RPD Bites is a monthly scan covering issues and trends surfaced in various local mainstream media sources that would be of relevance to the Malay/Muslim community. It is compiled by the Research and Planning Department (RPD) of Yayasan MENDAKI. The key highlights for this month are: • A survey commissioned by The Sunday Times found that around 60 per cent of retirees say they have a monthly income of at least $1,379, an amount experts recently recommended as necessary for a basic standard of living. • DPM Heng Swee Keat detailed how the 4G leadership team plans to work with Singaporeans in the Singapore Together movement, to create a shared future where everyone will have a part to play. • At the annual Hari Raya get-together for community and religious leaders, Mr Masagos Zulkifli highlighted the Malay/Muslim community as a community of success and said that whilst Muslim communities globally find themselves in challenging times, Muslims in Singapore have much to take heart about and can be a model for other countries. He also highlighted two goals for the community: Ensure that all Malay/Muslim students can, at the very least, enrol and graduate from an Institute of Technical Education, and to get as many students as possible into university.

1. June 2019
Sources: The Straits Times (ST), The Sunday Times, Berita Harian (BH),
Berita Minggu (BM)

2. What is RPD Bites?
RPD Bites is a monthly scan covering issues and trends surfaced in various local
mainstream media sources that would be of relevance to the Malay/Muslim community. It is
compiled by the Research and Planning Department (RPD) of Yayasan MENDAKI.
The ‘Food For Thought’ section seeks to raise thought-provoking
questions to stimulate discussion, with the hope of complementing our efforts to
support the Malay/Muslim community as a whole.
RPD Bites begins with an article count across the different media sources, including
the number of articles that fall within four main areas: (1) Education, (2) Economy, Employability &
Digitalisation, (3) Social and (4) Malay/Muslim Affairs. Other salient areas for the month are also
highlighted. It then delves into emerging themes and trends observed, before culminating in a
‘Food For Thought’ section.
We welcome any feedback or comments you might
have. You can reach us at RPD@mendaki.org.sg
2

3. Overall Coverage
 A total of 126 articles were collated. The Social (51 articles) category occupies the top spot in
terms of article count with coverage on the Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Hari Raya Speech
on “Community of Success” and International Conference on Cohesive Societies, followed by the
Education (23 articles) category, and Governance (23 articles) category highlighting the 4G
team’s Singapore Together movement.
15 17
36
2
18
8
2
15
8 5
23
19
51
10
23
Education Economy, Employability &
Digitalisation
Social Malay/Muslim Affairs Governance
No. of Articles
ST BH/BM Total
3

4. Overall Coverage
 The Economy, Employability & Digitalisation
category covers articles on Economy (9),
Employment & Employability (10).
 The Social category covers articles on
Community & Religious Harmony (22), Family,
Elderly & Housing (16), Health (8) and Youth &
Entrepreneurship (5).
Social
4
Economy, Employability & Digitalisation

5. Key Themes & News Highlights
Based on Coverage

6. Education
6
Education Research & Developments
 The Teaching and Learning International Survey (Talis) by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) found that working conditions for teachers in Singapore appear to have improved, with educators putting in
fewer hours each week now than they did five years ago (ST, 20 June).
• Teachers say they are spending less time on administrative work and marking, which also gives them more
time to teach, according to a new global survey. However, they still work more - 46 hours per week - than their
overseas counterparts, who clock 39 hours a week on average (ST, 20 June).
• Almost all teachers in Singapore have positive beliefs about equity and diversity in the classroom (ST, 20 June).
 The Ministry of Education (MOE) has said that bell curve grading is not used in any of the national examinations – PSLE,
N levels, O levels and A levels – in Singapore (ST, 17 June).
• A spokesman for the ministry told The Straits Times that “School-based assessments and national examinations are
standards-referenced, where the grades awarded reflect a candidate's own level of mastery in the subject
based on an absolute set of standards.”
• NUS and NTU still moderate grades in some modules to differentiate students’ performance (ST, 17 June).
 Several primary schools are switching to mixed-ability classes. Ai Tong School, St Hilda's Primary School and Catholic
High School are amongst those that have in recent years grouped pupils of uneven academic abilities in classes where
they take most of their subjects together (ST, 6 June).

