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Tag: Yaacob Ibrahim

  • Yaacob Ibrahim Appointed Minister In-Charge Of Cyber Security, Cyber Security Agency Formed

    Yaacob Ibrahim Appointed Minister In-Charge Of Cyber Security, Cyber Security Agency Formed

    A dedicated agency for national cyber security will be set up from Apr 1, 2015.

    The Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore will come under the Prime Minister’s Office and will provide dedicated and centralised oversight of national cyber security functions.

    The agency will take over the functions of the Singapore Infocomm Technology Security Authority (SITSA) and some roles of IDA. Minister for Communications and Information Dr Yaacob Ibrahim will be appointed as the Minister-in-charge of Cyber Security.

    The CSA will consolidate and build upon the government’s cyber security capabilities. These include strategy and policy development, cyber security operations, industry development and outreach. CSA will also work closely with the private sector to develop Singapore’s cyber security eco-system.

    “If you look back 15-20 years, many sectors in Singapore were not cyber-enable,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean on Tuesday (Jan 27). “But today, if you look at any sector in Singapore, be it healthcare, transportation, power systems, water supply – they all are cyber enabled in one way or another.

    “And so, the cyber world permeates many sectors in Singapore and have become increasingly interconnected. And so, it is important to protect each of these sectors but also to have an overview to make sure the interconnectivities between all of these sectors, the vulnerabilities there are also covered.”

    Some of the immediate priorities of CSA are ensuring a smooth transition of SITSA and IDA functions, as well as recruiting and developing manpower talent. The high demand for cyber security professionals has resulted in a talent crunch.

    The agency plans to work with institutes of higher learning to build a robust and sustainable pool of cyber security experts, as well as improve the relationship between the Government and the private sector.

    Said Dr Yaacob: “So at the end of the day, the data that we collect – because we are transiting into a Smart Nation – is protected and safeguarded and in that way build trust within the system. The agency will initially start up with 60 staff, and will move some 40 staff from existing organisations over.

    “So this is a very important function of the Government to ensure, not only within the Government, but within the private sector that we are all connected. And we can level ourselves up to that capability where we can withstand the threat.”

    One key driver for setting up CSA was to respond to new and sophisticated threats, such as when personal data is compromised.

    Mr David Koh, Deputy Secretary (Technology) at the Ministry of Defence has been appointed as Chief Executive (Designate) of the CSA on Jan 1, 2015 and as Chief Executive, CSA from Apr 1, 2015.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Madrasah Students Need Not Pay National Examination Fees Effective This Year

    Madrasah Students Need Not Pay National Examination Fees Effective This Year

    Madrasah students will not need to pay national examination fees starting this year, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said today.

    His announcement comes after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced in his Budget speech last month that the Education Ministry would waive fees for national examinations for Singapore citizens studying in Government-funded schools.

    The six full-time madrasahs, or Islamic religious schools, are largely funded by the Muslim community, and are not covered by this waiver.

    But Dr Yaacob said on Thursday that the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth would assist the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) so that madrasah students will not need to pay these fees too.

    Besides full-time madrasahs, Muis is also working to strengthen part-time Islamic education and make it available to more people in the Muslim community.

    A home-schooling programme, Kids aLive (Learning Islamic Values Everyday) Home Edition, for parents to teach their children about Islam at home was launched in 2014.

    And more than 16,000 students were enrolled in its aLive programme, for children between seven and 16 years old, in mosques last year. This year, Muis plans to start extra sessions on weekdays and weekends, and extend the operating hours for these centres, aiming for a 12 per cent increase in spaces within the next year.

    Meanwhile, to meet rising demand for its Adult Islamic Learning (Adil) classes, Muis has also increased the number of participating mosques to 13, and will develop eight more modules later this year.

    Self-help group Mendaki, too, is stepping up its education outreach efforts to benefit more in the Malay/Muslim community, including having more space in its tuition and homework supervision programmes and giving more guidance to parents of children aged six and below.

    It will be expanding its flagship programme, the Mendaki Tuition Scheme (MTS), which has benefited over 180,000 students since it started in 1982.

    Last year, about 10,000 students enrolled in its 50 centres islandwide. This year, it will set up MTS centres in six more mosques here to make the programme more accessible, among them Al-Ansar Mosque in Bedok, Al-Iman Mosque in Bukit Panjang and Al-Mawaddah Mosque in Sengkang.

    Mendaki will also pilot a mentoring scheme at four of its MTS centres to counsel lower secondary students and help them plan their future, said Dr Yaacob, and aims to have 15 Mendaki Homework Cafes up and running this year – up from two in 2013.

    It also recognises the need to lay a strong foundation for children in their early learning years, and will provide greater support for parents with children aged six and below.

    It will, for instance, develop a toolkit and a curriculum to help parents develop their child’s learning capabilities during the early years.

