Speech by Minister Masagos at launch of Wakaf Masyarakat Singapura

KEYNOTE SPEECH AT OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF WAKAF MASYARAKAT SINGAPURA BY MR MASAGOS ZULKILFIMINISTER FOR SOCIAL AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT & SECOND MINISTER FOR HEALTH, MINISTER-IN-CHARGE OF MUSLIM AFFAIRS, SATURDAY 3 AUGUST 2024

MUIS President, Haji Mohamed Sa'at Abdul Rahman

MUIS Chief Executive, Haji Kadir Maideen

Community and Religious Leaders

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Today, marks a significant milestone as we launch a new Islamic endowment fund, the Wakaf Masyarakat Singapura or WMS. The WMS will be a wakaf by the community, and for the community. This is our contribution for the next generation – to create a long-term sustainable funding stream for the evolving needs of the Singapore Muslim community.

2. I first announced WMS during my Hari Raya speech in 2020. There were two reasons for the establishment of WMS.

Preserving the Wakaf Tradition in Singapore

3. The tradition of creating wakaf has been practised by our forefathers since the 1800s. They bequeathed land and properties for specific purposes that benefit the wider community, as guided by Islamic principles. For example,

a. Hajjah Fatimah bequeathed her properties for the building of Masjid Hajjah Fatimah;

b. Ahna Mohamed Kassim Bin Ally Mohamed donated land to build Masjid Kassim and;

c. Families of the Alsagoffs, Aljunieds and Angullias left a huge part of their assets through Wasiat or will for the community.

4. Thanks to these philanthropists, we now have 91 Wakaf, as an Amanah, entrusted for us to preserve them for future generations. This is a practice that we can learn from and build on – but the last wakaf was contributed a long time back in 1978. It is time we revive this good Islamic practice and tradition.

5. Secondly, in the next 30 years, we will need to renew our mosque land leases in quick succession. This will require the community to raise at least $300 million. If we were to do this later, only when we need it, we will burden future generations greatly.

6. Our existing community funds, such as the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF) and Zakat, can support the community’s current operational needs. However, we must think for the long term. We need to do more to strengthen our religious institutions such as madrasahs, and develop our Asatizah sector.

7. We are therefore acting early, by establishing the WMS. This will allow us a long runway to raise smaller tranches of funds over time. As a wakaf, this will generate a resilient income stream to support our future growing needs.

8. Let me thank everyone who has contributed to this effort, including the WMS Advisory Panel that was formed in 2020, chaired by Mr Abu Bakar Mohd Nor. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of the WMS Protem Committee, led by Mr Bahren Shaari, which will oversee the successful implementation of WMS.

9. Allow me to continue my speech in Malay.

WMS Sebagai Nadi Kedua Masyarakat Singapura

10. Para hadirian sekalian, hampir 50 tahun lalu, para pemimpin masyarakat kita telah membentuk Dana Pembinaan Masjid, atau MBF, yang membolehkan kita untuk membina masjid-masjid baharu. Ia adalah satu penerobosan kerana masyarakat tidak terbeban membiayai keperluan agama seperti pembinaan masjid, melalui sumbangan kecil-kecilan dan dimampui semua. Usaha ini juga didukung sifat bersatu hati masyarakat kita.

11. Alhamdulillah, MBF berjaya menghasilkan pembinaan 26 masjid yang indah. Jelas, dana tersebut yang kini dikenali sebagai MBMF, telah memenuhi matlamatnya yang kita duduk dalam Masjid Muhajirin yang merupakan masjid pertama yang diguna atas dana ini.

12. Kini, kita harus sedar bahawa pajakan tanah masjid-masjid tersebut akan luput secara berturut-turut dalam masa 30 hingga 50 tahun akan datang. Sebab itulah, perlu kita membuat perancangan awal demi penakatan masjid-masjid kita.

13. Justeru, penubuhan Wakaf Masyarakat Singapura, atau WMS, merupakan satu lagi penerobosan sebagai huraian inovatif bagi menyediakan dana sokongan yang lebih mampan. Pindaan AMLA sudahpun diluluskan Parlimen untuk tujuan ini.

