Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education, at the Berita Harian Achiever Of the Year Award presentation ceremony on wednesday, 3 August 2005, at 8.00 pm at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia

Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education, at the Berita Harian Achiever Of the Year Award presentation ceremony on wednesday, 3 August 2005, at 8.00 pm at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia

Introduction

1. I feel privileged to be here today for the 2005 Berita Harian Achiever of the Year Award Presentation Ceremony.

2. Allow me first to pay tribute to Encik Harun Ghani, community leader and former Member of Parliament. I knew him only after I entered politics, which was after his retirement from politics. He continued to attend grassroots events in the Southwest, and did so for some time after his illness struck. It said something about Harun’s tireless commitment to the community. He was a natural leader. His totally unassuming style made grassroots leaders and citizens of all backgrounds look up to him. His passing is a great loss to all of us.

3. I would like to commend Berita Harian for organising tonight’s Achiever Award, which enters its seventh year this year. It recognises Malay/Muslim individuals who have made important contributions, not just to the community but also to

Singapore

4. As I looked at the list of past recipients, I was struck by the areas in which they had achieved excellence. They encompass all fields of endeavour – the arts and sciences, and social activism. It says something about the transformation of the Malay-Muslim community in

Singapore

over our 40 years of nationhood, and its contributions to

Singapore

in all spheres of life.

5. Two of the past winners were outstanding scientists. Dr Mansoor Jalil received the first award in 1999. He was the first Malay who achieved a first class degree in physics from the University of Cambridge. Associate Professor Abdul Aziz Nather, a renowned expert in bone research and tissue banking, received the award the following year.

6. Two other past recipients are leaders in the arts. Renowned artist, Mr Iskandar Jalil won the award in 2002, while our top music composer, Mr Iskandar Ismail, received it in 2003.

7. And we had top unionist, Madam Halimah Yaacob, in 2001, before she also became an MP, and leading social activist, Mr Haji Abu Bakar Maidin.

8. Together, they provide an impressive cast of role models, for younger generations of Malay-Muslims and for Singaporeans at large. Malay-Muslims are achieving distinction in many fields now, and show every promise of doing so in future. I am told that this year, as in previous years, there was no shortage of strong nominees for the Achiever of the Year Award.

9. The surfacing of these outstanding talents and leaders reflects a broader trend. The Malay-Muslim community has made tremendous progress over the last four decades.

10. We are not just seeing outstanding individuals at the top, but the advancement in the community at large, a shift across the board. To give an example many would be familiar with, last year, 75 percent of the Malay student cohort (Primary One cohort) went on to study at post-secondary institutions after completing their secondary education successfully. This is an improvement of over 39 per cent, compared to the 36 per cent that were admitted in 1990, just fifteen years ago.

11. What is equally striking is how well our Malay students are faring against international benchmarks. In Dec last year, we announced that

Singapore

has emerged first in both Mathematics and Science in a 49-country study of our students conducted in 2002-03. (The study, known as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, was administered by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), which is an international authority on the study of educational standards.) We found also that our Malay students performed very well. They ranked well above the International Average for both Maths and Science. For example, in Maths, our Secondary 2 Malay students performed as well (in fact a little better on average) as students in

Netherlands

and

Belgium

, who were the top performing European countries in the study. They also performed significantly better in Maths than students in the

United States

Australia

Sweden

and

Israel

12. This is a real achievement. It illustrates why our Malay students, like other Singaporean students, are a real asset to the nation in our efforts to propel

Singapore

to a higher level.

13. But it also illustrates another point, which I have always believed in. Our minority groups have been advantaged, not disadvantaged, by our meritocratic education system. Putting all Singaporean children together in our schools, and encouraging them to advance in a meritocratic system of progression, spurs all of them on. It spurs all our children to go beyond what those in other countries are able to achieve. A whole generation of Singaporeans, of all races, moves up.

14. This is our continuing strength. By providing quality education for all, we are able to prepare

Singapore

for a new future. We are able to nurture students who will open up new opportunities for

Singapore

, and create value in new ways, in areas such as high-end manufacturing operations, finance, design, or in research activity.

15. Malay students have also been able to excel in various non-academic areas. Students like Noraini Bte Aman, an outstanding Secondary Four student from Xinmin Secondary School. Aside from having a strong academic record and being a Staff Sergeant in the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC), she is actively participating in ‘Young Director’s Chair’, a project organised by Xinmin and Channel News Asia. She is channeling her energies into the production of a video. There are numerous others like Noraini.

16. There is another angle worth noting. Many of our outstanding achievers in education come from relatively humble backgrounds. In fact, there has been great educational mobility amongst Malay families – no less than what we have seen for other

Singapore

families. Amongst Malay youth who are 23 years old today (the Primary One cohort of 1989), almost three quarters (71%) have reached higher levels of education than their parents did. This is in fact a much higher rate of educational mobility than what we saw just a decade or so earlier, when just over half of Malay youth of the same age had gone further than their parents had in education. Educational mobility has increased. Malay students have been very much part of this story of

Singapore

society, of students who surpass what their parents achieved in education, and who will very likely surpass what their parents achieve in life.

17. There are numerous inspiring human stories behind these statistics. Stories for example of students whose parents had limited educational achievements, but who were encouraged by their parents to work hard and achieve success. Take one of our top Malay students in last year’s GCE 'O' levels, Azhar Bin Athy, who graduated from Bukit Panjang High Government with 8 A1s and 1 A2. Azhar's father had a vocational training background, and his mother received no more than a primary education. His story is one of determination, a story that is played out in the lives of many other students.

18. There are opportunities for students to excel and rise to the top, regardless of their background. Through our education system, we are also focused on providing full opportunities for late bloomers, opportunities for people to rise along a range of pathways.

19. Recently, for example, Berita Minggu carried, on its front page, a story of three Malay-Muslims who were from the normal stream and who went on to do very well. Mr Muhammed Akhbar Khan Akhtar, who studied in the normal technical stream in secondary school and is now serving his National Service, has gained a place to study in the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Although Akhbar did not do well in his PSLE, his determination to succeed in life motivated him to work hard to get to ITE and then the Singapore Polytechnic. The second was Mr Muhammed Hamdan Ahmad, who studied in the normal academic stream and now has been accepted to study in the National University of Singapore (NUS).

20. There are many other examples of young Singaporeans who take a different ladder to success. Ms Dian Farziana Mohd Farid, a graduate from the Diploma in Medical Technology course in the Singapore Polytechnic this year, studied in a junior college for a year before deciding that the academic route was not for her. Not only did she become the best student in her course, she received seven awards, including the Lee Kuan Yew award, for her excellent results.

21. The individuals may have taken a longer or different route, but they achieved what they wanted.

22. Let me conclude by saying that we all take great encouragement in the importance that Malay-Muslim families are placing on education as a path to success. The presence of outstanding role models in the community, in a variety of fields, will I am sure help to inspire younger members of the community to go even further in their pursuit of excellence.

23. Syabas, saya ucapkan kepada pemenang Anugerah malam ini. Dan akhir sekali, kepada anda sekalian yang hadir, saya ucapkan selamat menyambut Hari Kebangsaan yang ke empat puluh.