Tag: mendaki

Parliament: New Committee To Help Malay/Muslim PMETs

Malay/Muslim professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) can soon turn to a new committee for help to weather the headwinds from an uncertain economy.

Its focus is to help this growing group to retrain, and rebound from employment setbacks, said Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim on Thursday (March 9). The committee will be chaired by Parliamentary Secretaries Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and Amrin Amin.

Dr Yaacob also said in Parliament that the community’s take up of the national SkillsFuture initiative has room for improvement. As of December 2016, out of the 126,000 Singaporeans who have used their SkillsFuture credits, only 8.4 per cent are Malays.

“More can be done to explain and link them to SkillsFuture and other national schemes. We will push hard to encourage more to try, and for those who do, we want to support them,” he said.

He was responding to Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang GRC), who flagged lower-middle income PMETs as a group in need of greater support.

Mendaki’s training arm, Mendaki Sense, will step up its efforts to provide good employment opportunities, said Dr Yaacob.

“But at the same time, more must be done to make continual learning and training a social norm or a natural impulse of our community,” he added, pointing to Mendaki’s efforts to empower the community through education.

The self-help group, which turns 35 this year, has been tapping on technology.

For instance, it last month piloted its Digital Learning@MTS initiative to heighten the learning experience of students in its flagship Mendaki Tuition Scheme, said Dr Yaacob. This involved 150 students at three centres, but will be expanded into a full-fledged programme for all if successful.

Mendaki is also working to get the community ready for the challenges of the future.

Its Future Ready Unit, launched last year, has reached out to more than 1,000 students and young adults to promote SkillsFuture, particularly among students and parents.

This year, it will launch a new Future First programme to help Malay/Muslim students in Higher Nitec courses develop IT skills and competencies, like critical thinking.

Dr Yaacob also laid out moves to strengthen and safeguard families. Vista Sakinah, which was launched in 2011 to provide specialised marriage education and support programmes for remarrying couples and step-families, has helped more than 1,600 couples through its remarriage preparation programme, and more than 1,200 families through its post-marriage support, he said.

Plans are afoot to expand its outreach efforts and enhance its services. One strategy involves working with asatizah to engage these families, said Dr Yaacob: “We want to encourage our asatizah to broaden how they can serve the social needs of the community, and remarriages and step-families are one group who require support.”

He also spoke of changes in the Syariah Court, which administers Muslim family law relating to divorce and inheritance matters.

Two new presidents – Ustaz Muhammad Fazalee Jaafar and Ustazah Raihanah Halid – came on board last year, he said.

Both are on secondment from Muis – part of a broader collaboration between Muis and the Syariah Court to ensure a robust talent pipeline is in place to lead Muslim statutory institutions.

The duo’s are mentored by Senior President Ustaz Mohamad Haji Rais and President Zainol Abeedin Hussin, both of whom will retire on June 30.

Between them, they have served for close to five decades. Dr Yaacob thanked them for their long years of service, adding that the Syariah Court will continue to tap on their services even after they leave.

In the next two to three years, the Syariah Court will have a new system to boost efficiency. It will include new e-services, like being able to make appointments online, and a new case management system.

Source: ST

March 9, 2017
Rahayu Buang Dilantik CEO Baru MENDAKI, Berkuatkuasa 1 Jan 2017

Yayasan MENDAKI akan mempunyai Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) yang baru, Cik Rahayu Buang, mulai 1 Januari depan.

Beliau mengambil alih jawatan tersebut daripada Cik Tuminah Sapawi, 56 tahun, yang sudah menerajui badan bantu diri itu selama tiga tahun.

Cik Rahayu , 45 tahun adalah Pengarah Bahagian Sokongan dan Pendidikan Keluarga serta Pejabat Pembangunan Wanita di Kementerian Pembangunan Sosial dan Keluarga (MSF).

Beliau menyertai MSF 20 tahun lalu dan sepanjang tempoh itu, terlibat dalam pelbagai program pembangunan termasuk isu-isu pemulihan, perlindungan, hilang upaya, keluarga dan wanita.

Di bawah kepimpinannya juga, program-program pendidikan keluarga diperkenalkan dan keluarga yang bercerai disokong melalui program berasaskan kanak-kanak dengan penubuhan Agensi Pakar Sokongan Perceraian.

Cik Rahayu adalah penerima Pingat Emas daripada Sekolah Dasar Awam Lee Kuan Yew, dan menerima Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (gangsa) pada 2014.

Cik Tuminah pula akan menyertai Kementerian Kebudayaan, Masyarakat dan Belia (MCCY) pada 1 Januari depan.

Menurut MENDAKI, Cik Tuminah sudah banyak menyumbang kepada masyarakat Melayu/Islam, dan menyerahkan MENDAKI dalam keadaan yang lebih kuat kepada penggantinya.

Beliau menerajui Semakan Pendidikan MENDAKI yang meletakkan asas bagi usaha meningkatkan program pembangunan guru-guru pembimbing dan memperbaiki program pendidikan ibu bapa.

