DPM Gan Kim Yong at the Launch of Raikan Ilmu 2025

Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Associate Professor Faishal Ibrahim
Senior Minister of State Zaqy Mohamed, Chairman, Yayasan MENDAKI 
Mdm Zuraidah Abdullah, CEO, Yayasan MENDAKI
My Parliamentary colleagues,
Community and youth leaders,
Ladies and gentlemen

Good afternoon to all of you. Thank you for inviting me to join you at the launch of the Raikan Ilmu 2025.

This year is a special year, because this year is also Singapore’s 60th year of independence. This is a milestone worth celebrating – we have come far as a multi-racial, multi-religious community. And it is also a timely reminder for us to reflect on how we want to move forward as a society and as a nation.

In this respect, the Government’s efforts alone will not be enough. We require a whole-of-society approach to ensure that every Singaporean has the opportunity to progress and succeed. 

Community organisations such as MENDAKI play an instrumental role.  MENDAKI was formed just over forty years ago, when we saw worrying trends in the educational performance of Malay/Muslim students. Many were not completing their PSLE, ‘O’-Levels, or ‘A’-Levels. 

Malay/Muslim community leaders rallied together, because they recognised the importance of education in helping the community progress. And that is how MENDAKI came to be.

Today, MENDAKI’s efforts to uplift the community – which complement Singapore’s education system – have borne fruit. More than twice as many Malay/Muslim youths obtained post-secondary or higher qualifications in 2020, compared to the year 2000; Within the same period, the proportion of university graduates among Malay/Muslim adults has increased five-fold; More Malay/Muslims now hold PMET jobs.

Many have also stepped forward to give back to the community, through MENDAKI’s programmes. 

These are all noteworthy achievements, made possible through initiatives such as this one, Raikan Ilmu. The flagship movement of the Malay/Muslim community, Raikan Ilmu aims to celebrate knowledge and embrace lifelong learning as part of the Malay/Muslim culture. It is a month-long celebration, with activities and events to encourage the love of seeking knowledge, and harness collaboration to co-create a shared future. For instance:

Yesterday’s #MakingConnections event fosters collaborative networking for professionals. The discussions you had this morning at the Masyarakat Gemilang Conference were aimed at inspiring you to reimagine the community’s shared future, and take collective steps towards realising this vision. The YOUth@M³ Networking Sessions this afternoon will guide tertiary students and their parents in mapping out an action plan to enable our youths to achieve their goals and aspirations; and the upcoming MENDAKI Symposium gathers researchers and policymakers to discuss how they can leverage research and data to better address the areas that are close to the heart of the community.

These are important building blocks in ensuring that the Malay/Muslim community continues to be a Community of Success that is stable, socially mobile, and self-reliant.

I thank MENDAKI for your steadfast efforts in growing Raikan Ilmu from a one-day learning initiative in 2002, to the flagship movement that it is today. 

Beyond Raikan Ilmu, MENDAKI’s programmes have also reached a wide segment of the Malay/Muslim community, from families with young children, to workers looking at career transition or to return to the workforce. 

In 2024, MENDAKI’s programmes and initiatives benefitted over 130,000 Malay/Muslims in Singapore. This speaks to the importance and impact of the work that self-help groups like MENDAKI do, in supporting the community and rallying volunteers to contribute to these efforts.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the Malay/Muslim community continues to progress.

We will continue to deepen engagements with you. With Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Associate Professor Faishal Ibrahim and his team, we will partner and journey with you, listen to your concerns, and support your aspirations to be a Community of Success.

I am confident that Professor Faishal and his team will uphold the trust with the community and, together with all Singaporeans, strengthen the bonds that unite us. This will be critical as we navigate this increasingly uncertain world.

I commend the Malay/Muslim community for your spirit of self-help, and encourage you to continue building this sense of self-reliance and pride in your community.

I also encourage you to continue harnessing collaboration with other self-help groups. 

For example, the four self-help groups run the Collaborative Tuition Programme, which helps students from low-income families access affordable tuition.

These collaborations will help to renew and strengthen Singapore’s social compact, reinforce our multi-racial and multi-religious identity, so that we can build our shared future together as one, united people. 

Thank you.