Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the Masyarakat Gemilang Conference 2023

Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development, Second Minister for Health, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, and Chairman of Yayasan MENDAKI

Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Manpower, and Deputy Chairman of Yayasan MENDAKI

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Assalamualaikum and good morning to all. I am happy to join you for MENDAKI’s second Masyarakat Gemilang Conference, organised as part of the annual Raikan Ilmu month. In this month, we come together to celebrate and embrace knowledge as part of our culture, across all ages and walks of life. We are here today because we share a common desire to give back to our community and build a Community of Success.

This Conference brings together different stakeholders to take stock of the progress made by the community, and collectively discuss new ideas to bring the community forward. The inaugural event last year brought together community leaders from various Malay/Muslim organisations. This year, we look to our youth, who are the future of our community. I am pleased to see that so many of you have taken up the invitation to be part of this important collaborative and inclusive process.

To chart our future, we must first understand our history. MENDAKI was formed to uplift the community through education. In 1982, MENDAKI launched the Weekend Tuition Scheme, which is known today as the MENDAKI Tuition Scheme. Through this initiative, MENDAKI has provided quality tuition at a subsidised rate to benefit the community from added education support.

Over the years, MENDAKI has transformed to adapt to new challenges and an evolving social landscape. The Community Leaders’ Forum, or CLF, was formed in 2003 to galvanise efforts and resources to overcome challenges faced by the community. Our community has benefitted from programmes such as Tiga M, Youth-in-Action, and the Family Excellence Circles, or FEC, introduced through CLF’s four networks of Education, Family, Youth, and Employability. When I was part of the CLF Steering Committee, I was glad to have had the opportunity to lead the Employability Network. The Employability Network had introduced and implemented programmes such as the Job Ready, Job Steady programme; Back-to-Work Women programme; and CareerLink Plus programme to enhance the employment and employability of our workforce.

Many of such programmes have been strengthened and continue to be implemented today. While education remains a cornerstone of its services, MENDAKI now also offers various career workshops and programmes to prepare students and workers to be Future Ready. We increasingly see Malay/Muslim professionals in a wider range of sectors, including the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics or STEM fields. The proportion of Malay Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians, or PMETs, has also increased from about 30% in 2010 to about 40% in 2020, with many in stable growth sectors. Better career prospects mean better incomes.

Today, the M³ partnership of MENDAKI, Muis, and MESRA works closely together with other community and national agencies to run and scale effective programmes across the 11 M³ Towns. Through these partnerships, MENDAKI has reached out to more than 86,000 individuals and beneficiaries in 2022, an increase from previous years. I am happy that more in the community, especially children and youth, have benefitted from MENDAKI’s programmes and initiatives.

Take, for example, the KelasMateMatika or KMM programme. To help ensure that every child has a good start in life, the programme empowers parents to support and teach their preschool children basic numeracy concepts. Between 2018 and 2022, KMM enrolment numbers increased almost tenfold. The programme has expanded from 97 children in 2018, when M³ was first formed, to a target of 2,500 children this year through partnerships and outreach with preschools and local partners at the various M³ Towns. Recent studies by the M³ Programme Evaluation Office show that KMM has been effective in helping children with their numeracy skills, as the majority who subsequently enter Primary 1 do not need to be enrolled into the Learning Support for Maths programme. This is a good achievement.

Beyond skills development for our children, we must also ensure that they grow in a stable and nurturing environment. Let me share the example of Ms Idayu Binte Abu Saleh, who is a mother of four children and the sole breadwinner of her family. She was introduced to MENDAKI’s FEC in 2021. The FEC is a good example of an informal support structure where families are provided access to resources and materials to strengthen self-reliance and resilience, share information and best practices to meet their children’s education needs and development, and build a social support system for each other. Through the FEC, three of Ms Idayu’s children benefitted from the MENDAKI Tuition Scheme. Her children also received the Harun Ghani Education Fund for their respective primary, secondary, and ITE education. With MENDAKI’s support, her children were able to fulfil their education needs and aspirations. Having benefitted from the assistance rendered by the FEC, Ms Idayu is now a trained FEC facilitator because she wants to pay it forward.

In addition to building a good academic foundation and a stable environment for our children in their early years, MENDAKI also runs many programmes that help young individuals reach their fullest potential. Initiatives such as the “Future of…” Series, the NextStop Seminar, and the YOUth@M³ Networking Session with tertiary students strengthen awareness among youth of opportunities in growth sectors. There are also initiatives like the #amPowered mentoring programmes which guide secondary school and ITE students on their potential education pathways and possible career plans. Last year alone, more than 2,000 youth benefitted from these initiatives. I urge you to join these programmes if you have not done so, or to consider becoming a volunteer if you have benefitted and want to give back.

MENDAKI has also begun developing an ecosystem of support for young people in our community to find their footing in the working world. Since 2019, it has established Professional Networks to help Malay/Muslim PMETs grow their social capital. Today, there are five Professional Networks – Technology, Life Sciences, Banking and Finance, Legal, as well as Engineering. Let me share the example of Mr Firdaus Hamzah, a Senior Business Development Manager at Sembwaste and a member of MENDAKI’s Engineering Professional Network that was formed in May this year. He connected with other engineering professionals from different companies through various engagement sessions. He then shared his insights with other Malay/Muslim professionals in the sector and reached out to mentor six students and young engineering professionals. Such networks enable professionals like Mr Firdaus to contribute back to the community while also leveraging the support and experiences of others in the same sector. Close to 420 professionals have come on board these Professional Networks and I understand that several more will be established this year. I encourage you to register yourselves if you have not done so, or to even start your own Network.

Our community has made significant progress in education and household income compared to a decade ago. We have been able to harness our community’s diverse strengths to look out for one another. We are fortunate to have many good Malay/Muslim organisations stepping up to support different segments of our community. As a community, we have shown that by working together, we uplift one another. Regardless of our starting points, we are able to connect, mentor, and guide others to open avenues for collective progress. As we set higher ambitions for ourselves, let us continue this spirit of giving back and help more among us to achieve their dreams. Allow me to end with a few words in Malay.

Saya berbesar hati melihat ramai para belia menyahut undangan untuk menghadiri Persidangan Masyarakat Gemilang tahun ini. Sebagai generasi pelapis, anda memainkan peranan penting dalam memacu kemajuan masyarakat kita. Saya menggalak anda agar menyumbang idea dan masa untuk menyertai atau memperkembangkan inisiatif-inisiatif seperti Rangkaian Karyawan yang telah ditubuhkan MENDAKI. Sebagai satu masyarakat, marilah kita berganding bahu dan saling membantu, satu sama lain untuk memanfaatkan peluang-peluang yang ada demi membentuk masyarakat gemilang.

Semoga sesi ini membuahkan hasil bagi semua para hadirin. Terima kasih.