Di bawah pentadbiran beliau, MENDAKI juga meningkatkan usaha memupuk minda masyarakat Melayu Islam untuk siap menghadapi masa depan. Ini termasuk kempen #RaikanIlmu, yang menggalak masyarakat menghayati semangat mencari ilmu dan pembelajaran sepanjang hayat.

YAACOB UCAP TERIMA KASIH KEPADA CIK TUMINAH ATAS PELBAGAI SUMBANGANNYA

Sementara itu, menulis di laman Facebook beliau, Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam, Dr Yaacob mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Cik Tuminah Sapawi bagi pelbagai sumbangannya sejak tiga tahun lalu.

Di bawah kepimpinan Cik Tuminah kata beliau, MENDAKI selesai melakukan semakan pendidikan menyeluruh untuk memperkuat sokongan pendidikan dalam masyarakat Melayu.

Dengan fokus kepada usaha membangunkan generasi yang dinamik dan bersedia untuk masa depan tambah Dr Yaacob, MENDAKI di bawah Cik Tuminah menubuhkan sebuah unit Future Ready.

Unit tersebut melengkapkan masyarakat dengan kemahiran-kemahiran dalam menghadapi ekonomi yang sentiasa berubah-ubah.

Mengulas pelantikan Cik Rahayu pula, Dr Yaacob yang juga merupakan Pengerusi MENDAKI, yakin bahawa CEO baru itu mampu memimpin MENDAKI untuk meningkatkan khidmatnya kepada masyarakat dan negara.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

November 19, 2016
Singapore Considering Feasibility Of Islamic College Here

Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim raised the possibility of setting up an Islamic college in Singapore to train a new generation of religious teachers who understand Singapore’s multi-racial and multi-religious context.

Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, told community leaders at a Hari Raya dinner on Friday (July 15): “The various Islamic universities in the Middle East and the region have served us well, but there is a need for homegrown religious leaders anchored in our local multi-racial, multi-religious context and attuned to the concerns of our community in the ever-changing global environment.”

He also said that Malay-Muslim community institutions have grown in tandem with Singapore’s development, and future religious leaders in these institutions need to understand the socio-historical circumstances that shaped the community’s progress.

“For this reason, I believe we should consider the feasibility of our community to set up an Islamic college, which will afford us home-based capacity to train a new generation of (religious teachers).”

Several factors would need to be studied, such as the college’s viability in a small market, and how to attract good faculty and build international repute while keeping it affordable. This task would be assigned to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), Dr Yaacob said.

At the madrasah school level, Dr Yaacob said that Muis would also be working with the Ministry of Community, Culture and Youth to introduce a core element in the curriculum on inter-faith and inter-religious community understanding.

Ms Farah Mahamood Aljunied, director of curriculum planning and development at Muis, said that the current madrasah curriculum already exposes students to inter-cultural exchanges. The changes will focus more on enhancing and integrating inter-cultural learning into the whole curriculum.

She said: “No one is an island and we don’t want our madrasah students to think they can survive on their own and think they can be just among themselves. And being in Singapore, that’s the reality and students are very much aware of that and they’re open to the idea.”

On the Islamic college, she added that it would be an opportunity to contribute not just to the community here but also to the larger Muslim world and educational landscape, by providing more current Islamic education in various fields.

“There are just so many new developments that we need to incorporate and, hopefully, that would lead to a much more vibrant Islamic education sector and a much more inclusive way of looking at how we practise our religion and communicate it,” she said.

In his opening address at the dinner, Dr Yaacob also stressed the importance of continuing the work of pioneers in building the community.

To that end, Mendaki’s Club Leadership Incubator, which grooms young Malay-Muslim professionals to take on community projects, will expand to include a structured mentorship scheme.

The scheme will pair young professionals with more experienced community leaders who can guide and inspire them to contribute to the community.

Dr Yaacob said: “Our pioneers have (given) us the spirit of self-help and in that process, bequeathed to us a legacy of key institutions… We should build on what our pioneers have contributed, consolidate our efforts to bring greater gain for our community, and enhance what we have achieved thus far.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 16, 2016
Fahmi Rais: I Was Adopted, My Biological Parents Are Chinese

All his life, he thought he was the only child of his loving Malay parents.

Even though everyone he met has assumed he is Chinese because he is fair-skinned, Mr Fahmi Rais never gave it much thought.

This was until about two weeks ago, when a casual question posed to his 90-year-old grandmother during a monthly visit revealed a shocking, long-kept family secret.

Mr Fahmi found out he had been adopted and that his biological parents are Chinese.

The 47-year-old media consultant said: “I told her that people have been asking me for many years if I was adopted.

“I expected her to tell me that I was being ridiculous. But when her expression changed and she was silent for a few seconds, I just knew it.”

Mr Fahmi, a Malay community leader who was a SingFirst candidate in this year’s General Election, was so overwhelmed by the sudden revelation that he started crying.

His grandmother, who was also reduced to tears, told him that his parents were a poor Chinese couple who lived in Segamat, Johor.

She had no other details of his adoption – neither names nor the amount of money exchanged, if any.

Already feeling lost, Mr Fahmi was crushed when he realised that his relatives had known about the adoption but hid it from him.

