Speech by President Halimah Yacob at Launch of Raikan Ilmu and Yayasan MENDAKI Heritage Gallery

Minister Masagos Zulkifli, Chairman of Yayasan MENDAKI

Minister of State Zaqy Mohamed, Deputy Chairman

Mdm Rahayu Buang, CEO

Distinguished Guests

Assalamualaikum and good morning to all. It gives me great pleasure to join you today at the launch of Raikan Ilmu and Yayasan MENDAKI’s Heritage Gallery and Commemorative book.

MENDAKI has played an important role in uplifting the Malay community.  When the MENDAKI Congress was convened on 10^th October 1982, the founding members - under the leadership of then Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Dr Ahmad Mattar - set out to improve the educational and socio-economic outcomes of the Malay community.  This was a forward looking vision, as then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew acknowledged that a “government-run scheme cannot achieve a quarter of the result of this voluntary, spontaneous effort by Malay/Muslims to help themselves.” The Government can only reach minds, but fellow Malay/Muslims can go one level deeper, to reach the hearts of parents and youths. That is where the real change begins.

The results of this approach of community self-help are evident. At the start of the 1980s, one in eight Malay/Muslim students achieved at least five GCE “O” level passes. Within one decade from MENDAKI’s launch, this number doubled. Today, two-thirds of Malay/Muslim students achieve at least five GCE “O” level passes. During the recent National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong cited the community’s significant achievements in education, illustrated by the 10-fold increase in the number of Anugerah Mendaki Award recipients with first class honours from seven to more than 70 within 10 years. And just last August, we celebrated the success of Muhammad Dhafer Bin Muhammad Faishal for being conferred the President’s Scholarship Award and the Lee Hsien Loong Award for Outstanding All-Round Achievement. These are just some of the many examples of how far the Malay/Muslim community has come.

I want to thank the various partners in our community - education professionals, parents, teachers, community leaders and institutional partners – who have collectively helped to turn the vision of MENDAKI’s founding members into reality. Our community’s achievements would not have been possible without your unwavering support.

These stories of challenges and resilience are captured in the MENDAKI Heritage Gallery, which will be launched today. The Gallery brings to life our community’s journey towards educational excellence, and displays MENDAKI’s flagship initiatives that have kept pace with the times, impacting successive generations.

Our community has always valued the pursuit of ilmu (or knowledge), which gives us the competence, skills and knowledge to add value to those around us. As individuals we must be educated, knowledgeable and skilled so that we can hold our own in schools, workplaces and abroad.  And as a community, we must be competent so that we can be effective contributors to the wider society.

Today also marks the launch of MENDAKI’s annual “Raikan Ilmu” (Celebrate Knowledge) month. This is an excellent opportunity to spur the culture of lifelong learning within our community. “Raikan Ilmu” is for everyone, and I encourage all of us - young or old, seniors or parents with young children - to join in the festivities and pursue new knowledge and skills. Families can bond over their love for reading at the Reading@theGardens event starting tomorrow. The Learning Festival at Our Tampines Hub in November will offer education and upskilling opportunities for students and the working adults. This month, we will also celebrate the success of our outstanding students who will receive Anugerah MENDAKI (Mendaki Award) and Anugerah Belia Cemerlang MENDAKI.

Above all, I am heartened that fifty community and corporate partners have committed their support for “Raikan Ilmu”, and it shows their collective commitment to giving back to the community. I hope that this spirit of contribution and generosity will continue to inspire more people to come forward to share their skills, time and talents to help others learn and develop.

MENDAKI’s commemorative book, Navigating Educational Development: MENDAKI and the Malays, will also be launched today. It charts the journey of the community through the eyes of our past community leaders, sets out their thinking behind major milestones and decisions in the education landscape, and articulates our vision for the future. I am confident that the publication will serve as a useful reference point for members of our community and young Singaporeans, keen to learn about the evolution of our unique approach of self-help and education.

As we look to the future, we have trained our sights on bigger goals. Under the M³ approach, MENDAKI – in collaboration with MUIS and MESRA – has strengthened last-mile outreach to children of needy and vulnerable groups to give them an early start in life, brought together our valuable community networks, volunteers and assets, and unlocked their combined potential to reach out to the community. KelasMateMatika@CC is an example of successful joint M³ collaboration, helping parents to give pre-schoolers an early start in numeracy skills, and is on track to increase five-fold to reach 1,500 parents and children by year-end. We are also encouraged by more youths and professionals stepping forward to contribute to the M³@Towns, and I am sure with their energy, passion and ideas, more ground-up initiatives and programmes to uplift our community will be introduced.

Even as we celebrate our progress, there is still a lot for us to do in the different areas. In education, we need to broaden our definition of success to include not just those who are academically excellent, but also those with different capabilities who have excelled in different areas. This includes those who have taken a longer route to reach their goals through perseverance and hard work. There are now many more opportunities for the young, such as the Skills Future Earn and Learn programme for our ITE graduates. This is an apprenticeship programme which leads to a diploma or advanced diploma and ensures better career progression as well as higher educational opportunities. We also need the continuous support of parents to put education as a top priority and to create a conducive environment for their children. Individuals and families need to embrace education and lifelong learning wholeheartedly first before it can become a core value of the community.

In employment, we need to understand how Singapore’s economic restructuring will affect us, in particular the kind of structural changes to jobs that are taking place because of automation and artificial intelligence. Technology is a major disruptor as many of the jobs that we are currently doing will become obsolete but there are many new opportunities, if we have the relevant skills and capabilities. We have to step up efforts to help workers identify new areas of growth and help match them to these opportunities.

MENDAKI’s work, in partnership with M³ agencies, is critical in ensuring that the next generation is in good stead to contribute to our future society, fulfilling our vision of being a Masyarakat Gemilang (Community of Success). The spirit of Raikan Ilmu, exemplifying our shared belief in the importance of lifelong learning, will be key to realising this vision.

Over many decades of growth in Singapore, we have developed resilience as a community – a community that is able to bounce back and get back into shape despite challenges. It is not just because of the competitive environment that we live in that has shaped our responses, and our ability to adapt quickly to changes, it is also because we have worked closely together and supported each other in all our efforts.

As the Malay saying goes, “Yang bulat tidak akan datang menggolek, yang pipih tidak datang melayang.” Maksud nya, sesuatu kejayaan itu tidak akan datang dengan mudah tanpa berusaha. Or, in English, “Success does not come easily without effort”.

With all our hearts, souls and minds put together and with the strong support from the community, we can do much better in the years ahead, as long as we stay focused and united. I wish you a very meaningful and fulfilling Raikan Ilmu month.

Thank you