Composition of Community Leaders Forum Steering Committee

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs whether he will consider involving community leaders on the Community Leaders Forum's Steering Committee.

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: The idea of the Community Leaders Forum (CLF) was mooted by Mendaki and the Government Malay Members of Parliament (MMP) after having reviewed the progress of the Malay/Muslim community in 2003. In October 2003, we brought community leaders and activists together to discuss the formation of the CLF. We presented to our community leaders an analysis of the state of affairs of our community. Through dialogues and focus groups, participants discussed strategies to meet challenges facing the Malay/Muslim community. The purpose of the CLF was to carry out strategic programmes to complement and not replace the programmes conducted by the Malay/Muslim organisations (MMOs). The aim was, and remains, to bring the community to greater heights and to achieve its vision of excellence.

In 2004, the CLF Steering Committee was formed to serve an overarching advisory role to guide the four CLF networks, namely Education, Youth, Family and Employability, on their strategies and action plans. I chair the Steering Committee, while other Government MMPs serve as Resource Persons or Co-Chairmen to the respective networks.

Page: 330

The work of the CLF is extensive and requires participation, support and leadership at many levels, all of which are integral to the success of the CLF. Community leaders are actively involved at many of these levels. For example, some are involved in or collaborate with Yayasan MENDAKI in their work as the CLF secretariat. Many others are involved at the network level, where their contributions are impactful. They galvanise support and commitment from the MMOs that they oversee in implementing and supporting various CLF programmes and initiatives. They also facilitate the sharing of best practices, delivery of programmes and effective utilisation of the resources that we have.

Community leaders are also invited periodically every year to review programmes and discuss new ideas and strategies arising from data analysis provided by the secretariat. Hence, our leaders' expertise and experience are tapped strategically to further the objectives of the CLF.

Today, the CLF has become an important annual forum for dynamic dialogue and knowledge exchange. It now has 96 partners, including 14 MMOs, 17 mosques, 14 Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) and Family Service Centres (FSCs) as well as eight training organisations. The CLF thus owes its success not to the Steering Committee, but to the commitment, collaboration and resourcefulness of the active partners and community leaders in its network. The structure and composition of the CLF is evolving, and we will continue to find better ways to manage it, including tapping on the expertise and experience of individuals from the community.