14. Harapan saya WMS dapat memanfaatkan semangat dermawan masyarakat kita yang terus meningkat, selain daripada sumbangan masyarakat kepada MBMF. MBMF dan WMS berbeza. MBMF dibelanjakan untuk masjid secepatnya untuk membeli tanah dan membina masjid. WMS pula adalah dana dari harta yang diwasiatkan umumnya. Dana pokok dikekalkan dan tidak digunakan. Hanya hasil pulangan dana WMS yang akan digunakan untuk menampung kos pajakan tanah masjid-masjid yang telah kita bina. Ini akan meringankan beban generasi akan datang dalam memperbaharui pajakan tanah masjid-masjid dan keperluan jangka panjang masyarakat Islam kita nanti.

Menghidupkan Perancangan Legasi

15. Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, dalam melakarkan WMS, saya ingin menyemat tiga ciri yang perlu diberi perhatian:

16. Pertama, ia adalah satu bentuk ibadah dalam Islam yang telah lama wujud yang lebih dikenali sebagai sedekah jariah. Sebuah sumbangan yang berkekalan pahalanya walaupun kita telah meninggal dunia. Ia perlu disertai niat dan datang daripada sumber harta yang suci. Penggunaannya juga harus suci dan memanfaatkan masyarakat. Ini berbeza dengan pemberian wakaf selama ini. Bagi WMS, matlamat dan penerima ditetapkan oleh Majlis Tertinggi MUIS secara muafakat dan bukan para penyumbang atau individu yang meninggalkan aset atau harta tersebut.

17. Saya telah meminta para asatizah kita membantu menerangkan dengan lebih lanjut konsep dana WMS kepada masyarakat, supaya kita faham bagaimana ia juga adalah sedekah jariah yang berkekalan pahalanya kerana penggunaan dan penyelenggaraannya.

18. Kedua, saya harap ia menjadi pemangkin perancangan kewangan kita dan keluarga kita. Ramai di antara kita memiliki flat HDB dan dana CPF. Ada juga arif memanfaatkan berbagai instrumen kewangan seperti saham dan perniagaan.

19. Pemilikan aset dan harta masyarakat kita juga semakin tinggi. Berdasarkan pungutan zakat, aset cair masyarakat Melayu/Islam kita dianggarkan sekurang-kurangnya $2 bilion. Jika kita mengambil kira aset hartanah, ia pasti lebih besar. Alhamdulillah!

20. Saya harap kita mula merancang supaya harta yang kita kumpul cukup untuk keperluan kita, keluarga dan juga untuk masa persaraan nanti. Atas sebab itulah kita juga melibatkan penasihat kewangan dalam mempromosikan WMS.

21. Ketiga, dengan adanya harta yang bermakna, kita harus selalu bersedia dengan wasiat bertulis. Malah wasiat bertulis adalah amalan para sahabat Nabi yang jelas tidak hanya bergantung kepada pembahagian harta melalui Faraid.

22. Selain wasiat, kita ada banyak kaedah pemberian harta pusaka serupa yang boleh dimanfaatkan untuk sesiapa sahaja setelah kita tiada kelak, seperti penamaan atau nomination untuk aset CPF kita, atau bayaran keluar insurans. Kesemua alat ini sejajar dengan prinsip Syariah, dan Fatwa dari Pejabat Mufti yang menetapkan penamaan sebagai ‘Hibah’ atau hadiah.

23. Selain anggota keluarga, saya harap kita dapat memperuntukan sebahagian aset kita kepada WMS melalui wasiat dan penamaan agar kita mendapat pahala berkekalan hingga ke akhirat.

24. MUIS sedang bekerja rapat dengan Kumpulan Kerja Perancangan Legasi Islam, atau ILPW, pimpinan Encik Zhulkarnain Rahim untuk mengemaskini ketiga-tiga hal yang saya sebutkan tadi. Mereka bertujuan supaya semua lapisan masyarakat berpeluang untuk mendapat pahala sedekah jariah melalui WMS, seperti yang dibuka melalui MBMS.

25. Para hadirian yang budiman, WMS adalah komitmen kita untuk memperkukuh institusi wakaf bagi anak cucu kita dan generasi seterusnya di masa hadapan.

26. Ayuh kita berganding bahu dan menjayakan usaha ini demi memperkukuh visi Masyarakat Gemilang kita, seperti rangkap pantun berikut:

Menjirus air di atas raga,

Air menitis ke dalam balang.

