Funding Sources for Malay/Muslim Organisations

Mr Speaker, Sir, Malay/Muslim Organisations (MMOs) play an important role in uplifting and raising the achievement level of the community. One key source of funding for MMOs comes from the monthly contributions to the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF) via the CPF check-off scheme. Of the estimated $17.8 million collected in MBMF every year, Yayasan MENDAKI receives approximately $4 million, the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) $0.4 million and the other Malay/Muslim Organisations, $0.4 million. The remaining amount, Sir, is channelled to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) in support of the Mosque Building Programme and madrasah education.

MMOs, like any other charitable organisations, also rely on donations to run their programmes. The Government provides dollar-for-dollar matching grant for donations raised by Mendaki, AMP and the MMOs up to a yearly ceiling of $4 million. The matching cap to Mendaki is up to $2 million, AMP $1 million and the other MMOs $1 million.

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Donations and matching grant to Mendaki and other MMOs are channelled to the Malay/Muslim Community Development Fund (MMCDF) to support Mendaki and MMO-initiated projects. The MMO component of MMCDF is managed by Mendaki on behalf of the MMOs. The MMCDF Committee plays the role of ensuring that the funds are channelled to projects and programmes that meet the key priorities of our community in areas of education, youth, family and employability. The funded programmes are reviewed on a regular basis on their performance and outcomes.

Sir, the current funding arrangement was put in place since 2001. Given the evolving and growing needs of the community, it is timely to undertake a review of the policy on the funding allocation for MMOs, with the objective of ensuring that funds continue to be channelled to priority areas and to MMOs that undertake work in these areas. We will carry out the review over the next few months.

Sir, I thank the Minister for the reply. The Minister mentioned in his reply that there are reviews that will be made. Can the Minister please elaborate on the reviews that will be carried out, and how can it be ensured that the funds that are disbursed to the MMOs are really used according to the intended purposes?

Sir, on the second question, there is a committee chaired by a Member of the Board, Mr Salim Kader, that will review every project proposals by the MMOs, and to ensure that the project proposals fit into the overall thrust of Mendaki's work. Thus far, we have seen no reason to deny any of the project proposals because they have kept the proposals in line with the overall objective of Mendaki.

On the review, Sir, we recognise that many Malay/Muslim organisations, such as PPIS, 4PM, Muhammadiyah, have initiated many programmes and services to uplift the community and we recognise that these initiatives are commendable and are aligned with Mendaki's key thrust in the four areas that I have mentioned – education, youth, family and employability. The purpose of the review is really to identify the areas in the community which we require more support because, obviously, nothing is static and the MMOs can continue to build on their good work. We want to ensure that they are in a position to tackle the community's challenges and that they have a sufficient and steady flow of funds to help the community progress even further.

Supplementary question, Sir. Beyond the allocation of resources and funding, what else are we looking to strengthen the MMOs? And will capabilities and capacity building be looked at to meet with future challenges for the community? Also, about the renewal of leadership within the MMOs, is there anything for us to assist them to upgrade and improve the leadership?

Sir, the MMOs are independent organisations. So, we are in no position to suggest otherwise how the leadership renewal should take place. But, obviously, in line with other renewals which are taking place in the overall Singapore society, we would encourage the Malay/Muslim organisations to review their own long-term plans in terms of ensuring that there is a continuous flow of young, talented Malay/Muslim individuals that can take up leadership positions.

On the first point raised by the Member, apart from financial resources, Mendaki since 2002 or 2003 has started what we call the "policy forum" to allow a greater sharing of information and data with the Muslim organisations, so that they are in a better place to make an assessment of our challenges and, therefore, reflect further on the kinds of programmes. Apart from that, as and when it is necessary, Mendaki has undertaken training programmes at our expense. As an example, in 2005 or 2006 – I cannot remember the exact year – we conducted a training programme for youth counsellors because there was a lack of youth counsellors in the Malay/Muslim community, where we commissioned an expert from New Zealand to come down to Singapore, and we organised a two-week programme for the Malay/Muslim organisations. So, we will continue to explore other ways to strengthen the Malay/Muslim organisations.

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