His adoptive parents died more than 20 years ago, both from heart attacks.

His maternal grandmother is his only surviving grandparent.

He said: “Maybe my parents wanted to tell me one day, but never had the chance.”

For the past two weeks, Mr Fahmi, a father of four children aged between six and 19, has been determinedly searching for his biological family.

He wrote to The New Paper, hoping that by sharing his story, he would find them.

His parents had managed to keep details of his adoption a mystery, even to his relatives.

Mr Fahmi’s most credible lead is his birth certificate, which was issued 10 years after he was born.

The names of his birth parents are not on the certificate, but there is one clue.

It lists Kandang Kerbau Hospital (now known as KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital) as his place of birth.

When he approached the hospital last week, he was told that there are no records of his birth and he was directed to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.

They, too, told him they had no further information and asked him to approach the family court.

He is now waiting for the adoption registry, located at the MND Complex, to check if there are records of his adoption, but he has not heard from them yet.

ONLY CHILD?

Growing up as an only child, Mr Fahmi said the possibility of having siblings has been the greatest motivation for his search.

He believes his parents had many children and were forced to give a child away because of poverty.

“The thought that my sister could be sitting next to me at a foodcourt, or that my brother could be one of my friends on Facebook (without realising it), has been unbearable,” he said.

Mr Fahmi’s wife, Madam Sulaimah Abdul Kadir, 40, a consultant, was also there during Mr Fahmi’s conversation with his grandmother.

She said she is moved by his sadness since he found out the truth about his adoption.

“As a wife, I’ll support him in his search. But no matter what happens, we still love him for who he is,” she said.

Mr Fahmi insists he is not overreacting and that he just hopes to find closure.

The couple have an adopted daughter, Nur Natasya, 16, and Mr Fahmi admitted that he does blame his parents a little for withholding the truth from him.

He said: “My wife and I never hid the fact from our daughter that she was adopted. It was my policy of love, I don’t think adoption should be a secret.

“I wish my parents had the same level of transparency, but this does not reduce my love for them.

“I was a late bloomer and only passed one subject at O levels. I disappointed them many times when I was younger, but they loved me all the same.”

This adoption discovery came at the lowest point of my life. As if the seabed wasn’t ground deep enough, this experience (took) me on a slippery slope into the dark abyss. My wife and four children are the only people keeping me together. Not omitting my caring grandmother, without whom my entire life would have been a continuous lie.

– Mr Fahmi Rais in a blog entry on Tuesday

He worries how community will react to news

Mr Fahmi Rais was a community and youth activist and has held leadership positions in several Malay organisations, including Majlis Pusat and Yayasan Mendaki.

But he is concerned that people would now look at him in a different light after his Chinese ethnicity has come to light.

He said: “In one night, I changed from one race to another. I feel like I’ve lost my bearings – should I continue serving in the Malay community or should I spend my time searching for my Chinese roots?”

MP Zaqy Mohamad, who has spoken on issues about the Malay community, thinks that the community would not consider Mr Fahmi an outsider simply because of this discovery.

“After all, he was raised under the identity of a Malay and spent many years in the community,” he said.

SOCIALISATION

National University of Singapore sociologist Tan Ern Ser said ethnic identity is a “matter of socialisation”.

He explained: “It has nothing to do with skin colour or other so-called racial features.

“A person who is told that he is ‘racially’ a Chinese would probably not take on the Chinese identity and culture unless he seeks to be so for whatever reasons and/or if significant others treat him as Chinese.

“People can also have multiple identities.”

According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, a Singaporean is allowed to change his race twice – once before the age of 21 and once at or after the age of 21.

Those aged 21 years and above will be required to execute a statutory declaration stating the reason for changing their race and affirming that they will not change their race again.

Source: www.tnp.sg

November 27, 2015
Nizam Ismail: Malay Students Performing Poorer Compared To Others,Widening Gap Needs To Be Addressed

MOE’s release of educational performance of students from 2005-2014 reveal some alarming trends for Malay students, especially at PSLE level.

The gaps between Malay students and other communities at PSLE is *widening*, for Science, Maths and English. There is a discernible trend of *worsening* performance year on year. And this is despite at least 3 decades of intervention through Mendaki.

Only 60% of Malay students pass Maths (compared to 85.3% for the national benchmark). In other words, we have not progressed since 2005 (59.7%)

And for Science, only 70% of Malay students pass, compared to 90% for the national benchmark). This figure of 70% is worse than 2005 (76.8%)

What’s worrying are the trend lines of worsening performance, especially in Science.

I had raised this point 3 years ago. Our community-based educational intervention program to Mendaki does NOT work. The results speak for themselves.

We need to take a national approach towards addressing educational gaps. A holistic and aggressive approach target at lower socio-economic income groups (where Malay families are over-represented). We want all communities to do well.

Why perpetuate a model that has clearly not yielded results – despite millions of dollars of community funding through MBMF?

We simply cannot afford to let the slide continue or worsen.

Lest we become more marginalized.

Sampai bila?

Source: Nizam Ismail in Suara Melayu Singapura.

November 22, 2015