The Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League

The Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League (SKML) has a special place in the history of Tamils in Singapore as it was the founder of the renowned Umar Pulavar Tamil School. It is also one of the earliest Tamil Muslim groups, which started in the 1880s as a self-help group to serve its own community in Singapore. The founding members of SKML originated from Kadayanallur in India, hence the eponymous name of the organisation. It was registered in 1941 by Imam Hafiz S.A. Mohamed, with A N Maideen as its first General Secretary,with the aim of serving the community in religious education, welfare matters, and language and cultural affairs. The association has played a significant role in the preservation and promotion of the Tamil language, most notably through the establishment of the Umar Pulavar Tamil School in 1946, which later became Southeast Asia's first Tamil secondary school in 1960. The school played a key role in the development of high-quality Tamil education in Singapore. Many of its alumni have excelled in various fields, including education, media, communication, theatre, journalism, and the literary arts. In recognition of the community’s contributions to Tamil education, a street in Singapore's central business district was named Kadayanallur Street in 1952.

In addition to education, SKML is actively involved in community service and outreach programmes, offering a range of services. These include marriage preparatory courses, funerary services and mediation services. Another service provided by the association is the financial co-operative. SKML is the only Indian Muslim organisation which has its own financial services arm, established in 1948. It offers innovative saving schemes and small loans as well as basic banking services. 

Beyond its own community, SKML's senior members have made significant contributions in various policy, administrative and consultative Muslim bodies. These include the MUIS, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, and Mendaki, the Malay-Muslim self-help group. It is also an active supporter of SINDA, the Indian self-help group. Through interfaith dialogues and cooperative initiatives, it promotes interreligious understanding and harmony. SKML was instrumental in the publication of several books, including Singapore Tamil Muslims (Tamil edition, 2015 and English edition, 2021), which is a brief history of the community, organisations, and personalities of the Tamil Muslim diaspora in Singapore. in 2015, it also helped produce a documentary titled Barakath on Indian Muslims in Singapore. The vision of fostering a unified and vibrant Muslim community that actively contributes to Singapore's progress has been the guiding force behind SKML’s eight decades of continuous service. With a current membership of 1500, SKML includes all Indian Muslims regardless of their place of origin.

For more Information
Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League. Accessed 1 August 2025. http://www.skml.sg/
Mashuthoo Abdul Rahiman and Raja Mohamad, “Singapore Tamil Muslims,” Singapore : Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League, [2022]. (Call no. 305.894811 MAS)

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.