Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health, launched this year’s Malay Muslim Fathering Month organised by Bapa Sepanjang Hayat (BSH) via a video message on 6 September 2020.

“The role of the father is very important in the lives of children, Surveys shown that a child who is guided in a loving manner or has a father a as good role model would be an individual with stable emotions and a better balanced view.”

He noted that amongst Singapore’s Malay families, the responsibility of raising and educating children is often borne by the mother and some who think that the responsibility of the father is to earn a living for his family.

He emphasised that guidance and love from fathers cannot be ignored, especially in today’s society where children are exposed to many influences that may affect their development. I am happy to hear that CFF has partnered with the Institute of Policy Studies to study the roles, issues and challenges faced by the fathers of the MM community.

Dad Yusoff Ishak and sons Riduan Yusoff and Faiz Yusoff (pictured) won Jamming With Dad 4 on 6 September. They walked away with a 55-inch Prism TV generously sponsored by True Health Solutions Pte Ltd. The session on which ran live on Facebook garnered 37,000 views.

BSH also conducted a forum which discussed how an involved father will produce a strong, successful and happy family and how a fatherlessness can ruin family, community and society. The forum on 18 September garnered over 9,000 views.

To celebrate fathers this September, AMP Marriage Hub, in collaboration with BSH had their first Facebook live session titled ‘Fathering Matters’ where Mr Jamsari Ahmad, an active advocate of BSH, shared some tips on how to be an inspirational and involved father on 19 September.