While the Malay-Muslim community has made significant contributions to Singapore due to its collective strength and core belief in citizenry, Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli said that new strengths must be harnessed to respond to the changing needs of the community.
Speaking at a Hari Raya get-together, Masagos, concurrently Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health, announced the launch of Wakaf Masyarakat Singapura (WMS).
The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean as special guests.
Slated for August 2024, WMS is a Muslim community endowment fund first introduced in June 2020 to prepare for the future needs of Muslims in Singapore and Islamic institutions in a sustainable manner.
Masagos highlighted how the Singapore Muslim community has been steadfast in contributing to society through charitable methods such as wakaf since Singapore's early days.
"Singapore Muslims have played a significant role in Singapore society, in addressing our national and community challenges with pragmatic approaches rooted in Islamic principles."
"Gotong royong" spirit enables the S'pore Malay-Muslim community
In his speech, Masagos said that the Malay-Muslim community in Singapore now "operates from a position of strength" because of its courage and togetherness.
He said that for many years, the Malay community was confronted by worrying trends in educational outcomes.
However, the community leaders were courageous in accepting this reality. They acknowledged Singapore’s system of meritocracy and believed that the community could not rely on "special quotas" or "affirmative action" as an "easy solution".
"We had to work hard like everyone else to merit the recognition and qualification. Over decades, our community leaders worked together and expended efforts to advance the community’s educational attainment."
He added that the community's togetherness or the "gotong royong" spirit is a cultural aspect of the Malays which enabled it to succeed.
Masagos also emphasised the concept of citizenry actively demonstrated by the Singapore Muslim community over the last 40 years.
"Citizenry, in my opinion, remains at the core of our Singaporean Muslim identity – to contribute to a united society, striving together for the common good," he said.
Singapore Muslims have done this through wakaf, which is an act of voluntary charity in the form of cash or property dating back to Singapore's foundational years.
Wakaf is typically carried out by a person individually.
Significance of the WMS fund
Masagos added that new strengths must be harnessed to respond to the changing needs of the community and Singapore in the future.
He noted that mosque land leases need to be renewed and are expected to be more costly.
He added that there is also a need to fund the growing religious education and social needs of Muslims in Singapore.
"We have a solid foundation in this aspect. The community has at least S$2 billion in liquid assets. This is estimated based on the approximately $60 million zakat collection annually."
"The total accumulated assets in the community is increasing. I have proposed the creation of WMS to harness the wealth we have accumulated as a community," he said.
This will help Muslims in Singapore to be consistent wakif or wakaf donors.
The fund will be used to support a wide and flexible range of community needs, including developing local Muslim religious teachers.
In February 2024, the Singapore government amended the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) to establish the legal foundation for WMS.
Masagos said Bahren Shaari, former chief executive officer of the Bank of Singapore, will chair the Pro-Tem committee to execute plans for WMS.
Bahren was the chief executive officer of the Bank of Singapore from 2015 to 2022.
Chua Chu Kang GRC Member of Parliament Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim will lead the Islamic Legacy Planning Workgroup, which will facilitate Islamic legacy planning for the community, such as the drafting of wills.
The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has also designated August 2024 as Wakaf month in conjunction with the launch of WMS to raise the community’s understanding of this initiative.
"Just as how the past generations contributed to the next generation, it is now our opportunity to do the same."
Top photos by Ministry of Communications and Information & Seri Mazliana