Singapore Democrats
The public forum on Malay issuesorganised by the SDP has generated much attention andinterest among Singaporeans. The panelists will include a senior PAPmember, an educator, and an academic from NUS.$CUT$
The speakers will weigh in on thetopic The future of Singapore – do Malays have a part?
Withthe current immigration policy, Singaporeans are concerned that thecultural and social identity of Singapore of which our Malay-Muslimcommunity plays an integral part will be eroded.
This is because the mass infusion ofindividuals of other nationalities threatens the social ethnic mix of Singapore. It seems that the PAP Government has given little thought to how these newimmigrants will integrate into the Singaporean society andculture.
The Malay community is suspicious thatthe PAP is bringing in nationals especially from China and India toreduce the proportion of Malays in this country.
Add to the long-standing policies thatdiscriminate against them, there is increasing resentment among ourfellow Malay citizens against the PAP. The long line of PAP Ministersin charge of Muslim affairs, including the current one, Mr YaacobIbrahim, has proven to be ineffective in voicing the concerns of theMalay community. The SDP has invited Minister Yaacob to speak at the forum.
This forum will discuss severalissues including education and economic progress affecting Singapore Malays – and therefore Singapore –with the view to formulating an SDP alternative policy position onthe subject. As mentioned above, helping us with the discussion are:
Mr Abdul Halim bin Kader, a former senior civilservant at the Immigration Department of Singapore. Mr Abdul Halim isthe recipient of several state awards including the BBM and PBM. He hasheld several positions within the PAP including the secretary of thePAP’s Kampong Kembangan Branch and deputy chairman for the PAP BedokReservoir-Punggol Branch at the Aljunied GRC (of which he is still a member). He is a founding member of Yayasan Mendakiand has served as Mendaki’s assistant secretary-general. Mr AbdulHalim was also chairman of the Malay Activity Executive CommitteeCoordinating Council of the People’s Association which identifiesand recruits Malay grassroots leaders.
Mr Maarof Salleh has a Masters degree in SoutheastAsian Studies and writes regularly on contemporary Malay-Muslimissues. Trained as a teacher, Mr Maarof Salleh served as president ofthe Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS). He was also Senior VisitingResearch Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS).He served in various capacities in the University of Singapore MalayLanguage Society, the Muslim Youth Assembly, the Singapore MalayTeachers’ Union and the Yayasan Mendaki.
Mr Walid Jumblatt teaches at the Political Science Department at NUS where he completed a BA (Hon) in Economics. He then did his Masters degree in Political Science from the same university, with his research interests in Singapore politics and state-religion relations.
The other speakers are SDP Chairman Mr Jufrie Mahmood and Dr Wong Wee Nam, member of the SDP Healthcare Advisory Panel. Dr VincentWijeysingha will be the forum moderator.
The SDP has also invited Mr Yaacob Ibrahim.
Public Forum: The future of Singapore – do Malays have a part?
Date: 8 Sept 2012 (Sat)
Time: 2pm -5pm
Venue: Bras Basah Complex, #04-41, Action Room
All are welcome