Reasons for Withdrawal or Cancellation of Asatizah Recognition Scheme Applications, and Profile of Asatizahs in Singapore

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) to date, how many applications under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS) have been withdrawn or cancelled since the scheme was established; (b) what are the reasons for such cancellations; (c) whether the Ministry has data on the number of Asatizahs under the ARS that are (i) Sunni and (ii) Shia Muslims respectively; and (d) if so, how many.

Since the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS) was made mandatory in January 2017, 36 asatizah have had their ARS certifications cancelled by the Asatizah Recognition Board. These were due to contraventions of the ARS Code of Ethics, such as ethical misconduct or doctrinal issues.

The majority of our asatizah are Sunni Muslims. There are asatizah who are Shia Muslims and they serve the needs of the Shia community in Singapore.