Dr Syed Harun Taha Alhabsyi,
President Lembaga Kenangan Maulud (LBKM)
Board Members
Distinguished guests
Introduction
1. Assalamualaikum and a very good evening to everyone.
I am happy to join you here tonight for LBKM's Annual Scholarships Award Ceremony to recognise and celebrate the hard work and passion our children have shown in their various fields of study.
Beyond commemorating academic excellence, this occasion is also meaningful as it renews our commitment to empower and uplift the younger generations through education.
LBKM's Good Work in Supporting Students Over the Years
2. Since its establishment in 1965, LBKM's beneficiaries have grown to over 35,700 students across all educational levels, who have benefitted from bursaries, scholarships and grants amounting to over $31 million.
3. This assistance has alleviated the financial burden of these students and their families, so that students can focus on their learning and bloom to their fullest potential.
As they press ahead in their educational journeys, the hope is that they too will lean forward to help others and be active participants in the community-building process.
Two New Iconic Scholarship Awards
4. It is this spirit of giving back that inspired the establishment of the LBKM's Iconic Scholarships in 2017. Each award is named after notable icons in the community who embody positive values.
LBKM has introduced two new awards this year – the Mohamed Eunos Abdullah Iconic Scholarship, named after the "father" of modern Malay journalism, and the Dr Hafeezudin Sirajuddin Moonshi Iconic Scholarship, named after the doctor who opened the first Muslim clinic in Singapore in 1916.
These scholarships will be awarded to students in the fields of Political Science and Medicine respectively.
- This year, the Mohamed Eunos Abdullah Iconic Scholarship will be awarded to Nur Zakirah binte Mohamed Yasin. Zakirah is a second year Public Policy and Global Affairs undergraduate from Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Proficient in both secular and religious subjects, Zakirah is determined to give back to the community by working on issues to counter extremism and radicalisation after graduation.
- The recipient of the inaugural Dr Hafeezudin Sirajuddin Moonshi Iconic Scholarship is Mosammat Nazmun Nahar, a third-year medical student at Universiti Malaya (UM). A daughter of immigrant parents who came to Singapore from Bangladesh, Nazmun is grateful for her family's sacrifices in supporting her dream of becoming a doctor, and for LBKM's scholarship which helps ease the family's financial worries. Now a Singaporean, Nazmun wishes to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynaecology and work with mothers from vulnerable groups.
Celebrating Different Pathways to Success
5. Tonight's award ceremony is also testament of society's openness to broadening the definitions of success. As part of the ongoing Forward Singapore exercise, MOE has been engaging various stakeholders to seek their views on the collective outcomes for education and lifelong learning, including providing multiple pathways and supporting learners with diverse abilities to reach their fullest potential. All of us have a role to play to pledge what we can do to achieve these shared outcomes.
6. So I am glad that LBKM is also recognising students who decided to take a more "unconventional" education path.
- Take Muhammad Lutfi bin Othman for example. Having been exposed to Islamic music like the azan and qasidahs which are poems sung in praise of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) since he was a young boy, Lutfi later became interested in how culture and religion intersected. This propelled him to study music to understand its impact on culture and people. I am glad that Lutfi will be able to continue his research on this topic in his fourth year of PhD studies in Ethnomusicology at the University of Cambridge under the LBKM Merit Postgraduate Scholarship.
- Faizal bin Abdul Aziz also took the road less travelled to university. Faizal was a student of Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah who left the school in Secondary 4 without taking his O Levels. He subsequently sat for his O Levels as a private candidate at 17 years old, did well, and went on to a JC.
After JC, he took an undergraduate degree at NUS before working as a flight steward with Singapore Airlines. After working for five years, Faizal decided to embark on his Masters and is now pursuing his PhD in Geography and the Environment under the Merit Postgraduate Scholarship, applying his industry knowledge to supplement what he is learning in school.
Giving Back to the Community Never Stops Even After Graduation
7. There is a Malay idiom/peribahasa that says "hutang emas boleh dibayar, hutang budi dibawa mati". While "you can never repay the good deeds done to you", we can and should try to outdo the good deeds done to us by helping others to grow and realise their aspirations, regardless of their starting points in life.
8. LBKM plays a significant role in easing the financial needs of our students, helping them to seize opportunities and pursue excellence in their chosen fields. It is heartening to see our scholarship recipients make the best of this gift and pay it forward by giving back to the community – and I am glad this year's batch is no different, with many of you actively volunteering your knowledge and time in service of others.
9. For those who are looking for ways to contribute, I encourage you to explore volunteering with UPLIFT and Project DIAN@M3. Through UPLIFT, MOE works with various stakeholders to ensure that students from lower-income households are well-supported and can reach their full potential. As an UPLIFT Family Befriender, for example, you will help to check in regularly on families in the programme through home visits and phone calls to offer friendship and informal assistance.
Project DIAN@M3 aims to provide integrated support for families staying in rental flats by connecting them to a wide range of programmes for education, employment, social support and health.
Volunteering with these programmes are ways for you to directly impact lives and uplift others.
10. Giving back to the community should not stop after graduation. As you embark on your careers, rise in ranks, and become more established in your various fields, you will become role models for the younger generation of students who look up to you and aspire to follow in your footsteps.
Many former LBKM award recipients continue to give back in various ways, and you too can follow in their footsteps, by providing opportunities for networking and advice to younger generations, or by serving the wider community.
Conclusion
11. Once again, congratulations to all our scholarship recipients, and also your families, teachers and community-centric organisations like LBKM that have steadfastly supported you in your learning journeys.
Your achievements belong to them as well.
12. Thank you.