PM Lawrence Wong at the 60th Anniversary of Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday Memorial Scholarship Fund Board (LBKM)

Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi, President of LBKM,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening, selamat sejahtera dan
selamat tahun baru!

I am delighted to join you to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday Memorial Scholarship Fund Board, better known as LBKM.

Unlike my learned friend, Dr Harun, I am unable to write my own pantun but I will start with a few words in Malay.

Di Singapura, Masyarakat Melayu/Islam berkembang maju sebagai sebuah Masyarakat Gemilang, berkat sokongan badan-badan Melayu/Islam seperti LBKM.

Anda memainkan peranan penting dalam membantu pelbagai lapisan masyarakat, termasuk menyokong usaha-usaha M Kuasa Tiga.

Dan, melalui rangkaian anda sendiri, anda juga saling melengkapi inisiatif nasional untuk memenuhi keperluan dan aspirasi masyarakat.

Malam ini, kita meraikan semangat untuk berkhidmat, semangat saling membantu serta bekerjasama demi kebaikan semua.

Semangat inilah yang akan memperkasa masyarakat Melayu/Islam sebagai Masyarakat Gemilang.

Dan, semangat ini jugalah yang akan membantu Singapura mengatasi cabaran-cabaran baharu dengan penuh yakin.

Kepada semua wakil-wakil LBKM dan MMO – yang dahulu, dan sekarang, terima kasih atas sumbangan anda!

60 Years of LBKM

For six decades, LBKM has been providing financial support for students from all walks of life, as you heard just now, to pursue their studies. Your commitment to this mission reminds us of the importance which Islam and the Prophet Muhammad place on knowledge and education.

Since its establishment, LBKM has benefitted more than 38,000 students with almost $35 million in bursaries, scholarships and grants. So well done to everyone in LBKM.

In Singapore, education is heavily subsidised by the government. But beyond government funding, there will always be additional needs in the community which can be met by the community itself. And it is because of your unstinting efforts that generations of Singaporeans have been able to pursue their aspirations and dreams.

While LBKM has stayed true to its founding mission, it has evolved with the times, and also updated its approach.

At the beginning, you gave out a modest number of bursaries to students in need.

Now, you support many more students, and your award recipients pursue diverse opportunities in our education system – in primary and secondary schools; in madrasahs; and in our ITEs, polytechnics, and universities – as even at institutions overseas.

You have expanded your range of scholarships to cover a wider range of disciplines, from musicology to law and technology, thereby enabling more Singaporeans to maximise their diverse potential and strengths.

And, you have used your awards to help students meet the changing needs of the modern economy, and to acquire the competencies needed to stay competitive in the workplace.

For example, you launched Future Economy Scholarships for students in STEM-related fields. You worked with Maybank on scholarships for Singaporean undergraduates who are pursuing studies in fields of interest in the banking sector, like actuarial sciences and risk modelling.

To encourage young people to get overseas experience, you started the Learning Access Student Overseas Exchange and Internship Programme Grant, supported by the Community Foundation of Singapore. This helps students in our local institutions to participate in programmes at universities abroad, or to intern at companies overseas.

Over the years, you have been able to extend your reach and multiply your impact on the community, by working with like-minded partners.

For example, LBKM partnered the Singapore Muslim Women’s Association, or PPIS, to jointly establish a postgraduate scholarship for women – of all races and religions – in fields like STEM, gerontology, and women’s studies. This represents the commitment of both organisations to nurturing female role models who can become future community leaders, and we look forward to many more of them.

So LBKM has achieved a lot these last 60 years. All of your achievements would not be possible without the passion and dedication of generations of LBKM staff and volunteers.

I am very glad that the past presidents are here. Mr Wan Hussin Zoohri and Mr Suhaimi Salleh. The family of the founding president Mr Alsagoff is here too. There are also many volunteers, council members, people associated with LBKM past and present here with us tonight. And I would like to say to all of you, thank you all for your service.

