Management changes at Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS)

1. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) announced today that with effect from 7 August 2013, MUIS will be headed by a new Chief Executive (CE), Haji Abdul Razak bin Hassan Maricar.   

2. Currently, the MUIS President functions full-time to oversee both the executive and Council functions. With the new CE role, the executive functions will be overseen by a full-time CE while the Council will be headed by a President who is not a staff of MUIS. This is part of on-going efforts to strengthen MUIS' executive leadership and to align the governance of MUIS with the practices of other statutory boards.

3. Haji Mohammad Alami Musa will cease to be a MUIS staff after his term ends on 6 August 2013. He has accepted the role of President of MUIS – in its new non-executive capacity - to provide continuity and leadership to the MUIS Council until a successor is appointed later in this Council's term.

4. Following his retirement from the public service, Hj Mohammad Alami will be appointed as one of Singapore's Non-Resident Ambassadors. Details of this appointment will be made in due course. He will also be appointed Honorary Business Representative of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore for the Middle East and North Africa for a two-year term commencing 12 September 2013. Haji Mohammad Alami will take on the full-time position of Head of Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SIRR), a research programme in the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. He will assume the post on 12 September 2013. Haji Mohammad Alami Musa

5. Haji Mohammad Alami, 57, started his civil service career with the Ministry of the Environment in 1981 and joined the Public Utilities Board (PUB) in April 2001.He was appointed as MUIS President on 1 September 2003. During his tenure as the President, Haji Mohammad Alami has raised the stature of MUIS as a statutory board and Islamic religious authority.

6. Haji Mohammad Alami facilitated asatizah or religious leaders to consolidate the Singapore Muslim Identity (SMI) as an ethos that recognized the Singaporean Muslim way of life within a multi-religious society, secular state and globalized world. Infusing this progressive ethos into MUIS' programmes and initiatives at all levels, he helped strengthen key institutions like our mosques and madrasahs (religious schools). He oversaw the restructuring and continuous refining of the part-time religious education curriculum. He also facilitated the launch of the Joint Madrasah System to strengthen the full-time madrasah sector so as to produce good religious teachers for the future. The MUIS Academy was formed to sharpen the focus on continuing training and development of the religious teacher fraternity, and the Enhanced Mosque Clusters further embedded mosques into the community as hubs for socio-religious development.

7. Haji Mohammad Alami is a keen advocate of inter-faith dialogue and understanding and inter-community bonding in Singapore. The Distinguished Visitor Programme has brought to Singapore distinguished luminaries like the late Sheikh Tantawi, Ms Karen Armstrong and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Under his watch, the Harmony Centre opened in 2006 to engender a better understanding of Islam and to promote inter-faith dialogue. It has since become an iconic inter-faith institution through flagship programmes such as the Building Bridges Seminar and the Abdul Aleem Siddique Memorial Lecture.

8. MCCY would like to register its appreciation to Haji Mohammad Alami for his contributions to MUIS over the past decade, and for serving as the first non-executive President. Haji Abdul Razak Hassan Maricar

9. The new MUIS CE Haji Abdul Razak, 59, joined the Civil Service in 1975. Haji Abdul Razak is a veteran in Muslim community matters. He started his nearly four decades of public service in the social work field before embarking on Muslim community matters. He was appointed to run the Syariah Court in 1996, and headed the Muslim affairs unit in then-Ministry of Community Development and Sports thereafter. During this time, he facilitated many key initiatives including legislative amendments to the Administration of Muslim Law Act and the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Rules in 1999.

10. Haji Abdul Razak joined MUIS as Secretary in 2007. As Secretary, Haji Abdul Razak has built up strong networks of community, religious and inter-faith leaders to consult and work together on many key issues. He was instrumental in the roll-out of empowerment initiatives to uplift the poor and needy such as financial coaching and assistance with their children's education. As Secretary, Haji Abdul Razak was also instrumental in suggesting changes to the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund which saw it being extended to upgrade and rejuvenate our ageing mosques. He is also passionate about wakaf rejuvenation and assisted in the conception and launch of Wakaf Ilmu for the community.

11. With his vast experience, wide support and heartfelt commitment towards the betterment of the Muslim community and inter-faith ties, Haji Abdul Razak is well-placed to provide strong leadership in driving the next phase of growth at MUIS.

12. Haji Abdul Razak has also been appointed to the MUIS Council for the new term starting 7 August 2013.

THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND YOUTH
5 JULY 2013