Malay Muslims have made great progress but must now aim higher: PM Lee

He lays out 3 focus areas for self-help group Mendaki, including early childhood support

- Goh Yan Han

The Malay/Muslim community in Singapore has made great progress but must now aim higher and go further, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday.

He noted that the aspirations and needs of the community have grown, but a segment of the community still has difficulties, resulting in much work for self-help group Yayasan Mendaki to do.

Speaking at Mendaki’s 40th-anniversary celebration, PM Lee laid out three areas for the organisation to focus on – early childhood support, resolving family issues and social problems, and promoting lifelong education among workers.

Noting that these efforts would require resources, he announced that the Government will be supporting Mendaki’s plans to raise $40 million to improve existing programmes and implement new schemes.

It will match funds raised by Mendaki dollar for dollar, up to $20 million, meaning that Mendaki has to raise only $20 million by itself to reach its $40 million target.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli, who is chairman of Mendaki, said he is very confident that the self-help group will be able to raise the $20 million within a year because many small and medium-sized enterprises and local firms have already come forward to donate.