Page 29 - MENDAKI Annual Report 2019

PROGRESSING AS A COMMUNITY An anchor event to Raikan Ilmu was the launch of MENDAKI & Malay/Muslim Community Heritage Gallery and Commemorative Book titled, “Navigating Educational Development: MENDAKI & the Malays”, which aptly kick-started the month-long campaign. The progress of Malay/Muslim community in Singapore since the early 19th century has been made possible due to the community’s zeal for knowledge that was driven by our forefathers, and the ability to adapt to socio-economic changes. Despite the setbacks and challenges over the course of years before, during and post-independence, the Malay/Muslim community slowly progressed in its educational attainment and occupation standards. During its formal establishment in 1982, MENDAKI together with the government and other key community organisations primarily focused on uplifting the Malay/Muslim community through education. Since then, the community has caught up with the other communities in Singapore in terms of its educational and economic standing and now proudly contributes at the national level as well. MENDAKI ANNUAL REPORT 2019 28