Of course, we also want to acknowledge the organisations and individuals who donate generously to LBKM and its programmes. There are many of you here tonight. And you heard the call from the president to donate even more generously. Please respond to his call but we should also recognise all of you and give them a big round of applause. Thank you very much.

Beyond 60

This year is not just LBKM’s 60th anniversary, it is also Singapore’s 60th year of independence. Coincidentally, I was just remarking to Dr Harun that LBKM has had four Presidents and Singapore has had four Prime Ministers. I do not know if the fifth President will coincide with the fifth Prime Minister of Singapore but clearly the history is intertwined.

Indeed, when leaders of various Malay/Muslim organisations decided to set up the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday Scholarship Fund in 1963, they wanted to remember the Prophet by helping students in need of financial assistance.

Tragically, one year later, we experienced terrible race riots, including one which occurred in July, during a procession to mark the Prophet’s birthday.

Instead of allowing these incidents to divide our society, our early Malay/Muslim leaders resolved to mark the Prophet’s Birthday in a more meaningful way. This led to the establishment of LBKM in 1965, just after Singapore’s own independence, to administer the Fund. The LBKM leaders were determined to focus on education for a better life. And by supporting all deserving students regardless of race or religion, they contributed in their own way to fostering harmony in our multi-racial and multi-religious society.

Like LBKM, Singapore emerged from the crucible of adversity. We were an improbable nation, with no resources of our own. At the time of independence, many said that Singapore wouldn’t make it. But we defied the odds and proved the sceptics wrong. We worked together as one united people to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.

This is the indomitable Singapore spirit which we must continue to embrace to take our community and to take our nation forward. It is about overcoming challenges together, striving for excellence, and also supporting our fellow Singaporeans.

Many recipients of LBKM awards exemplify and embody this spirit. You see that in how they are taking active steps to pay it forward. They contribute to the community and to our country, in ways big and small.

You saw just now on the slides, some LBKM alumni. Some have taken on key roles in the community, such as our former Muftis, Dr Syed Isa Semait and Dr Fatris Bakaram.

Some volunteer their time and resources for a range of causes, in both Malay/Muslim and other organisations.

Take Mr Salifian bin Sulaiman as an example. He received the LBKM Prestigious Postgraduate Scholarship last year. He has been awarded the Rhodes Scholarship and will commence post-doctoral work in anthropology and migration at Oxford University later this year. Beyond excelling in his studies, Salifian has launched multiple initiatives to support the community. These include interfaith dialogues when he was at NUS, and a “Bake As One” project to raise funds for underprivileged children during the pandemic. Well done, Salifian.

And there are many other stories like this, of LBKM alumni doing well; not just doing well for themselves but also giving back to the community and uplifting their fellow Singaporeans. And we want to encourage more of that.

Indeed, LBKM has also been very deliberate about nurturing this culture of service. Through collaborations with institutions like Mendaki and the National Youth Council and other organisations, you encourage award recipients to give back to community. For example, they have access to a diverse set of volunteering opportunities with Youth Corps Singapore. This provides them with a range of platforms to support the causes they care most about, from migrant workers to environmental sustainability.

Thanks to organisations like LBKM and our many Malay/Muslim organisations, our Malay/Muslim community can thrive as a Community of Success, and we can all chart our way forward in Singapore with confidence. Through your efforts, you help Singaporeans to achieve their hopes and aspirations; enable them to support their fellow Singaporeans; and rally Singaporeans to join hands to build our shared future together.

So, in this SG60 year, I hope we can all reflect on how far we have come as a nation. Indeed, there is so much to give thanks for and be grateful for. Singapore is not perfect but if you look around the world today, in this very turbulent and volatile world, I think we have many blessings here and we have come so far as a nation these last 60 years.

I encourage LBKM to continue the good work that you have done for the past 60 years, and to sustain a virtuous cycle of giving.

Happy 60th anniversary, LBKM! May your work benefit Singaporeans and Singapore for many more years to come. Thank you very much.