Singapore Government Media Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
140 Hill Street #02-02 MITA Building, Singapore 179369.
Tel: 837 9666

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It is not in my nature to celebrate milestones, least of all publicly. I regard every day as important, and try to spend it usefully. Nevertheless, I accepted your invitation because I felt that it was another good opportunity to meet key members of the Malay community. And what better time than this "silatul rahim" to wish you "Selamat Hari Raya".

I want to use this occasion to focus on your achievements in the last ten years.

In the last century, we were one of the few new countries that made solid progress. One major reason for our success was because every community in Singapore progressed, not just an anointed few. Without this shared progress and prosperity, it would have been difficult to maintain harmony among the different races. And without racial harmony, we would not have had stability and achieved so much in so short a time.

Thus, when some people in Singapore and outside alleged that the Malay community in Singapore was "marginalised", I asked for a study to see if this was so. In particular, Lily Zubaidah Rahim’s book, "The Singapore Dilemma – The Political and Educational Marginality of the Malay Community", provided the excuse for Malaysian media interest in the fate of Malay Singaporeans. I say "excuse" because it struck me as odd that the Malaysian media should discuss the book only now, when it was published in 1998.

Be that as it may, I welcome an open, rational and constructive debate on the question: Is the Malay community in Singapore marginalised?

The answer lies in whether the Malay community has made significant progress over the years. If the Malay community has kept up progress with the other communities, it cannot be said to be marginalised. It is marginalised only if it is stuck in a stagnant pool, and their lives have not improved while others have. And if the Malay community is indeed marginalised, then I and the PAP Government should be indicted for failing to discharge our responsibility to an important pillar of Singapore’s multi-racial society.

My officials have prepared a paper on the progress made by the Malay community in education, occupation, income and quality of life. I will highlight some of the findings, and leave the paper with you to analyze and draw your own conclusions.

First, in the area of education, the Malays have attained a high level of literacy. In fact, the achievements in literacy surpass the national average.

The Malay community has improved its educational profile. Half of its non-students aged 15 years and over in 2000 had attained secondary and higher qualifications, compared with just over one-third in 1990.

Of the Malay students who take PSLE, more now qualify for admission to secondary school. In 1990, 74% were eligible to enter secondary school. In 1999, 91% qualified. The corresponding national averages were 88% in 1990 and 96% in 1999. The gap between the Malay community and the national average has thus narrowed - from 14 percentage points to 5 percentage points in just 10 years.

More Malays in each cohort now complete secondary school. In 1990, 61% of a Malay P1 cohort completed secondary school. By 1999, 88% did. The corresponding national averages were 80% in 1990 and 93% in 1999. The gap has narrowed from 19 percentage points in 1990 to 5 percentage points in 1999.

The improved secondary school completion rate has been accompanied by increased admission into university and polytechnic. The percentage of a Malay P1 cohort entering university and polytechnic has more than doubled from 13% in 1990 to 28% in 1999. The percentage entering university has increased by almost 1.5 times from 2.9% to 4.2%. The total number of Malay university graduates has increased by more than 3.5 times. In particular, there were significant increases in the number of Malay graduates in the fields of engineering, medicine, dentistry and IT.

But here, while there has been good improvement, the gap between the Malay community and the national average in admission to tertiary education is widening. This is one area you want to focus some attention on. Admission into university and polytechnic is limited to the cream of the cohort, and on the basis of merit. The Malay community has made significant improvements in the number of passes at primary, secondary and post-secondary levels. However, in order to compete successfully for places in university and polytechnic, you need to improve the quality of such passes. In particular, you must do well in the subjects that have most application and relevance for university and polytechnic education. I refer in particular to English, and mathematics and science subjects.

Let us now turn to the economic arena. The proportion of Malay Singaporeans holding higher level and skilled jobs has increased over the years. In 1990, only 12% of Malays were holding administrative and managerial, and professional, technical and related jobs. By 2000, 23% did. There were significantly more Malay professionals such as accountants, engineers, doctors and lawyers. Correspondingly, the proportion of Malay workers holding blue-collar jobs has declined from 57% in 1990 to 41% in 2000.

The median monthly income of resident Malay workers rose from $954 in 1990 to $1,790 in 2000. The median resident Malay household income has also risen, from $1,880 to $2,708. The median CPF account balance of working Malays has more than doubled over the last ten years, from $32,800 in 1990 to $79,700 as at end November 2000. The respective CPF figures for all Singaporeans are $34,200 and $85,100.

Malay Singaporeans have also seen considerable improvements to their quality of life.

More Malay households have upgraded to better housing. In 1990, 41% lived in HDB 4-room or larger flats and private housing. By 2000, 65% did. The vast majority of Malay households own the houses they live in. Malay households, which already enjoyed a high level of home ownership in 1990 (92%), registered further improvement to 94% in 2000. In 1998, 16% of Malay households owned cars, up from 13% in 1990; 28% owned air-conditioners, up from 8%; 40% owned handphones, up from 1%; 37% owned personal computers, up from 8%; and 61% owned laser-disc or video CD players, up from 12%. I hope the ownership rate of computers will catch up with that for laser-disc and video CD players in the next few years.

