Singapore's Next Chapter in Building a Malay/Muslim Community of Success

A new set of initiatives has transformed how the community collaborates to uplift and drive success. With a renewed spirit, the future holds great promise for all.

- Masagos Zulkifli

In 2018, as Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, I officiated the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) annual zakat distribution to lower-income families for the first time.

Back then, I asked whether the families were known to the Malay/Muslim community's self-help group Mendaki and whether the children were enrolled in its programmes. As it turned out, they were not.

Mendaki has many good programmes which have uplifted the educational achievements of the community over the years under the leadership of successive ministers.

I thought then that while these programmes were effective, they had not been scaled widely enough to reach every family in need.

A similar observation arose with the People's Association Malay Activity Executive Committees Council (PA Mesra).

The group – meant to bring the Malay community together – was sizeable, but its membership and leadership had stagnated over the years, lacking the renewal needed to stay relevant and dynamic.

The community had achieved considerable success, but was confronted by new challenges.

As I took on the role of Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, I contemplated: How could the community build on its past successes? What would its next bound be?

These questions sparked the genesis of M³ (M-cube).

It was an initiative to bring the three key Malay/Muslim institutions – Muis, Mendaki and PA Mesra – under a single umbrella for stronger collaboration and to better support the community's needs.

Before the establishment of M³, the three institutions engaged the community effectively but operated independently.

Individuals seeking their services had to approach each agency separately, as there was no structured framework for inter-agency coordination.

The idea was simple: Collaborate to achieve more. As the name M³ suggests, the aim wasn't just to add value – it was to multiply it and create a bigger, lasting impact.