Bersamamu’s 5th Anniversary Event

Speech by Minister Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development, Second Minister for Health, and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs at Bersamamu’s 5th Anniversary Event on 30 August 2024

Assalamualaikum wr wb

Our respected Kadi/ Naib Kadi,

Asatizah,

Members of the Bersamamu family,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction: Welcome

1. Good afternoon. I am glad to be with all of you as we celebrate 5 years of Bersamamu. Congratulations!
2. A week ago, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong spoke of “A Singapore Where We Realise our Dreams”. He identified families as playing a key role in supporting each and every one of us to realise our aspirations and dreams. In his first National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Wong focused on a few topics, and families was one of them.
3. Indeed, strong marriages and families are the foundation of a strong nation, and they will be key in the way forward. In Singapore, we have continually worked to build strong families over the decades, an effort undertaken by other sectors of society.
4. Bersamamu is one such effort. Started as a ground-up initiative in 2019 by Kadi/ Naib Kadi, this programme has since rolled out nationwide by ROMM in partnership with key agencies.
5. Under this flagship programme, Kadi/ Naib Kadi reaches out to all Muslim couples who are getting married or who are newly married, and journey with them in this transition. Besides being a source of support for these couples, the Kadi/ Naib Kadi also share useful tips on marriage and parenthood. Where more specialised support is needed, the Kadi/ Naib Kadi refer them to appropriate national agencies and services.
6. 5 years on, the Bersamamu programme has benefited close to 30,000 couples. Well done everyone!

Recognising partners of the Bersamamu programme

7. Today, we are gathered to recognise the contributions of the partners of the Bersamamu programme: partner agencies, mosques, and 9 asatizah and 44 Kadi/ Naib Kadi.
8. This being the year of Celebrating Volunteers, we would especially like to acknowledge the efforts of our Kadi/ Naib Kadi and asatizah who give back to the community. Many of you volunteer with Bersamamu over and above your main job. You do it because you believe in the mission of strengthening families.
9. We also acknowledge that our work today builds upon the pioneers, those before us: Malay and Indian Muslim organisations, mosques, community leaders, and former Kadi/ Naib Kadi.
10. On this 5th anniversary, let us all show our appreciation to all partners past and present who have contributed to this meaningful work to strengthen our community.
11. Allow me to highlight two pioneers Kadi – Ustaz Pasuni Maulan and Ustaz Sallim Jasman. Ustaz Pasuni is the catalyst for the Bersamamu Programme and it was under his guidance that Bersamamu grew from a fledging initiative to a nation-wide programme. A well-respected community leader and a Kadi in Singapore for the last 50 years, at 79 years old, Ustaz Pasuni is still going strong.
12. Likewise, Ustaz Sallim Jasman continues to serve the community over many years even after stepping down from his role as former Senior President of the Syariah Court. Today, he remains a highly sought-after Kadi, solemnising more than 10 marriages in a month. One would not think that he is reaching 80 years soon, in 8 days! Between both Ustaz Pasuni and Ustaz Sallim, they have a combined 100 years of service to the Muslim community. Thank you to the both of them.
13. There’s an unspoken tradition for couples to seek out their parents’ Kadi/ Naib Kadi when they are getting married. Hence, we have second and even third generations within the same family who approach Ustaz Pasuni and Ustaz Sallim for their families’ marriage solemnisations.
14. Ustaz Pasuni and Ustaz Sallim, for your unwavering commitment and service to the Muslim community, thank you. Let us all express again our appreciation to Ustaz Pasuni and Ustaz Sallim.

A spirit of continuous learning and improvement

15. Bersamamu has evolved from strength to strength since its inception because the spirit of continual improvement and learning.
16. This year, we introduced Bersamamu @ the Heartlands, ROMM-led initiative, in collaboration with Muis, Mendaki and MSF in response to requests by couples to have more discussive platforms at accessible locations.
17. Masjid Al Falah, and Al Nur stepped forward to organise forums where the topics of relationships were discussed, with asatizah and marriage counsellors providing marriage guidance. These Bersamamu forums were successful, well-attended and received good viewership online. We look forward to more of such forums and I understand that two more of such forums will take place in September at Masjid Ar Raudhah and Masjid Darul Ghufran.
18. Similarly, when several newly married women indicated that they wished to speak to female asatizah on sensitive issues, I’m glad that PERGAS stepped forward and opened the Asatizah Solace Care channel to ROMM. Through this programme, women are able to approach female asatizah to talk and seek advice. The female asatizah, in turn, act as Bersamamu’s resource persons. This provision has been well received by many in the community as they are comforted knowing that there is this option open to them. Ustazah Dr Siti Nur 'Alaniah Abdul Wahid shares that “the engagement sessions have brought a sense of relief to the female spouses.”
19. Thank you PERGAS, mosques and agency partners for continually working to improve Bersamamu to better support couples. Keep up the good work!
20. Now, moving ahead, we want to support the continual learning of our Bersamamu practitioners. ROMM recently refreshed the Bersamamu training framework to ensure it remains relevant.
21. Under the refreshed framework, aptly titled NIKAH, there are new modules that enable practitioners to be well-informed of recent trends and potential issues that may arise in marriages, and to be more equipped to engage couples. We welcome your feedback even as we continually work to refine the NIKAH framework to better support our Kadi/ Naib Kadi.
22. I encourage our Kadi/ our Naib Kadi, female Asatizah, to continually upgrade your skills. For instance, PM Wong shared again about the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme at NDR this year. I’m glad to know that some of our Kadi/ Naib Kadi have enrolled in SkillsFuture courses to better support their work with couples, tapping on the wide offerings available, from psychology and couple counselling, to digital literacy. Let’s keep up this spirit of lifelong learning.
23. I urge all employers, including our mosques, to support our Kadi/ Naib Kadi and female Asatizah in their pursuit of skills upgrading. Building our people will ultimately translate to strengthening our organisations and this is how we can progress as a community.

Unveiling of the new Bersamamu logo

24. Over the years, Bersamamu has become more widespread, with more couples and families coming to know about it. At the same time, the Kadi and Naib Kadi are becoming tight knit, gathering to exchange their approaches, and learning from one another. We are forging a community of people involved in Bersamamu, and people impacted by this programme.
25. On this 5th Anniversary, I’m pleased to unveil the new logo of Bersamamu, a significant milestone in our journey. The logo was developed by Kadi/ Naib Kadi and female asatizah themselves, and visually reminds us all of the importance of this work to strengthen marriages.

Conclusion

26. Once again, a big thank you to all our Kadi and Naib Kadi, female asatizah, agency partners, and mosques for being part of this journey to build strong marriages and families. On this 5th Anniversary of Bersamamu, let us renew our aspirations and soar to even greater heights.
27. Let me conclude with a poem in Malay:

Cantik sungguh si pulau Sentosa

Tarikan pelawat dari merata

Kita bersatu bekerjasama

Bersama membangun perkukuh keluarga

Makan sarapan roti mentega

Tersedia kopi harum baunya

Kita muafakat sebulat suara

Masyarakat maju negara sejahtera

The gist in English: We are united, working together to build strong families, full of dedication, for a thriving society and country.

Thank you.