In 1990, 3,522 Muslims from Singapore went on haj. This number has gone up steadily, to 4,413 in 2000. Since 1990, 8 new mosques have been developed in Singapore, and another 11 old mosques upgraded, resulting in an increase of about 29,700 prayer spaces.

Another way of seeing whether Singapore Malays are marginalised is to compare their education and economic profile with Malays in Malaysia. If their profile is the same or better, then they cannot be said to be marginalised. Because nobody would say that the Malaysian Malays are marginalised.

Compared to Malays in Malaysia, Singapore Malays have done well educationally. In the year 2000, 25% of the Singapore resident Malay workforce had upper secondary or higher qualifications. In 1998, which was the latest Malaysian statistics available, the equivalent figure for Malaysian Malays was 14%. The proportion of Singapore Malays who enter the tertiary level of education is also comparable to that of Malaysians, that is, Malaysian Malays, Malaysian Chinese and Malaysians of other races considered as a group.

The occupational distribution of Singapore Malays also compares favourably with that of Malaysian Malays. In 2000, 23% of the Singapore resident Malay workforce were holding administrative and managerial, and professional, technical and related positions. In 1998, the equivalent figure for Malaysian Malays was 16%.

In terms of possession of consumer durables, Singaporean Malay households also compare favourably with Malaysian bumiputras.

There are, of course, areas where the Malaysian Malays have done better than Singapore Malays. For example, there are proportionately more doctors and lawyers among them. Also, although we do not have the data, it is obvious that they have more millionaires and more Malays holding top positions in the public and private sectors. But overall, our Singapore Malays fare well when compared with the Malaysian Malays.

In summary, the study shows objectively the significant progress that the Malay community has made. It is doing as well, if not better, compared to others in the region, and also elsewhere. Remember that we are talking here about the achievements of the Malay community within a short period of 10 years. You can be proud of what you have accomplished. I congratulate you.

Lagging behind the other communities in some areas does not mean marginalisation. While you may not have caught up with them in all areas, you have narrowed the gap in many. You have to remember that this is a dynamic situation. As you progress, so do the other communities. As you try harder, so do they. You must expect this. But I believe that the Malay community has the potential to improve further with sustained effort. You have to maximize your potential.

It is counter-productive to imagine yourself marginalised when you have made real gains, and can achieve more. It is, in fact, dangerous for your community, as it will result in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I was also struck by something Abdullah Tarmugi said the other day. He said:

" As Muslims in Singapore and a minority community, we do ourselves a disservice if we insist and emphasise on being different and separate, and confine our interactions and interest to within our community and institutions. Doing so denies Muslims of the opportunities, prospects and goodwill that could be earned from being an integral part of the larger community."

Malay Singaporeans live in a multi-racial, multi-religious society. When they make an effort to widen the common ground with the other communities, they will maximize the opportunities and prospects for themselves. On the other hand, if they choose to emphasize their separateness and reduce the common area, the other communities will instinctively keep their distance. This will mean, in extremis, 400,000 Malays fending for themselves, for example, in educating their own children and in creating jobs for them. Put in another way, you can choose to fish in the ocean or you can decide to fish in a pond. If you choose the latter, you are not likely to catch fish as big or as many fishes as those who fish in the ocean. Fortunately, my understanding is that our Malays want to be an integral part of the larger Singapore ‘family’.

You have thus far concentrated your efforts on raising the capabilities of the general Malay community. This was right and necessary. It has produced results and you should continue with your efforts. But looking ahead, I believe that you now need to pay attention also to improving the quality of achievements.

Let me use an analogy. In the past, we used to focus on "Sports for All", to improve the health and fitness of the general population. But such a broad-based effort would not produce medal-winning performances. If we want to succeed in international competitions, we must identify and nurture a smaller group of talented and dedicated sportsmen and sportswomen. "Sports Excellence" is the programme we have now put in place to provide our particularly talented sportsmen and sportswomen the additional training and support to groom them to be internationally competitive.

Likewise, you have made tremendous progress in uplifting the general Malay community, in education, occupation, income and quality of life. But in the next phase of development, if you want to produce many more outstanding individuals of Singapore society, and not merely of the Malay community, you should put in place a focused programme which seeks to improve the quality of achievements. To go back to my earlier point, if you want a higher proportion of Malays to gain admission to polytechnic and university, the community must secure better passes in core subjects. It would not be sufficient to merely have a higher proportion of passes at the 'O' or 'A' levels.

In this context, the Malay MPs have sought my support for a programme to identify and develop top talents within the community. I support generally this new thrust, but I would like it broadened to one of pushing for excellence in all areas, from education to occupation.

Finally, despite my earlier comments about not celebrating my ten years as Prime Minister, let me thank you for organising this function. I am honoured that you feel that my contributions to the Malay community and to Singapore are worthy of a special tribute, when you have already paid me one with your significant progress and contributions to Singapore. The next time we get together, I hope to hear from you how much more progress you have made, as a community, and in your contributions to a more integrated, multi-racial, multi-religious Singapore. That would be a tribute I would welcome.

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