<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Oct 3, 2009
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Yaacob fears class divide <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Growing Malay-Muslim middle class could turn its back on community </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Zakir Hussain
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Dr Yaacob is afraid that the malay middle class will not look out for others. -- PHOTO: ST
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->WHILE Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, is proud of the extensive progress made by his community, he is also stirred by a nagging worry about the future.
Two clouds darken his horizon.
One is the prospect of the growing Malay-Muslim middle class turning its back on the community and looking out only for itself. The other is that families with multiple problems are not rescued, leading to the emergence of a 'hardened underclass'.
Speaking to leaders in his community yesterday, he said: 'We can potentially have a class divide in our community if those at the top are not willing to reach out to those at the bottom'.
It is a problem seen in minority communities worldwide 'but I am optimistic for our own community here', he said in a speech that took stock of the achievements of the community and indicated how it planned to respond to future challenges.
Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, was speaking to 400 community leaders and guests at the annual Hari Raya get-together at the Istana, hosted by Malay MPs.
In tracing the community's many achievements, he praised workers who went for training to build a better future while holding down full-time jobs.
He also noted the growing diversity of talents, seen in the increasingly diverse careers, fields of study and volunteering choices made by Malay-Muslims here.
Amid these developments, a heterogeneous Malay-Muslim middle class has emerged, with many contributing by way of giving alms or volunteering to help uplift the community, said Dr Yaacob, even as he expressed his concern over the possibility that they could change in the future.
Training consultant Sazali Wahid shares his sentiments and says that from his experiences, he already sees signs of it. Said the 49-year-old volunteer with Clubilya, a group that helps at-risk youths: 'We don't see many middle- income Malays coming forward to help, even though we need them to be role models to befriend and mentor our youth.'
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times
[email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Yaacob fears class divide <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Growing Malay-Muslim middle class could turn its back on community </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Zakir Hussain
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Dr Yaacob is afraid that the malay middle class will not look out for others. -- PHOTO: ST
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->WHILE Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, is proud of the extensive progress made by his community, he is also stirred by a nagging worry about the future.
Two clouds darken his horizon.
One is the prospect of the growing Malay-Muslim middle class turning its back on the community and looking out only for itself. The other is that families with multiple problems are not rescued, leading to the emergence of a 'hardened underclass'.
Speaking to leaders in his community yesterday, he said: 'We can potentially have a class divide in our community if those at the top are not willing to reach out to those at the bottom'.
It is a problem seen in minority communities worldwide 'but I am optimistic for our own community here', he said in a speech that took stock of the achievements of the community and indicated how it planned to respond to future challenges.
Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, was speaking to 400 community leaders and guests at the annual Hari Raya get-together at the Istana, hosted by Malay MPs.
In tracing the community's many achievements, he praised workers who went for training to build a better future while holding down full-time jobs.
He also noted the growing diversity of talents, seen in the increasingly diverse careers, fields of study and volunteering choices made by Malay-Muslims here.
Amid these developments, a heterogeneous Malay-Muslim middle class has emerged, with many contributing by way of giving alms or volunteering to help uplift the community, said Dr Yaacob, even as he expressed his concern over the possibility that they could change in the future.
Training consultant Sazali Wahid shares his sentiments and says that from his experiences, he already sees signs of it. Said the 49-year-old volunteer with Clubilya, a group that helps at-risk youths: 'We don't see many middle- income Malays coming forward to help, even though we need them to be role models to befriend and mentor our youth.'
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times
[email protected]