7. Education
7
Developments in Higher Education
 A new digital library called the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse will be launched at the end of this month by
the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). It offers materials that assist service learning – when students take
part in activities that advance their studies while also helping the community and acquiring values. Local institutions and
members of the public can access the library and contribute materials (ST, 20 June).
 Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has joined the National University of Singapore (NUS) in the top spot in Asia
in the annual Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. The Singapore Management University (SMU)
climbed to 477th position from 500th last year (ST, 19 June).
 The Singapore Institute of Management will be offering a degree in geographic information science through its
partnership with the University at Buffalo, which is part of the State University of New York (ST, 10 June).
 Speaking at an exhibition launch on engineering at the Science Centre, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for
National Security Teo Chee Hean encouraged more young people to pursue a career as an engineer or scientist,
highlighting that engineering will remain important as Singapore enters the next phase of development (ST, 19 June).
 Education Minister Ong Ye Kung stated that education and training are a key strategy to empower Singaporeans in
this new phase of changes brought about by technology, and their importance is like that of the public housing policy in
the 1960s (ST, 2 June).
• Polytechnics and universities have also trained 17,000 adult learners in technology-related fields, like data
analytics, digital media and cyber security (ST, 2 June).

8. Family & Education
8
Parental Role in Education
 A new study of about 800 children by the National Institute of
Education (NIE) shows that it pays to speak your mother tongue
language around your children (ST, 4 June).
• Study found that the amount of exposure a child has to his
mother tongue language plays the biggest role in how much
he picks up.
• However, how good the same child is in English depends
more on his own cognitive intelligence, which largely
cannot be trained (ST, 4 June).
 Experts say that parents should teach kids about managing money as early as possible, especially now that young
people have a wider range of tools and products they can use to grow their money. Parents can lay the groundwork by
starting to educate children from the ages of 12 to 16 on how to save and what investing means (ST, 2 June).
 National servicemen who pick up their children late from four pre-schools due to their duties will have their late fees
waived from July 1 until June 30 next year, to thank them for their contributions to Singapore’s defence (ST, 15 June).

9. Economy & Employment
9
 According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) labour market report, PMETs continued to make up the majority of
retrenched residents in the first three months of this year, and will bear the brunt as the employment outlook worsens
(ST, 14 June).
 Rise affected mainly production and related workers from electronics, after likely being hit by the escalating trade
war between the United States and China (ST, 14 June).
 Retrenchments in electronics made up 18 per cent of the number, followed by services industries such as
wholesale trade, as well as transportation and storage (ST, 14 June).
 In a study released this month, recruitment consultancy Robert Walters found that in South-east Asia, close to 70 per
cent of hiring managers took at least three months to fill an open tech position. The shortage of tech talent has
negatively affected the speed of product development, according to 70 per cent of hiring managers surveyed. Firms need
to hire before roles open up and offer more growth options (ST, 9 June).
 At the Stewardship Asia Roundtable, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said that, against the backdrop of rapidly
emerging new technologies, less support for globalisation and Asia's growing economic and strategic weight, business
leaders must invest in innovation, workers and the community to move forward (ST, 5 June).
 Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said that it will take time to see progress in trade issues between the United
States and China, and ASEAN can take steps to prepare for a potentially lengthy period of uncertainty by striking
new partnerships (ST, 5 June).

10. Employment & Employability
10
In-demand Job Skills
 LinkedIn said in a report that workers in Singapore are increasingly focused on picking up
the skills relevant to blockchain, workflow automation and human-centred design.
These three “rising skills”, as professional network LinkedIn calls them, have a higher
prominence here than in other Asia-Pacific economies (ST, 20 June).
 An NUS Singapore Financial Capability and Asset Building training programme aims
to equip the social workers with skills to guide vulnerable families in building financial
capability. The pilot scheme will soon be expanded to 1,400 social workers (ST, 8 June).
 Manpower Minister Josephine Teo shared that an update on raising the retirement and
re-employment ages will be available by September this year (ST, 11 June).
 According to the Manpower Ministry's Labour Force In Singapore report, there were about
1,500 stay-at-home fathers in 2017, up from around 700 a decade earlier. Just 0.2 per
cent of all men who were not working and not looking for work gave childcare as the main
reason (ST, 16 June).
Manpower Policy & Statistics

