THE Government has released a report showing the progress of the Malay community in Singapore since 1980.

It showed that over a 25-year period, more Malays were in school and got better educated. They were also holding higher-skilled, better-paying jobs.

In 2005, 70 per cent of working Malays had secondary or higher qualifications, compared to just 19 per cent in 1980.

But at the same time, social problems remain, said the report, which was released to coincide with Malay-Muslim self-help group Mendaki?s 25th anniversary celebrations on Sunday.

Divorce rates have risen, and the number of early marriages and births to teenage mums remains high, the report noted.

In 2005, 16 Malay women out of every 1,000 married resident women here divorced. By comparison, only seven Malay women out of every 1,000 married women did so in 1980.

The proportion of births registered by single Malay parents had also risen - from 5.9 for every 10,000 resident women in 1990 to 9.3 in 2005.

Community leaders, commenting on the report, said Malay Singaporeans have made significant progress in areas such as education over the past 25 years, but added that the gap with other communities must be narrowed.

A more holistic approach was also needed when dealing with some of the social issues faced by the community.

The report, released by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, came a day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke of the dramatic transformation of the Malay-Muslim community in Singapore at Mendaki's 25th anniversary dinner and awards ceremony on Sunday.

Read the full report in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.