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Singapore: Malay-Muslim Body Backtracks On Calls For More Political Powers
by Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA (IslamOnline) - An association of Malay-Muslims called the Association of Malay Professionals (AMP) backtracked over proposals to seek more decision and political representation for Muslims in Singapore.
The tiny city-state was rocked for almost a week with intense debates in the local press over whether or not to grant the AMP its demands. However, the tempo cooled down with the Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong lashing back at Malays in strong terms.
The Secretariat of the association told IslamOnline that they could not comment any further on the row that took the government and the Malays in Singapore by storm. The AMP would not comment nor deny that it backtracked over the issue, preferring to say that they are waiting for further developments.
The AMP had asked for a new approach in the sharing of powers among the community of Muslims which represents some 15% of Singapore’s 3.5 million population.
The AMP, considered the Malay-Muslim intelligentsia of Singapore, sought to bridge what it claims is a credibility gap that has rendered the ruling People's Action Party’s (PAP) Malay members of Parliament almost redundant in representing Malay aspirations.
The AMP cited the Islamic schools "Madrassah" issue and the incubation of compulsory education policy as an instance in which the Malay MP's failed the community. They wanted to have a collective leadership that would have decisional powers, rather than leave everything to the Malay MPs.
Malay leaders yesterday supported Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's rejection of the collective leadership idea proposed for the Malay-Muslim community by the Association.
They said that the organization’s call for a collective leadership of non-political players, working independently to complement Malay MPs, would split the community.
The leaders also say that it is better for Malay-Muslim groups to work together and coordinate their programs to avoid duplication and make the best use of limited resources.
Goh set the coordinated leadership system led by the Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs, Abdullah Tarmugi, last Sunday, after making clear that the AMP's proposal was a challenge to Malay MPs. He cited the system's structure when he spoke at the association's second national convention for Malay-Muslim professionals.
Tarmugi is assisted by Malay MPs. This team is backed by the Muslim Ulama Institute of Singapore (MUIS) - the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore - and Mendaki, which is the other key Malay-Muslim self-help body, apart from the AMP.
The association has modified its proposal and is currently looking at what it describes as the "exact form of consultative leadership'' for the community.
"For now, we see ourselves working effectively outside Mendaki,'' AMP chairman Alami Musa told the press at the end of last Sunday's convention.
The Singapore press said that the AMP's proposals was doomed to fail and would not be entertained since it criticized Malay MPs. They consider the AMP's criticism as unfair, and in strong editorials supported the official Singaporean view about power sharing in the country.
The association, set up about 10 years ago to provide healthy competition for Mendaki, was warned by Goh not to continue straying into the political arena.
It must get back on the right track, nominated MP Zulkifli Baharudin said yesterday.
Earlier, the Chief Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, said that the Malays could leave the PAP and join other parties. He added that they would not elect one member to the Parliament since there were no constituencies where Malays form a majority.
However, IslamOnline has learned that the issue is not over and that the AMP and probably other associations would raise such issues in the future.
IslamOnline also learned that a large section of the Malay community in Singapore supported the AMP's ideas, even though few responded to the Association’s official calls.
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