Islamic Legacy Planning Village 2025

Mr Kadir Maideen, Chief Executive of MUIS;

Mr Zhulkarnain Rahim, Chairman of Islamic Legacy Planning Workgroup;

Members from the Islamic Legacy Planning Workgroup;

Distinguished guests;

Ladies and gentlemen;

Assalamualaikum Wr. Wb. and good afternoon.

1. I am delighted to join you for the second Islamic Legacy Planning Village 2025 today.

Nurturing Islamic legacy planning

2. Islamic legacy planning is not just a financial obligation, but a spiritual and moral duty for all Muslims to make intentional choices on how we leave behind our wealth to create lasting good for the next generation. In Singapore, we want to ensure that every Muslim – whether young or old – is empowered to make the right choices and also having the right tools and support to start early and plan their legacy.

3. Last year, MUIS launched the inaugural Wakaf Month. Throughout August 2024, a series of events was organised to raise awareness on Wakaf, in particular the Wakaf Masyarakat Singapura (WMS). Since then, I am glad that the efforts by MUIS, together with the Islamic Legacy Planning Workgroup or ILPW have borne fruit. Chaired by Mr Zhulkarnain Rahim, the workgroup has successfully engaged over 2,000 members of the Muslim community through targeted events and across diverse segments of society.

4. More Muslims today are also completing their legacy planning by giving to MUIS entities, such as mosques, madrasahs and wakaf - through their CPF nominations, insurance nominations and Islamic Wills (Wasiat). Compared to 2024, this number has more than doubled in the first nine months of this year. I am glad that more have come on board and taken the next step towards legacy planning. In this regard, I thank the ILPW for their hard work in engaging the community and securing our legacy for the future. Please join me to thank the workgroup by giving them a big round of applause.

"Dah Rancang Dah Senang"

5. We must build on the progress that we have made and encourage more Muslims to complete their legacy planning. MUIS introduced the “Dah Rancang Dah Senang” or ‘Have a say, Plan Today’ campaign this month to make Islamic Legacy Planning simpler for our community. We must continue to make this effort simpler and also the engagements on the ground to reach out to as many people as we can. It emphasises how early legacy planning brings peace of mind for us and our loved ones. Through such events, families learnt about matters before and after death, joint-tenancy and Faraid, which empowers them with knowledge and confidence to start their legacy planning journey.

   • For example, today’s Islamic Legacy Planning Village is part of this campaign, and serves as a key touchpoint for the community not just to learn, but also to take concrete steps towards completing their legacy planning. Attendees today may wish to complete essential legacy planning tools on-site with professional guidance, such as CPF and insurance nominations, Advance Care Planning, and Lasting Power of Attorney certification. These services are supported by many Government agencies beyond MUIS, including MyLegacy by LifeSG, CPF Board, Office of the Public Guardian, and Agency for Integrated Care. You can see this is a whole-of-government effort involving many agencies – all in the spirit of providing that peace of mind and also opportunities for one to plan – for oneself, and to look beyond oneself, that is to the future generation and to the community. Amongst us today we have many of my colleagues from the government agencies looking at this, including MUIS as well as other related agencies and also the community leaders that have come on board. It is an effort that comes from the heart, many hearts, for the people. I sincerely thank all of you who have been involved from the bottom of my heart, because to me this is a very important matter.

   • The ILPW has also completed a simple, easy-to-understand guidebook for the community, comprising contributions from legal, financial and religious professionals, to support the growing awareness on Islamic legacy planning.

6. Today, I am happy to launch “The Final Amanah – Guiding Singaporean Muslims on Loss and Legacy”.

   • The guidebook  aims to be your personal companion through legacy planning.

   • It offers clear, step-by-step guidance whether you are just starting out or supporting your loved ones during difficult times.

   • It also provides useful information on Islamic Legacy Planning within Singapore’s legal and financial regulations, including religious rulings.

   • I am confident that many in the community will find this guidebook helpful.

7. I encourage the community to take charge of your own legacy planning. Take advantage of the initiatives that have been put in place and consult our asatizah or trusted professionals, so that you can make informed decisions about your future and that of your loved ones.