Ayuh sama gembleng tenaga,

Demi perkukuh Masyarakat Gemilang.

27. Sekian, terima kasih.

English Translation

WMS as the Second Engine of the Singapore Malay Community

10. Ladies & gentlemen, almost 50 years ago, the leaders of our community established the Mosque Building Fund (MBF) that allows us (the community) to build new mosques. It is a breakthrough as our community will not be burdened to fund religious needs such as mosque building through small contributions. This initiative has been wholeheartedly supported by our community.

11. MBF has successfully led to the construction of 26 mosques. Clearly, MBF which is now known as MBMF (Mosque Building Mendaki Fund), has fulfilled its objectives that we are now sitting in Muhajirin Mosque which is the first mosque to be built using MBMF.

12. Now, we must be aware that the land leases for these mosques will expire consecutively over the next 30 to 50 years. Therefore, we need to make plans early for the renewal of our mosques.

13. Hence, the establishment of the Wakaf Masyarakat Singapura, or WMS, is another breakthrough as an innovative solution to provide a more sustainable support fund. Amendments to AMLA have been approved by Parliament for this purpose.

14. My hope is that WMS can harness the increasing generosity of our community, in addition to contributions to MBMF. MBMF and WMS are different. MBMF is spent on mosques immediately to purchase land and build mosques. WMS, on the other hand, is a fund from bequeathed assets in general. The principal fund is preserved and not used. Only the returns from the WMS fund will be used to cover the costs of land lease renewals for the mosques we have built. This will ease the burden on future generations in renewing the land leases for the mosques and meeting the long-term needs of our Muslim community.

Enlivening Legacy Planning

15. Ladies and gentlemen, in establishing WMS, I want to emphasise three features that require attention:

16. First, it is a form of worship in Islam that has long existed, better known as sadaqah jaariyah (ongoing charity). It is a contribution with continuous rewards even after we have passed away. It must be accompanied by intention and come from pure sources of wealth. Its usage must also be pure and benefit the community. WMS is different from the wakaf contributions we have known. For WMS, the objectives and recipients are determined by the MUIS Supreme Council by consensus and not by the contributors or individuals who bequeath the assets.

17. I have asked our religious teachers (asatizah) to assist with further explaining the fund concept of WMS to the community, so that we understand how it is also a form of sadaqah jaariyah (ongoing charity) because of its usage and maintenance.

18. Second, I hope it becomes a catalyst for our financial and family planning. Many of us own HDB flats and CPF funds. Some are knowledgeable in utilising various financial instruments, including stocks and businesses.

19. The ownership of assets and wealth in our community is also increasing. Based on zakat collections, the value of liquid assets of our Malay/Muslim community is estimated to be at least $2 billion. If we take into account real estate assets, it is certainly larger. Alhamdulillah!

20. I hope we start planning so that the wealth we accumulate is sufficient for our needs, our family's, and also for our retirement in the future. That is why we also involve financial advisors in promoting WMS.

21. Third, with significant wealth, we must always be prepared with a written Wasiat (Islamic will). In fact, written wasiat are the practice of the Prophet's companions, who clearly do not only rely on Faraid to distribute their assets.

22. Besides wasiat, we have many similar planned giving methods that can be utilised for anyone after we pass on, such as nominations for our CPF assets, or insurance payouts. All of these methods are in line with Shariah principles, and Fatwa from the Office of the Mufti who has deemed nominations as a form 'Hibah' or a gift.

23. Besides family members, I sincerely hope that we can set allocate a portion of our assets to WMS through wasiat and nominations, so that we can gain perpetual rewards until the hereafter.

24. MUIS is working closely with the Islamic Legacy Planning Workgroup, or ILPW, led by Mr. Zhulkarnain Rahim to communicate the three aspects I mentioned earlier. They aim to ensure that all segments of the community have the opportunity to gain the rewards of sadaqah jaariyah via WMS, similar to MBMF.

25. Distinguished guests, WMS is our commitment to strengthen the wakaf institution for our children and future generations in the future.

26. Let us join hands and make this effort a success in order to strengthen our vision of a Community of Success.

27. Thank you.