A Panel Discussion by:
Ms Nurul Fadiah Johari
Ms Siti Hazirah Mohamed

Moderator:
A/P Prof Noor Aisha Abd Rahman

Time: 4:00pm to 5:30pm (Registration starts at 3.45pm)

Venue: FASS Dean's Office Seminar Room B, AS7-01-16/17/18, FASS
Address: 10 Kent Ridge Cresecent, Singapore 119260

Abstract:

Public discourse on the Singapore Malay community is not homogeneous, and is constantly contested by various actors. Nonetheless, certain dominant views pertaining to the problems faced by the Malay community still remain. These views have shaped the way these problems are const ructed and understood. Socio-economic problems, in which the Malay community are statistically over-represented, are still discussed as 'Malay' problems with Malay culture, values and religious beliefs as factors accounting for these problems.

These narratives are critically reviewed in a recently published book - Budi Kritik, with a compilation of 28 essays on contemporary Malay and Muslim society in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. This seminar will discuss how the narratives about the Malay­Muslim community affect the way social services engage with the community and reflect on how alternative ways of understanding the Malay-Mus lim community can contribute better social policies and services in Singapore.

Presenters' profile:

Ms Nurul Fadiah Johari| Research Associate, Social Service Research Centre, National University of Singapre
Nurul Fadiah Johari is a Research Associate at the Social Service Research Centre. She obtained her Master of Arts degree in Malay Studies from the National University of Singapore. Her research interests include the interplay of power and ideology in the construction of dominant narratives on socio-economic issues, as well as the intersection of socio-economic class, ethnicity and gender in the shaping of policies and their impact on marginalised communities.

Ms Siti Hazirah Mohamed Research Associate, Lien Centre forPalliative Care
Siti Hazirah Mohamad holds a Bachelor and Master of Arts from the Department of Malay Studies at the National University of Singapore. At the department, her research revolved around the intersection between ethnicity, delinquency and marginality, together with the role of the media in the framing of these issues. Additionally, her Honours Thesis which includes interviews with Malay youth workers was co-awarded the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) Book Prize for being the best Academic Exercise on any aspect that is of relevance to the Malay/Muslim community in Singapore. She is currently a Research Associate within the field of public health in Singapore, focusing on issues surrounding access to and the improvement of quality of life for those with life-limiting illnesses. Her writings and translations have been featured in Budi Kritik (2019), s/pores, New Naratif and various Malay language print and online media.

Moderator's profile:

A/P Irene Y.H. Ng| Director, Social Service Research Centre, FASS, National University of Singapore
Irene Y.H. Ng is an Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of the Social Service Research Centre in the National University of Singapore. Her research areas include poverty and inequality, intergenerational mobility, and social welfare policy.

For enquiries, please contact Ms Jess Tan