NDR 2025: New Islamic college to be located next to SUSS in Rochor, feature shared facilities
The Singapore College of Islamic Studies, which will take in its first batch in 2028, will operate at an interim campus at Bencoolen Street until the new campus is completed.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong delivering his National Day Rally speech at the Institute of Technical Education College headquarters in Ang Mo Kio on Aug 17, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
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SINGAPORE: The upcoming Singapore College of Islamic Studies (SCIS) will be located next to the new Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) campus in Rochor, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Sunday (Aug 17).
Students at the college will be able to take SUSS courses as part of their studies, and both institutions will also share facilities, he said in his Malay National Day Rally speech at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College headquarters in Ang Mo Kio.
“This way, students from both institutions can better interact with one another, enriching their campus lives,” he added.
Mr Wong said the SCIS “will have its own campus” at the former site and vicinity of Rochor Centre, next to the site of the SUSS campus slated to be ready by mid-2030s.
“SCIS and SUSS will be housed in their own buildings, which will reflect their own unique identity and purpose,” said Mr Wong.
He did not say when the new campus is slated to be completed.
ABOUT THE COLLEGE
Mr Wong said in his rally speech last year that the SCIS will offer a full-time undergraduate degree programme allowing students to major in either Islamic Studies or Social Sciences.
In November last year, Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir said the new Islamic college will take in its first cohort of 60 students in 2028.
The school will operate at an interim campus at 51 Bencoolen Street until the Rochor campus is completed, said the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) in a separate factsheet on Sunday.
Apart from SUSS, SCIS will work with other global institutions to develop and deliver a four-year full-time undergraduate degree programme, including Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta, the University of Jordan and Al-Qarawiyyin University in Morocco.
On top of the two majors available for the undergraduate degree programme, SCIS will also offer a postgraduate certificate in Islam in Contemporary Societies for returning graduates of overseas Islamic universities who want to become Islamic religious teachers, Muis said in the factsheet.
It will also set up a research programme on the Study of Muslim Communities of Success that caters to local religious leaders, asatizah and scholars with an interest in studying Muslim communities.
MALAY HERITAGE CENTRE
Mr Wong on Sunday also revealed that the Malay Heritage Centre, which had been temporarily closed since October 2022, will reopen next year.
The centre had been closed for restoration and redevelopment works.
The centre, in a joint statement with the National Heritage Board, said it is currently in the final stages of works and will reopen its doors on Apr 25, 2026.
Mr Wong said the revamped centre will feature “galleries and programmes to showcase the richness and vibrancy of our Singaporean Malay culture”.
The centre is located within the grounds of Istana Kampong Gelam, which was originally built in the 1800s. Its last major redevelopment took place in 2011.
When it is reopened, the centre’s permanent galleries will showcase a “refreshed narrative” with updated content and new artefacts, incorporating new research findings, stories and objects from the community, the factsheet read.
“The refresh will also enhance the representation of Malay ethnic sub-groups through various ways such as material culture and writing systems, encouraging visitors to see Malay heritage as a rich multifaceted tapestry,” said the centre and NHB in the factsheet.
Visitors can also expect to see newly commissioned works by local emerging and established Malay artists to complement this refreshed narrative.
