SINGAPORE \u2013 The team of Malay\/Muslim office-holders and MPs will continue to be renewed and strengthened, even as the current cohort is working well, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Aug 23.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Malay during the 2026 National Day Rally, he said that younger office-holders are stepping up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He cited Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, 45, and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development and Education Syed Harun Alhabsyi, 41, as two who became office-holders after the 2025 General Election.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two bring experience from the private sector with them, PM Wong noted.\u00a0Zhulkarnain, who joined politics in 2020, was a lawyer, while Syed Harun was a psychiatrist.<\/p>\n Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (front, right) and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development and Education Syed Harun Alhabsyi (front, centre) with the organisers of Festival Dikir Singapura 2026.<\/p>\n PHOTO: WISMA GEYLANG SERAI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n PM Wong noted that they joined Rahayu Mahzam, 46, who has held the position of Minister of State for Health and Digital Development and Information since 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n Minister of State for Health and Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam at Detik Dialog: Tanya Aje \u2013 AI & Us, recorded in collaboration with Berita Mediacorp and Yayasan MENDAKI in 2026.<\/p>\n PHOTO: YAYASAN MENDAKI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n He added that the current team is working well and taking forward initiatives such as the Committee for Economic Resilience, which was announced in April to prepare Malay\/Muslim workers and businesses to adapt to changes to the economy<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The committee is led by two MPs: labour MP Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah and Saktiandi Supaat, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance and Trade and Industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey have received many thoughtful suggestions from the community. One key thrust is to support Malay\/Muslim youths to develop their skills, broaden their exposure and seize opportunities in new and growing sectors,\u201d said PM Wong.\u00a0<\/p>\n He added that this is just one example of many efforts under way by the team of Malay\/Muslim office-holders and MPs led by newly appointed Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey will announce other initiatives in due course,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Zaqy, who is also Senior Minister of State for Defence, took over the Muslim Affairs portfolio in July after his predecessor Faishal Ibrahim resigned from political office<\/span><\/a> over a \u201clapse of judgment\u201d in handling his interactions with a woman.<\/p>\n PM Wong noted that M3<\/sup> \u2013 the tie-up between self-help group Mendaki, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore and the People\u2019s Association Malay Activity Executive Committees Council \u2013 has been expanded to M3<\/sup>+, bringing more partners and resources on board.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we work hand in hand, we can achieve more,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n This spirit of unity, which he described as a \u201ckey strength\u201d of the community, can be seen in the Santunan Emas programme, which provides seniors and caregivers with religious guidance, social engagement and healthcare support.<\/p>\n It was started in 2024 as a joint effort by Al-Muttaqin Mosque, private religious education provider Ma:een and the Muhammadiyah Active Ageing Centre to support seniors in Ang Mo Kio.<\/p>\n The programme has engaged many there and has been able to tap expertise from across the community via the M3<\/sup>+ network, said PM Wong.\u00a0<\/p>\n He announced that the initiative will be expanded to Yishun, Sembawang and Woodlands to allow more seniors to \u201clive their golden years with dignity and purpose\u201d.<\/p>\n Santunan Emas Roadshow at Hasanah Mosque in 2026.<\/p>\n PHOTO: AL-MUTTAQIN MOSQUE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Partnerships are also being strengthened to create new opportunities, he said, giving the example of the collaboration between the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association and the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME) launched in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n This allows enterprises led by Islamic religious teachers to utilise ASME\u2019s advisory support, digital tools and business networks, while firms benefit from the community\u2019s cultural and language expertise as they expand regionally, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Such efforts are making a significant difference, PM Wong said, noting that more Malay\/Muslim Singaporeans are making their mark across sectors, serving with distinction in areas such as the public service, military, judiciary and business, among others.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey are contributing to Singapore\u2019s progress, while remaining firmly rooted in their community and heritage,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what we want to see \u2013 not just a strong Malay\/Muslim community, but Malay\/Muslim Singaporeans making bigger contributions to Singapore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n PM Wong said he understood that many in the community are concerned about issues such as cost pressures and jobs, as the world becomes more uncertain.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said the authorities and the community could overcome challenges together, quoting the saying \u201cberat sama dipikul, ringan sama dijinjing\u201d (a burden shared is a burden halved).\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Government will continue to work closely with community leaders and organisations so that we are better prepared for the challenges ahead,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is clear. We want every member of the Malay\/Muslim community to have the confidence, capabilities and opportunities to succeed,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n READ NEXT: 10 highlights from PM Wong\u2019s National Day Rally speech<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 The team of Malay\/Muslim office-holders and MPs will continue to be renewed and strengthened, even as the current cohort is working well, said…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":79035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/79035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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