Speech by Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs and Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Defence, Mr Zaqy Mohamad at the 2026 Madrasah Teachers Award and Graduation Ceremony

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
Respected Mr Kadir Maideen, Chief Executive of MUIS,
Professor Chang Chew Hung, Dean, Graduate Studies and Professional Learning, National Institute of Education,
Mr Abdel Majeed Shamlawi, CEO of Queen Rania Teachers Academy,
Principals and leaders of our madrasahs, asatizahs, distinguished guests, graduates, award recipients, and families.

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, and a very good afternoon to everyone.

1. Izinkan saya untuk mula dengan Bahasa ibunda kita. Saya gembira dapat hadir hari ini, bersama anda semua, untuk meraikan para asatizah kita. Mereka yang telah bertungkus-lumus mendidik anak-anak muda kita, mereka yang telah mendahului kita, dan mereka yang akan meneruskan tugas mulia ini.

2. Kepada mereka, saya merakamkan setinggi-tinggi penghargaan, dengan ucapan Ikhlas – Terima kasih.

3. Kepercayaan dan keyakinan masyarakat terhadap para asatizah kita telah dibina sejak sekian lama. Kita tidak boleh memandang ringan kepercayaan ini.

4. MUIS akan terus menyokong pembangunan profesional asatizah, kerana kami percaya bahawa kekuatan pendidikan Islam di Singapura bergantung kepada kekuatan dan keupayaan para pendidik kita.

5. Kepada para graduan, tahniah. Teruskanlah usaha murni ini dengan penuh semangat dan keazaman, dan laksanakan amanah ini dengan sebaiknya.

6. Bak kata pepatah Melayu:
   “Seperti aur dengan tebing,
   Teguh berdiri kerana saling menyokong.”

7. Semangat saling menyokong inilah yang menjadi teras perjuangan kita bersama. InsyaAllah, kita akan terus membina pendidikan Islam yang sentiasa kukuh dalam keimanan, relevan dengan realiti kehidupan anak-anak kita, dan memenuhi keperluan mereka dalam dunia yang sentiasa berubah.

8. And it is this same spirit that I want to speak to today — for the benefit of all our guests, I will now continue in English.

9. The work of an educator often shapes one student at a time. One lesson. One conversation. Sometimes, one word of encouragement at the right moment.

10. A student might ask, “Ustaz, can I ask you something?” Or “Ustazah, I came across this online. What do you think?”

11. When a young person turns to you with a question, it says something important: they trust you.

12. That trust has been built by generations of asatizah. It is something our community values deeply, and something we must continue to uphold with care.

13. And when there are gaps in how we protect that trust, we must be prepared to acknowledge them, learn from them and put things right.

14. At the same time, we should not lose sight of the many asatizah who carry out their amanah with care and integrity every day. They deserve our support as they continue this important work.

Guiding our young in a changing world

15. This trust matters even more today.

16. Our young people get information everywhere; Google. YouTube. Social media. And now, AI. They can find information and different perspectives much easily.

17. The challenge is this. Knowing what to make of it is hard. The contextualisation is much harder.

18. They may learn one thing in class, see another view online, and receive a completely different video from a friend later that day. And then they try to figure which one is the truth.

19. This is why your role as asatizah remains so important.

20. Technology can give an answer in seconds. But it cannot replace the judgement, wisdom and human connection of a trusted educator.

21. At the same time, we should embrace these tools. We should equip our asatizah to use AI and social media well, and to meet our young where they are.

22. Because when many voices compete for their attention, our young need trusted guides who understand both our religious tradition and the world they live in.

Supporting our asatizah

23. And if we want to support our asatizah to keep growing with our young, we must also help them to cope with this too.

24. MUIS has been working with NIE to strengthen the training and development of our asatizah, from our aLIVE programmes to our full-time madrasahs, while selected educators are also sponsored to pursue a Master’s Degree in Education.

25. We have also partnered with the Queen Rania Teacher Academy in Jordan to strengthen Arabic language teaching and learn from expertise abroad.

26. SCIS will also build on this further, nurturing future generations of asatizah who are grounded in our faith and understand the Singapore society they serve.

Honouring those who built the bridge

27. But while training and professional development are important, a teacher's impact cannot always be measured by qualifications alone. It is also seen in the lives they shape, the values they impart and the educators they inspire in subsequent generations.

28. I was speaking to some of the asatizah here, they mentioned that some of the asatizah here were their teachers when they were younger. So we can see how you inspire others and build a stronger network and society.

29. Ustazah Tapsirah is one such educator. She has devoted nearly four decades to madrasah education. She began serving at Madrasah Aljunied in 1987, before moving to Madrasah Irsyad in 2011 as part of the Joint Madrasah System.

30. Today, six of the asatizah completing the NIE Specialist Diploma in Teaching and Learning for Full-Time Madrasah Educators were once her students.

31. That is the legacy of a teacher — one generation preparing the next one. And I am quite sure many of you here are preparing future generations to come.

32. We also remember the educators receiving Posthumous Awards today. To their families, thank you for sharing their years of service with the community.

33. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala shower His mercy upon our ‘ulama’, grant them the highest stations in Jannah, and accept their deeds as acts of sadaqah jariyah.

To our dear graduates – The journey continues

34. To our dear graduates, congratulations.

35. You have worked hard to reach this milestone, but for an asatizah, the learning never really stops.

36. Today, you join a long tradition of asatizah who have shaped our madrasahs and guided our young.

37. And perhaps one day, some of the students you teach will stand where you are standing today — ready to guide another generation.

38. Once again, congratulations to all our graduates and award recipients, and my deepest appreciation to all our asatizah for your continued service to our community.
    
    Wabillahi taufik walhidayah, wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.