By Goh Chin Lian

MUSLIMS in Singapore should not rule out working in the upcoming integrated resorts (IRs), as long as the jobs are not in the gaming sections, said Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim.

This issue has been discussed extensively with the Mufti, the highest Islamic authority in Singapore, and other religious leaders, he added.

'We are very clear. Just exclude ourselves from the gaming part. The rest, you can work. It shouldn't be a problem,' said Dr Yaacob, at a dialogue with Punggol East residents and grassroots volunteers.

He was responding to resident Adilah Mohammad Yussof, 38, who had asked how the Muslim community would be involved in the IRs, which are scheduled to open later this year.

Hers was one of nine questions raised during the one-hour dialogue at CHIJ St Joseph's Convent School. Other issues covered included the performance of Malay students in the PSLE and how long the recession would last.

Dr Yaacob said that while Muslims could work elsewhere if they felt uncomfortable working in the IRs, he advised them against creating unnecessary barriers for themselves.

He said: 'We must not push ourselves into a corner. The integrated resort is huge. There are other facilities there: convention (centre), hotels. The gaming part is only a small portion.'

He noted that many Muslims work in hotels that serve alcohol - as bellboys or administrators.

'Are you saying we shouldn't work there because alcohol is being served? If we do that, it would be very restrictive for Muslim Singaporeans.'

He said he was confident that Muslim Singaporeans would make the right choices about jobs in the IRs, especially during these tough times.

'I'd be very sad if Muslims do not want to work there when things are very bad, because you want to work in a pure halal establishment,' he added.

A grassroots volunteer also questioned the effectiveness of Malay community groups in helping Malay pupils, given the drop in their PSLE mathematics and science grades over the past few years.

Dr Yaacob noted that Malay self-help group Mendaki had seen some improvement among pupils taking part in its programmes, and that it could be a question of reaching out to more people.

He added that while middle-class pupils were doing well, he was concerned about a large group at the bottom who were not.

Turning to the issue uppermost on the minds of residents at the dialogue, Dr Yaacob said it was not possible to predict how long the recession would last, but he assured them that the Government was doing its part to help them.

However, they must also do their part, he said, by upgrading their skills through training or cutting back on wasteful consumption, for instance, when using electricity.

Earlier, Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, spent three hours visiting the Punggol East ward in the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.

With him were the ward's MP, Mr Michael Palmer, as well as five other MPs in the GRC, including Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.

Residents told The Straits Times they had been cutting back on expenses and were bracing themselves for layoffs after Chinese New Year.

Ms Adilah, a housewife, said she had handed her resume to a job centre in her search for part-time work. She is worried that if her husband loses his job as an engineer, he will have trouble finding another job at the age of 43.

'If I slowly get into the workforce now, it won't be such a shock when I have to work full-time,' said the mother of three children, aged 12, 10 and six.

She said she was also heartened by Dr Yaacob's assurance that Muslims could work in the IRs. 'I could do customer service, handling business people from the Middle East,' she said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on January 12, 2009.