11. Social
11
Statistics & Research on Youths
 Latest available data - from the National Youth Survey in 2016 - showed that there are 20,100 Neets (a person who is
“Not in Education, Employment, or Training”) in Singapore, making up 4.1 per cent of the resident youth population
(ST, 23 June).
• This is a rise from 19,700 in 2013, comprising 3.7 per cent of the resident youth population (ST, 23 June).
• Neets are a vulnerable segment of the youth population, said the ILO, as they are at risk of both labour market
and social exclusion (ST, 23 June).
 A survey by the Centre for the New Workforce at Swinburne
University of Technology in Australia found that millennials - those
aged 18 to 34 - felt emotional skills were the most important
capabilities for the future of work while baby boomers (50 and up)
and Gen-Xers (35 to 49) favoured digital skills more (ST, 24 June).
 Speaking to students at the annual Pre-University Seminar, DPM
Heng Swee Keat urged Singapore’s youth to seize the fast-growing
opportunities in Asia to build a better tomorrow for themselves. He
noted that the gross domestic product share of Asia is projected to
grow from 26 per cent to 50 per cent by 2050 (ST, 7 June).

12. Social
12
 Over the past six years, there has been a rise in the number of people aged 60 and
above who were sent to prison.
• According to the Singapore Prison Service's (SPS) statistics, almost nine in
10, or 87.4 per cent, of last year's prison population aged above 65 had been
admitted at least once before.
• Top three crimes committed by those aged above 65 were causing hurt,
drug-related offences and traffic offences (ST, 3 June).
 About three in four women in prisons here are locked up for drug offences, with
many having started on the habit because of their partners.
• Counsellors who work with female addicts say the women do it to seek the
approval of their drug-addict partners and sometimes to mend damaged
relationships (ST, 17 June).
 A law change last year made it mandatory for all Muslim couples who are planning to
divorce to undergo marriage counselling under the Marriage Counselling Programme.
This month, it has been extended to Muslims who are in prison (ST, 22 June).
• Counselling sessions are conducted face-to-face at the prison unless this is
not viable - such as when a spouse has young children to care for and cannot
be away from home for long - in which case they can be conducted through
video-conferencing from satellite centres (ST, 22 June).

13. Social
13
 A survey commissioned by The Sunday Times found that around 60 per cent of retirees say they have a monthly
income of at least $1,379, an amount experts recently recommended as necessary for a basic standard of living.
Among the remaining 41 per cent,
• 28 per cent of the group say they fall short by at least half the recommended amount;
• 52 per cent of the group with less than $1,379 say they expect help from their children;
• 55 per cent are looking to government assistance or charities (ST, 2 June).
 Speaking at British think-tank Institute for Government’s 10th
anniversary conference, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam
said that society needs a moving escalator where everyone is
moving up, and policymakers must bear this in mind in the basic
design of economic and social policies.
• He stressed the need to be concerned about inequality and
social mobility, with the best ways to tackle these issues being
“absolute growth of incomes and absolute mobility that
takes all people up towards something that they want to
achieve better in life” (ST, 13 June).
Survey on Retirement Income; Discussions on Social Mobility

14. Social
14
Medisave Top-ups for Pioneer Generation & Health Research
 Singaporeans from the Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation will receive Medisave top-ups of between $200
and $800 next month. The top-ups can be used to pay for MediShield Life premiums and other Medisave-approved
insurance plans, hospitalisation, day surgery and approved outpatient treatments (ST, 14 June).
 Senior citizens from the Merdeka Generation can start enjoying discounts on their purchases at FairPrice outlets
next month. Merdeka Generation seniors will get 3 per cent off their groceries every Wednesday at more than 140
FairPrice stores across Singapore from July 1 (ST, 18 June).
 Singaporeans have world's longest life expectancy at 84.8 years. The average Singaporean also enjoys the longest
span of living in good health – 74.2 years – but there has also been a rise in the number of unhealthy years people here
live (ST, 20 June).
 A large-scale international clinical trial has found that alirocumab, a cholesterol-lowering drug sold here, is effective in
reducing heart attack and stroke risk. The trial involved about 19,000 patients from 58 countries, including the United
States, Britain and Singapore (ST, 11 June).
 The Future Health Index study by Dutch firm Royal Philips found that 37 per cent of Singapore respondents use
artificial intelligence (AI) for administrative tasks, such as staffing and scheduling patient appointments.
• Healthcare professionals in Singapore are using AI for clinical diagnosis more than their counterparts in most other
countries, except China and Saudi Arabia (ST, 20 June).