    Adults will not be left behind. Mendaki’s training arm, Mendaki Sense, will design programmes that tap on schemes under the SkillsFuture initiative, which helps people master skills throughout their career.

    Mendaki is also looking to boost financial literacy among families by working with national financial education programme MoneySense.

    Dr Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade GRC) also asked for an update on mosque kindergartens. Dr Yaacob said there are 18 such kindergartens, with about 2,600 pupils enrolled. This year, Muis and Mendaki will study ways to further strengthen these kindergartens.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Did Yaacob Ibrahim Delegation Obtain Increased Quota Of Haj Participants From Singapore?

    Did Yaacob Ibrahim Delegation Obtain Increased Quota Of Haj Participants From Singapore?

    In a Facebook post on Friday evening, Minister for Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said that he had met with Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Minister, Dr Bandar Bin Mohamed Al-Hajjar, on Thursday to discuss arrangements for the upcoming pilgrimage in September.

    Readers who had seen Yaacob’s post, however, were left confused on whether there would any increase in the Hajj quota this year. Although the minister mentioned that both he and Dr Bandar “agreed that the safety, welfare and security of the Hajj pilgrims must be given utmost priority”, he did not mention whether Dr Bandar had ever agreed to any increase in the Hajj quota.

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • Madrasah Wak Tanjong Mengambil Semula Murid Darjah Satu Tahun Ini

    Madrasah Wak Tanjong Mengambil Semula Murid Darjah Satu Tahun Ini

    MADRASAH Wak Tanjong telah mula mengambil semula murid darjah satu mulai tahun ini setelah ia memenuhi ukur tara Peperiksaan Tamat Sekolah Rendah (PSLE) di bawah Akta Pendidikan Wajib (CE).

    Madrasah di Sims Avenue itu gagal memenuhi ukur tara tersebut dalam tempoh penilaian 2008 hingga 2010, oleh itu tidak boleh mengambil murid darjah satu dari 2012 hingga 2014.

    Di bawah akta tersebut, madrasah sepenuh masa perlu memenuhi ukur tara PSLE tahunan jika ingin terus mengambil murid darjah satu.

    Dalam jawapan bertulisnya kepada Encik Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap (GRC Aljunied), Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, berkata terdapat hingga 400 tempat bagi pendaftaran murid darjah satu di madrasah sepenuh masa.

    Madrasah Alsagoff mengambil sekitar 30 murid darjah satu setiap tahun dari 2012 hingga 2014, manakala Madrasah Al-Maarif pula sekitar 67 pelajar.

    Madrasah Irsyad, satu daripada tiga madrasah di bawah Sistem Madrasah Bersama (JMS), mengambil sekitar 204 murid darjah satu setiap tahun sepanjang tempoh itu.

    Dua lagi madrasah JMS, Aljunied dan Al-Arabiah, berhenti mengambil murid darjah satu mulai 2009 sebagai sebahagian daripada sistem itu.

    Kedua-dua madrasah itu hanya menerima pelajar menengah.

    Menurut Dr Yaacob, sistem pendidikan madrasah memerlukan murid rendah mengambil lima mata pelajaran ukhrawi di samping empat mata pelajaran PSLE.

    “Madrasah melaksana ujian kemasukan bagi memastikan pelajar yang mereka ambil dapat menghadapi tuntutan kurikulum dengan baik,” kata beliau.

    Dr Yaacob juga berkata Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis) bersama madrasah komited dalam menyediakan pendidikan bermutu bagi pelajar madrasah.

    “Selain merekrut dan mengekalkan guru bermutu, Muis melabur dalam pembangunan profesional pemimpin dan guru madrasah,” kata beliau.

     

    Source: http://beritaharian.sg

  • Increasing Number Of Families Are Applying For Financial Assistance From MUIS

    Increasing Number Of Families Are Applying For Financial Assistance From MUIS

    The number of people applying for financial assistance through the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) has risen slightly over recent years, said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, who is the Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs.

    The number of applicants for zakat financial assistance has risen from 5,210 applicants in 2012, to 5,306 applicants in 2013 and 5,454 applicants in 2014. Dr Yaacob added that over this time period, MUIS approved an average of 99 per cent of applications each year.

    Unsuccessful applicants might have sought help on matters for which MUIS does not have an assistance scheme. In such instances, MUIS would refer the applicants to the appropriate public agency, he added.

    Dr Yaacob said the per capita income cap of the assistance scheme is decided based on the long-term sustainability of the scheme and how it supplements existing national assistance schemes such as ComCare.

    With regards to enhancing services for needy families, Dr Yaacob said that MUIS regularly reviews the adequacy of its current financial assistance schemes and studies social trends and challenged faced by needy households. MUIS has also trained over 520 Mosque Befrienders to conduct regular home visits to long-term zakat recipients.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com