MAJLIS UGAMA ISLAM SINGAPURA (Management of new mosques)

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Encik Mansor Haji Sukaimi asked the Minister for Social Affairs what plans the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura will implement to ensure that the new mosques in the housing estates will be efficiently managed and that the mosques will be utilised for broader community and educational purposes as well.

The Minister for Social Affairs (Encik Othman Bin Wok): Mr Speaker, Sir, under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, one of the responsibilities of the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura is the administration of all mosques in Singapore. When the new mosques are ready, the Majlis will appoint Mosque Management Committees to look after them and to plan and oversee their programmes and activities. Such Committees will comprise residents from the housing estates in which the mosques are sited and who are capable and willing to render their services.

All the new mosques to be built under the Mosque Building Fund Scheme implemented by the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura with the assistance of the Government are constructed as large multi-purpose mosques. They will have ample facilities such as conference rooms, libraries, halls for social gatherings and other purposes, classrooms and even washing rooms for the dead. Each mosque is a religious complex in itself, designed for use not only for religious purposes but for community programmes as well. The facilities in the mosque will be made available to the residents within the satellite town.

The Majlis Haiah Dahwah which is a Sub-Committee of the MUIS dealing with matters on religion and education, will supervise and co-ordinate the religious, educational and cultural programmes of the mosques to ensure that such programmes meet the needs of Muslims in the area. Close liaison with the Mosque Management Committees will be maintained through the Honorary Secretary of each Committee who will be represented on the Majlis Haiah Dahwah. All Mosque Management Committees will be required to submit their mosque programmes to the Majlis for consideration. Periodical reports on the activities implemented together with financial reports of the mosques are also expected from the Committees.

Funds are needed to maintain a large multi-purpose mosque. The MUIS on its part has set up a Mosque Maintenance Fund. For deserving cases, the MUIS will recommend the use of part of this Fund to help maintain and defray some expenses incurred by the Mosque Management Committees. However, the MUIS has no special allocation of funds to pay for the maintenance and management of all the new mosques. Mosque Management Committees should not expect everything to be paid for through the Mosque Building Fund collections or by the Majlis. I suggest that they continue with their fund-raising programmes to make the mosque building project a community effort with the active participation of all Muslim residents. The MUIS will issue licences as provided under section 73 of the Administration of Muslim Law Act to enable Mosque Management Committees to collect donations from Muslims to defray expenses such as salaries for Imams, Noja, Bilal, allowances for religious teachers and other functions organised by Management Committees for the benefit of Muslims in the area.