political interests.
One of the clearest declaration of how the PAP uses Malay organisations and leaders for its political purpose was made during the Collective Leadership Conference organised by the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) in 2000.
AMP proposed the setting up of a Collective Leadership system that involved the convening of an Annual Muslim Congress to discuss the community’s challenges, progress and develop strategies for future development.
For most neutral observer or member of the community, this proposal seems positive and needed. More than 500 Muslim community leaders and organisation representatives attended the event and gave support to the proposal.
What many did not seem to realise was how strongly the PAP would reject it.
The then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong spoke on the second day of the conference.
He began his speech by reminding AMP that they receive grants from his government.
He then declared that Muslims can discuss the idea for Collective Leadership as much as we want. But it is “a No Go”. We will not be allowed to have a Collective Leadership system or convene the Annual Muslim Congress.
And the reason he gave was simple: the proposal for a non-partisan Muslim leadership that is independent of the PAP…
Represents a threat to the PAP Malay MPs.
According to Chok Tong, a “collective Malay leadership to be elected by Malays only…is clearly a political challenge to the Malay MPs”.
Instead, he declared what the PAP want for the Malay community’s leadership structure:
“At the apex is the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs. He is assisted by the Malay MPs. They are supported by two key pillars.
MUIS is the first pillar… There must only be one authority in charge of Islamic Affairs, and that is MUIS.”
The second pillar is the government owned MENDAKI.
Chok Tong demanded that we accept the Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs and the PAP MPs as our leaders.
They are supported by MUIS and MENDAKI.
Both organisations are controlled by the PAP.
We are not allowed to elect or appoint our own community’s leaders.
They must be appointed by the PAP.
Our supreme leader, the one at the apex of the community is the PAP politician who reports to his party.
MUIS and Mendaki, the PAP controlled organisations, support him.
We are not to have any leader that is responsible to our community.
Like the Malay MPs, MUIS and Mendaki…
Our leaders can only be appointed by the PAP.
Source: Almakhazin