Give back through your legacy

8. As you plan your legacy today, I would also urge you to think about helping others beyond our lifetime and contribute to wakaf. This is a form of sadaqah jaariyah or continuous charity, where you can create lasting good that helps your loved ones and the community. These good deeds continue to earn rewards, even after we return to Allah SWT. InsyaAllah.

9. Allow me to continue my speech in Malay.

10. Para hadirin sekalian, sejak tahun lalu, MUIS telah menganjurkan beberapa usaha untuk membantu masyarakat Islam dalam perancangan legasi mereka. Pendekatan ini bukan sahaja terhad kepada faraid, tetapi juga merangkumi alat-alat perancangan yang selaras dengan syariah.

11. Sejajar dengan ini, perancangan untuk anggota keluarga harus diutamakan. Namun, saya juga menggalak masyarakat mempertimbangkan pemberian legasi - seperti sumbangan kepada badan-badan Melayu/Islam, masjid, madrasah, atau kepada wakaf dan dana masyarakat yang lain. Kemantapan masyarakat juga bergantung kepada pembinaan aset bersama seperti Wakaf Masyarakat Singapura (WMS) untuk menampung keperluan keagamaan kita dalam masa panjang. Misalnya menerusi wakaf, manfaatnya bukan sahaja dapat diraih oleh masyarakat, tetapi juga kepada penyumbang, dalam bentuk pahala yang berkekalan. InsyaAllah.

12. Kesedaran terhadap perancangan legasi dalam kalangan masyarakat Islam amat memberangsangkan. Jumlah individu Melayu/Islam yang membuat penamaan CPF, serta penamaan insurans dan wasiat serta pemberian legasi kepada entiti MUIS seperti masjid, madrasah dan wakaf juga meningkat lebih seganda berbanding tahun lalu. Pencapaian ini juga hasil kerjasama rapat MUIS dengan pelbagai agensi-agensi Pemerintah serta kumpulan karyawan dan golongan Asatizah dan masyarakat kita. Saya mengalu-alukan penyertaan lebih ramai golongan karyawan dan asatizah untuk membimbing masyarakat Islam kita tentang perancangan legasi.

13. Para hadirin sekalian, saya berharap dengan adanya usaha-usaha seperti ini, semua keluarga Islam di Singapura akan lebih yakin untuk membuat perancangan awal tentang aset-aset mereka dan membantu melindungi orang-orang yang tersayang. Dengan adanya perancangan yang khusus dan teratur, kita juga dapat memberi ketenangan minda kepada keluarga apabila kita tiada kelak kerana apabila kita Dah Rancang, semuanya Dah Senang!

14. Kita yang berkecimpung dalam kerja-kerja kemasyarakatan sering berjumpa dengan ahli anggota masyarakat daripada pelbagai bangsa dan agama yang menghadapi isu-isu ini. Pada tahun-tahun yang lalu, kita mungkin tidak ada banyak pendekatan seperti ini. Sebagai seorang rakyat Singapura, saya rasa gembira dan bersyukur kerana dengan sokongan masyarakat dan Pemerintah, kita boleh membangunkan satu wadah untuk menyokong dan juga memberi ruang kepada masyarakat kita untuk merancang legasi mereka dan sekaligus ia mendatangkan ketenangan hati, minda dan ini adalah penting bagi masyarakat kita dan warga kita. Justeru, ini satu pencapaian yang menyentuh hati saya kerana kalau kita lihat kita tidak dapatkan landskap ataupun inisiatif seperti ini di banyak negara yang lain. Ini kerana Pemerintah, masyarakat dan juga ahli karyawan kita mempunyai keihsanan bagi semua rakyat kita. Jadi sama-sama kita terus memperbaiki apa yang telah kita usahakan supaya sama-sama kita boleh membangunkan negara yang maju dan mempunyai keihsanan untuk menjaga kemaslahatan kita semua. Syabas sekali lagi kepada kumpulan kerja yang telah bekerjasama turun padang dan juga telah menyediakan satu wadah yang sangat penting bagi kita untuk membuka lebih banyak ruang dan detik untuk meningkatkan keupayaan dan juga merancang kehidupan kita bersama.

Terima kasih.

Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.