THE MUSLIM ADVISORY BOARD OF SINGAPORE, 1947-1968

Abstract

The Muslim Advisory Board of Singapore or the Lembaga Penasehat Islam Singapura was the forerunner of the present-day Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS).1 The Board was preceded by the pre-War Mohammedan Advisory Board which was established in 1915 and temporarily dissolved during the Japanese Occupation. This pre-War Mohammedan Advisory Board was revived in 1947 under a new name: The Muslim Advisory Board.2 The MAB was thus a bridge between the generally informal and semi-official pre-War Mohammedan Advisory Board and the highly centralised and statutory MUIS of the 1960s. The MAB also served two different masters: The Colonial Government and the independent government of the People's Action Party. What is particularly interesting about the MAB is that it was a relatively insignificant body but gain much 'attention' due to the nationalistic (and racialistic) maelstrom of the postwar period. Led by an ambitious non-Malay Muslim, the MAB then aspired to be more than an advisory board; the term 'advisory' itself was given arbitrary interpretations by the Board and the Government. The MAB had been villified, praised and above all, ignored. It had evoked variegated responses from many quarters. It was called a moribund body, a name-bearer only of a Muslim Advisory Board, and at times, a useful channel for the government to disseminate policies and feel the pulse of the Malay-Muslim community in Singapore. Such different responses revealed the paradoxical nature of the Board during its tenure. The Board did not act as an advisory body. Instead, it was more participatory, and on certain issues, the Board was even initiatory. However during trying episodes, like the 1950 and 1964 Riots, the Board was puzzlingly quiet. "Why did the Board act in such a contradictory manner?" It is the thesis of this academic exercise that the Board acted in such a manner because of the influence of forces within and without the Board, rather than by the primary reason for its establishment: As an advisory link between the Government of the day and the Muslim community. The interplay of these forces impinged on the Board until it exceeded its confines. This academic exercise will examine the influence of these external and internal forces on the Board's establishment, membership, and finally, its role and activities in the Muslim community, especially during the two Riots. The period 1947-1968 has been so delineated because it marked the tenure of the Board. Chapter 1 presents the historical background that preceded the MAB. The establishment of the Mohammedan Advisory Board marked the beginning of the 'bureaucratization' of Islam in Singapore, (albeit informally), a previously ignored area. The establishment of the MAB in 1947 will be the main concern of Chapter 2. The efforts at establishing the Board offer an interesting insight into the nature and weltanschauung of the Malay-Muslim community. It is in this chapter too that the prime mover of the Board, Syed Ibrahim bin Omar Alsagoff, is introduced. The establishment of the MAB underlined the perception gap of what the Muslim Advisory Board was supposed to be or not to be between the British and Syed Ibrahim. The vicissitude of the postwar era gave rise to forces (mostly, in the form of Malay organisations and Malay vernacular press) that exerted great influence on the composition of the Board's membership which is the topic of Chapter 3. Yet the workings of these forces were at times responses to the influence of the forces emanating within the Board itself. Chapter 4 will focus on the constant interplay of these external and internal forces on the Board's activities, role, and stand throughout its tenure, especially during the two communal riots. The consequence of the Board's stand during the Nadra Riots in 1950 was far-reaching. The lack of easily available sources on the MAB has been the main bete noire of this academic exercise. There has been no in-depth study of the MAB to date. However this academic exercise does not in any way claim to be definitive or exhaustive study of the MAB. Due to the writer's shortcomings and the dearth of materials about the MAB, this academic exercise focuses only on certain facets of this enigmatic Board. A few surviving members of the MAB had consented to be interviewed while the remainder pleaded failed memories. Nonetheless, those few interviewed provided a basic picture of the Board. This picture was made clearer by the Ministry of Community Development (MCD) files on the MAB. However these files only provide materials until the early 1950s. These files focus mainly on the membership, minutes of meeting and the establishment of the Board, which explain the obvious fault lines that are taken by this academic exercise. Beyond the fifties, this academic exercise depends on local newspapers, interviews, journals, parliamentary proceedings and the odd official documents. But the information gathered through these sources was not as 'rich' as those found in the MCD files. The inactivity of the Board during the 1960s contributed further to this dearth of materials. In accessing the MCD files, this academic exercise has to observe certain conditions that have been laid by the MCD. Mainly, the information derived from the MCD files is to be shown only in the relevant footnotes and appendices of the original copy of the academic exercise meant for the examiners. The other copies of the academic exercise will have these footnotes and appendices marked with an asterisk (*) to show that this information has been duly expunged. 1. Muslim Religious Council of Singapore 2. Hereafter, the Muslim Advisory Board will be alternatively referred to as the MAB or the Board, where appropriate, in this academic exercise.