15. Social
15
Initiatives Supporting Environmental Sustainability
 59 organisations have joined the nationwide National Environment Agency (NEA) Say Yes to Waste Less campaign to
get the public to choose reusable options. More than 1,600 premises - including food and beverage establishments,
hotels, schools and supermarkets – will be encouraging people to cut back on disposables such as plastic bags and
takeaway containers over the next three months (ST, 9 June).
 Firms in industries such as petrochemical and semiconductor that hope to cut down their water usage can now tap a $26
million fund by Public Utilities Board (PUB) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) to implement water
management solutions (ST, 4 June).
 The Singapore Standard 632 (SS 632) certification for organic primary
produce from Control Union Certifications has been developed here to
address key challenges such as limited land, lack of soil and water, and
higher operating costs due to energy consumption and manpower
constraints (ST, 12 June).

16. Social
 The Temasek Shophouse, a co-working hub set up by
Temasek, aims to bring social enterprises together to
brainstorm ideas, hold project meetings and network with like-
minded collaborators for social impact (ST, 1 June).
 A charity, Resilience Collective (RC), has been launched to
provide peer support to people struggling with mental health
issues. RC is powered by those who have experienced similar
issues, rather than just professionals. It is supported by the
Institute of Mental Health, National Council of Social Service and
Agency for Integrated Care (ST, 9 June).
16
Developing a Caring, Gracious and Cohesive Community
 A survey by Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) found that one in four young people hold back from showing
kindness in public because they are afraid of being embarrassed. Looking stupid or being mocked on social media
was cited as deterrents to lending a hand to someone in public by 23 per cent and 11 per cent respectively of
respondents aged 15 to 24 (ST, 24 June).
 Giving.sg, the online giving platform run by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), has hit the $150
million mark in donations since it was started in 2010. This increase coincides with a rise in online giving and a
series of improvements made to the platform, such as letting individuals set up automated monthly donations and view
personalised dashboards of their donated amounts and volunteer hours (ST, 25 June).

17. Social
17
International Conference on Cohesive Societies
 At the conference, President Halimah Yacob said that diversity is a
source of strength for societies, and engaging meaningfully amid
differences is not easy, but it is necessary. She outlined three key
ingredients for social harmony: accommodation, dialogue and a
shared conception of the common good, which must be nurtured
by individuals rather than just governments (ST, 20 June).
 More than 250 religious organisations in Singapore have made a
commitment to safeguard religious harmony at a time of growing
divisions along faith lines around the world. It includes the promise to
develop strong bonds across religions by, for instance, eating together
despite different dietary requirements and extending greetings during
others’ festive celebrations (ST, 20 June).
 DPM Heng Swee Keat said that building an inclusive, cohesive society is always a work in progress, both in Singapore
and the wider world. This is why leaders and others must come together to learn from one another, share best
practices and tackle common challenges (ST, 22 June).
 Experts said at the conference that having a religious studies curriculum in schools can bolster social cohesion
by helping young people develop a positive outlook of those from other faiths. Such programmes – which teach
students about the major world religions and their worldviews – can also cultivate the ability to have meaningful
conversations and relationships with those from other faiths (ST, 22 June).

18. Governance
18
Singapore Together Movement
 DPM Heng Swee Keat detailed how the 4G leadership team plans to work with Singaporeans in the Singapore
Together movement, to create a shared future where everyone will have a part to play (ST, 16 June).
Four broad themes that his team will share their vision on:
1. How to remain a resilient nation in the face of major
developments worldwide, from geopolitical shifts to climate change.
2. How Singapore can remain a city of possibilities, by transforming
its economy, harnessing technology and building a home, where
sports, arts, culture and heritage can flourish.
3. How to build a society with more opportunities for all, provide a
strong foundation for all children, and create multiple pathways so
people can fulfil their potential and aspirations.
4. How to build an even more caring, gracious and cohesive
community, as well as strengthen Singaporeans' identity as one
people.

