Like many other Muslims who are not Malays, Rasul Sulaiman feels that Singapore’s self-help groups have neglected his tertiary education needs. As an Indian-Malay Muslim, his family contributes monthly to Mendaki, the Muslim self-help group, through the Central Provident Fund. However, he is not eligible for the Mendaki Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy, which subsidises Malay tertiary students’ fees fully or partially, depending on their families’ household income.
The 24-year-old is currently a fourth-year communications and new media student at the National University of Singapore. He does not qualify for Mendaki’s tuition fees subsidy as his identification card states ‘Indian’ as his race. Only Malays are eligible for the subsidy grant.
“It is unfair that Mendaki only helps out Malay Muslims and not the Indian Muslims. They receive a monthly contribution through CPF from Muslims of all races, and contact all when seeking volunteers.” Rasul said, “Indian Muslims fall through the gaps.”
Yayasan Mendaki, like its counterparts - the Singapore Indian Development Association, the Chinese Development Assistance Council, and the Eurasian Association, provides social services and financial aid programmes to assist its target community.
Each association helps different racial groups in Singapore, but Mendaki get funding through CPF from Indian Muslims and Sinda directs Indian Muslims to Mendaki for help.
The problem is, Mendaki only helps Malay Muslims for such programmes. The result? Indian Muslim students like Rasul fall through the cracks when they need assistance.
Like Rasul, many others face problems seeking help from such groups because there are no clear, strict rules stating which Singaporeans fall under which self-help groups’ scheme. Each self-help group reaches out to different racial groups in Singapore. However, in Mendaki’s case, the group defines itself according to religion. As such, there are Singaporeans of diverse ethnicity and religious beliefs who may fall through the gaps of such unclear classifications.
When contacted, Mendaki’s financial assistance department said that applicants are eligible for its Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy as long as they are Malay. However, they do not accept applicants who are Indian or of other ethnicity. When asked why they do not give out such grants to other Muslims, a spokesperson explained that the subsidy scheme is exclusively for Malays as they are the indigenous race of Singapore and declined to give further details.
Seventeen per cent of Singaporean Muslims are Indians, and those who are working are expected to contribute to Mendaki monthly through CPF.
According to SINDA’s official website, aid is extended to all Indians who are registered as Indian on their Identity Cards. However, contacting SINDA through their financial help hotline revealed a different picture. This reporter pretended to be an Indian Muslim and called up SINDA to inquire about subsidies for tertiary school fees. The hotline operator explained that since Muslims contribute to Mendaki, they should seek help from Mendaki instead. In special cases, help might be given out to Indian Muslims.
There are also Indian Muslim non-profit groups registered in Singapore. The most prominent group is the United Indian Muslim Association of Singapore. Unlike Mendaki, it does not receive contributions from Indian Muslims monthly through CPF. The organisation gives out bursaries to primary, secondary and polytechnic students of all racial and religious origins. However, it does not offer subsidies to university students.
Malina Alwi, a Malay student studying psychology at the Nanyang Technological University, is a recipient of Mendaki’s Tertiary Tuition Fees Subsidy. Although she is a beneficiary of the scheme, she believes that its exclusivity is unfair to Muslims of other racial groups.
“Well, it is not fair that they do not get to enjoy the subsidy when they contribute to Mendaki like we do too,” Malina said. “If they are expected to contribute, they should be able to receive the same help that we receive too.”
Other than possibly neglecting the needs of some Singaporeans, the self-help groups’ system of allocating help through racial differentiation has also influenced some Singaporeans’ decision when declaring their ethnicity
A 23-year-old student at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, who declined to be named, divulged that the system has influenced his family’s decision to declare their ethnicity as Malay. His family has a mixed ethnicity of Javanese, Arab, and Chinese. “We enjoy more social benefits because we registered ourselves as Malay rather than Chinese,” he admitted. “In any case, I look like a Malay, and anyway Arab or Javanese are not recognised races in Singapore.”
This student is a current recipient of Mendaki’s Tertiary Tuition Fee Subsidy. He does not wish to be identified, as he is worried that he may not receive the grant anymore if his actual ethnicity is exposed.
When called up, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports said that it is in no position to comment on how self-help organisations should distribute financial aid, stating that allocation of grants are up to the “discretion of groups like SINDA and Mendaki”.
With the status quo unlikely to change anytime soon, many other students continue to be caught in the middle of these unclear regulations. “I think the system should be revised, so that no one gets left out,” Rasul said.
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