Speech by Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing at Book Launch of "Singapore Tamil Muslims"

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. Vanakkam. I am happy to join you this evening for the launch of the English edition of "Singapore Tamil Muslims", which is co-authored by Mr Masuthoo and Mr Raja.

1. This book is published in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League (SKML) this year.
2. But the SKML's roots go back much further than these 80 years of service and achievement.

2. In fact, the journey of our Tamil Muslim community mirrors Singapore's growth through the decades.

1. Back in the 19th century, residents in Tamil Nadu faced severe drought, famine and disease. At the time, many Tamil Muslims, who were weavers by trade, were also put out of business by British protectionist measures to ban the import of Indian textiles.
2. And so, this early group of Tamil Muslims left the various districts of Tamil Nadu in search of a better life. Some found themselves in Penang and Malacca. Others arrived in Singapore with little more than clothes on their backs.
3. Despite the hardships they faced, the Tamil Muslim diaspora in Singapore not only worked hard to make a living for themselves, but also worked together to uplift their community, and create opportunities for the next generation through education and social service.
   1. Take for example how the Tamil Muslim immigrants in Singapore came together to improve the welfare of the disadvantaged and strengthen community bonding.
      1. They formed associations based on their ancestral origin, with many predating Singapore's independence, to promote these causes – which range from operating charities and providing financial assistance to those in need.
   2. Another example is how the Tamil Muslim community dedicated a portion of their modest salaries to help the SKML start the Umar Pulavar Tamil School in 1946.
      1. It was, at that time, the first Tamil-medium secondary school in Southeast Asia, and it played an important role in advancing and shaping Tamil language education in Singapore.
      2. Many of its graduates have taken up the baton and become Tamil teachers today.
      3. While the school was closed 40 years ago, its name lives on in today's Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre, which continues the important mission of transmitting Tamil language and culture to the next generation.

3. This spirit of grit, resilience and service to community has shone brightly among Singapore's Tamil Muslims.

1. Today, the descendants of these public-spirited Tamil Muslim pioneers have called Singapore their home for three generations and more.
2. Many have become successful professionals and leaders of the community. But they have all imbibed the spirit of service, and continued to pay it forward to the community and our nation.
3. Importantly, these collective efforts by your community have also strengthened Singapore's social compact – where we help the young to have a good start in life, give more to those with less, and enable our people to bounce back from adversity.

4. The Tamil Muslim community has also contributed to Singapore's multiracial and religious harmony. This includes expanding our common spaces.

1. Mr Masuthoo and Mr Raja highlighted one such example of a physical common space in their book.
   1. The Moulana Mohamad Ali Mosque was built in the 1950s, situated around Raffles Place and Market Street.
   2. After UOB acquired the land on which the mosque stood, the mosque shifted to the bank's basement.
   3. Mr Masuthoo and Mr Raja noted that "the unlikely location of a mosque at the basement of a local Chinese bank has always made for interesting conversations between Muslims and non-Muslims".

5. It is unlikely, because intuitively we know that multiracial harmony is not the natural order of things, not just in Singapore, but in many parts of the world.

1. But for us in Singapore, it is the result of years of hard work by all our communities, who have made painstaking efforts to promote mutual understanding and accommodation, so that we can live as one people, one Singapore.
2. Look at how we are gathered here today, in a 177-year-old Chinese Teochew club, commemorating the achievements of our Tamil Muslim brothers and sisters, and speaking to each other in a common language.
   1. It is a testament to the progress we have made in working towards multiracial and religious harmony, but it is not something we take for granted. It is all the more precious, especially at a time when societies elsewhere are experiencing friction and fissures along the lines of race, language and religion. So we must indeed be thankful to our forefathers, and the current generation of leaders and people who have worked tirelessly to make this happen.
   2. And it is upon us, in this generation, to continue the good work that our forefathers have done so that the next generation will have an even tighter social compact than what we enjoy in this generation. And it is our wish that every generation of Singaporeans will enable the next generation to do even better than us. This is what distinguishes us as Singaporeans. While we may come from diverse roots, we are all united by a common vision.
   3. It can be said that we took the harder path. We didn't take the path of breaking our roots and forgetting our history to become a people without roots. Neither did we take the path where each community is segregated from the others because of different lineage. Instead, we chose the tougher but better path where we build upon our diverse foundations, and work towards a common goal, with a common set of values and ideas.
   4. While we may not share a long history, we can certainly be united by a common set of values. And in many ways, this is even more powerful. This allows us to have the best of both worlds – a strong foundation in our diverse heritage, and yet, a united people bound by a common set of values.

6. As President Halimah noted in her foreword, "Our heritage is a tapestry of captivating and inspiring stories of hard work, resilience and tenacity".

1. I hope this book can serve as a reminder – not just for the Tamil Muslim community, but for the broader Singapore audience – that we must honour and protect what we have, and inspire the next generation of Singaporeans to continue to pay it forward.
2. In time to come, they will write the next chapter of the Singapore story together, and I am confident that it will be a story of promise, confidence, and success.

7. And on that note, I wish you a happy evening ahead. Nandri, and thank you very much.