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Fraternal Greetings from Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, Chief Minister of Malacca on 8 June 2009

Jamiyah Singapore had the privilege of hosting Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, Chief Minister of Malacca and President of Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam, when he paid a friendly visit to Jamiyah Singapore on 8 June 2009.

In his welcome speech, Vice-President (1), Haji Abdul Karim Maidin expressed Jamiyah’s appreciation to Datuk Seri and his gracious wife, Datin Seri Asmah Abdul Rahman, for their kind support of the Darul Ma’wa Children’s home. Both Datuk Seri and Datin Seri rightly recognize the special position of orphans in Islam with their generous moral and financial support.

Mr Hasbi Abu Bakar, Chairman, Jamiyah Education Department, then spoke on the possibility of furthering the collaboration initiated by the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in August 2008, with the Kolej Yayasan Melaka (KYM), Kolej Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam (KDMI) and Kolej Teknologi Islam Antarabangsa (KTIAM), to cooperate in the areas of Education and related programmes.

Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam thanked Haji Abdul Karim Maidin, Mr Hasbi Abu Bakar, Mr Md Noor Md Said and other Jamiyah officials for their warm reception. He outlined the aim of their visit, which was to initiate the collaboration and exchange of ideas and expertise in the area of Early Childhood Education, for which Jamiyah has had years of practical experience. He also highlighted their aim of showcasing the rich cultural heritage that Malays in Malacca possess in the areas of Dance, Theatre, History, Traditional Malay Cuisine, Malay Dress such as the Songket and the thriving ‘Baba and Nyonya Kebaya’ industry. Other areas of interest that he explored were the ‘Baitul Mal’ and how we disburse the zakat, as well as issues of concern to the Muslim community such as high divorce rates and corresponding efforts to tackle these issues.

Greetings were also exchanged with students from New York University who were on the ‘Touch of Harmony’ Exchange programme with Jamiyah Singapore. The session ended with an exchange of gifts between Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam and Jamiyah Singapore as well as a token from New York University’s exchange programme participants to Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam