Response to MCCY Letter – My Intentions being Misperceived

I read with disappointment the letter by Ho Ka Wei, Director of Corporate Communications, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth which was published on 29 Apr 2013 in the Straits Times’ Forum page. The letter suggests that I had used “AMP as a platform and a cover to promote (my) race-based politics.” This suggestion is … Continue reading →

Politics of Funding Cuts: Is It Really About Partisanship?

One issue that has emerged is the view that my participation at a civil protest in Hong Lim Park and a Workers’ Party (WP) Youthquake Seminar was tantamount to involvement in partisan politics (and therefore purportedly incongruent with AMP’s charter of independence). The narratives from the Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs and AMP has … Continue reading →

The Politics of Being Dominant and Dominating

I write this note not merely to explain the circumstances behind my departure from the Board of Directors of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) and stepping down as Chairman of the Board of Centre for Research on Malay and Islamic Affairs (RIMA). More importantly, I am compelled to set out the approach taken by … Continue reading →

Restoring CLF (Complete Loss of Focus)

Berita Harian (“BH”) carried an interesting debate on the CLF Convention on Dec 1st 2012. BH had translated and featured my blog piece, Returning the Concepts of “Community” and Leadership to CLF in an article here . BH also featured a response by Mendaki’s CEO and head of the CLF Secretariat. The thrust of the … Continue reading →

Statistical Analysis Supports National Approach on “Malay” Issues

Farhan Ali, a PhD candidate at Harvard University and a former RIMA Board member, wrote an excellent statistical analysis of the performance of Malay students over the last 20 years. Farhan found as follows: There is a strong correlation between Malay and national trends in % passes over the last 2 decades.  In other words, Malay … Continue reading →

Putting “Community” and “Leadership” Back in CLF

Today marked the commemoration of the 10th year of existence of the Community Leadership Forum (CLF).   A Convention was held with the tagline “A Community Connected: Renewing Common Purpose, Inspiring Engagement, Enabling Participation.” I was underwhelmed by the Event. I came with the high hopes that 2012 being the 10th year of existence, this … Continue reading →

A National Approach to the “Malay” Problem

The State has largely defined issues affecting the Malay-Muslim Community (MMC) in Singapore as community issues.   This has largely defined the way we address these problems – by placing the heavy burden on the Community, and in particular Malay-Muslim Organizations (MMOs), to find solutions.  This has, not surprisngly, been an uphill struggle which has … Continue reading →