WP MPs to raise questions about Singapore’s Muslim institutions

SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party’s (WP’s) Fadli Fawzi and Abdul Muhaimin will be raising questions about Singapore’s Muslim institutions in Parliament from Feb 24 to March 6, with a focus on how these institutions are evolving.

Mr Fadli (Aljunied GRC) and Mr Muhaimin (Sengkang GRC) are both first-term parliamentarians. The WP highlighted the questions they will be raising in a Facebook post on Monday (Feb 23).

The post included a screenshot from a Straits Times article in late November about the shuttering of Al-Firdaus Mosque in Choa Chu Kang early in the next decade, when the new mosque at Tengah opens.

The WP post pointed out the uniqueness of traditional village-style mosques in Singapore, including Sembawang Melayu Mosque and the Omar Salmah Mosque, and added, “These sites are not just places of worship; they are living repositories of our history.”

The post raised concerns over the long-term status of mosques operating under Temporary Occupation Licences (TOL), given the challenges of maintenance and securing community heritage.

The WP MPs will be filing questions involving the support for these communities, access to legacy planning resources, Tamil-speaking religious teachers, and the practicality of such anti-drug campaigns like Dadah Itu Haram, which need to be relevant to at-risk youth.

The post also pointed out that, as more people resort to generative AI for answers, how this affects the way religious knowledge is shared and learned must be looked into.

Here are the questions the WP MPs will be asking:

• Which mosques are currently operating on temporary licences, and what are the long-term plans for their land tenure and continued operations?

• Will traditional kampung-style mosques such as Masjid Petempatan Melayu Sembawang be formally assessed for their historical significance, and will they be considered for conservation?

• How does MUIS support the Indian Muslim community in areas like legacy planning and outreach? What is being done to nurture more Tamil-speaking religious teachers and support Muslim student societies?

• How is the effectiveness of the Dadah Itu Haram campaign measured? What evidence is there that it resonates with at-risk youth and leads to real behavioural change?

• How widely is generative AI being used for religious learning, and does MUIS plan to develop or support an official AI platform for religious guidance?

• What proportion of newlywed Muslim couples attend the Cinta Abadi marriage preparation programme, and are there additional fee waivers for couples who are still studying full-time? /TISG

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