19. Governance
19
 At the Business China Awards gala, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singaporeans will have to identify and
support a team that they feel will be able to move the country forward at the next general election. He was
commenting on the significance of the polls which will have to be held by April 2021 (ST, 8 June).
 At the annual FutureChina Global Forum, DPM Heng Swee Keat stated that taking action to mitigate climate change
and ensuring economic growth are two key challenges that, if not managed well, could unravel the progress the
world has made in the past few decades (ST, 8 June).
 He outlined three ways that countries can tackle the challenges: By forming and deepening international
collaborations, enabling all segments of society to work together and developing next-generation leaders to further
sustainability (ST, 8 June).
 At the IIAS-Lien 2019 Conference, he said that one of the key principles of governance in Singapore is to enable
people to fulfil their potential regardless of their backgrounds and where they started in life. This means investing
in early childhood education, providing multiple pathways to success and helping citizens embrace
lifelong learning so they can take on new jobs and keep up with technological advancements (ST, 20 June).

20. Malay/Muslim Affairs
20
Minister’s Hari Raya – “A Community of Success”
 At an annual Hari Raya get-together for community and religious leaders, Mr Masagos Zulkifli said that Muslim
communities globally find themselves in challenging times, but Muslims in Singapore have much to take heart about
and can be a model for other countries (ST, 15 June).
 He noted that the system and model that have enabled
them to do so should be shared with others, and he
announced plans to hold a conference on this theme
next year. It will “discuss the development and application
of religious guidance for Muslim minorities who wish to live
as dignified and contributing citizens in their societies” (ST,
15 June).
 He said “for Singapore, we cannot forge ahead if we have
no confidence in ourselves. If we start feeling less than
others, we will certainly fail. We must remember that we
are a community with the strength of character, with the
competence to contribute and with a strong sense of
citizenry. We are a community of success.” (ST, 15 June)

21. 21
Minister’s Hari Raya – “A Community of Success”
 Mr Masagos highlighted two goals for the community: Ensure that all Malay/Muslim students can, at the very
least, enrol and graduate from an Institute of Technical Education, and get as many students as possible into
university (ST, 15 June).
 On character, he cited how 400 religious teachers, or asatizah, and professionals have stepped up to help in
various M3 initiatives since the programme was launched last year (ST, 15 June).
 Last year, Muslims gave $43 million in zakat to help vulnerable families, and another $18 million to build
mosques. Total contributions to mosque building, since 1975, exceed $250 million - excluding donations made
directly to mosques on a daily basis (ST, 15 June).
 The community's wakaf (charitable endowment) assets stood at over $940 million as of last year (ST, 15 June).
 To access the full speech, click here.
 At the Singapore Malay Chamber Of Commerce & Industry Hari Raya dinner, Minister Masagos Zulkifli outlined
the target of having at least 10 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which achieve $100 million in annual
revenue within the next 10 years for the Malay/Muslim community. This is because businesses contribute to the
economy and provide good jobs for Singaporeans. He also highlighted how trade associations and chambers
(TACs) such as the DPPMS play an important role in developing industrial capabilities.
Malay/Muslim Affairs

22. 22
Yayasan MENDAKI & M3 News
 Tertiary tuition fee subsidies disbursed by self-help group Yayasan MENDAKI to the Malay-Muslim community here
reached an all-time high last year at $42 million, enabling more than 10,000 beneficiaries to carry on with studies at
government institutions (ST, 23 June).
 Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and Mendaki chairman Masagos Zulkifli said MENDAKI also gave out $5 million in
study loans and spent $33 million on a host of community outreach programmes under its three pillars of School
Ready, Perform in School and Future Ready.
 #InspirasiSG, a nationwide integrated marketing communications campaign by M³, was launched to amplify the vision
for the Malay/Muslim Community as a Community of Success that is progressive yet rooted in its traditions and
identity, with a strong spirit of self-help and practises active citizenry as its way of life.
• In total, MENDAKI supported almost 67,000 beneficiaries.
• MENDAKI has been developing new youth mentorship initiatives
led by MP Rahayu Mahzam, which will be rolled out before the end
of the year.
• Kelas MateMatika @ CC (KMM), a programme introduced last
September at three locations. KMM would be expanded to five more,
potentially benefiting more than 1,500 Malay-Muslim parents
and children.
Malay/Muslim Affairs