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Chan Heng Chee Is Wrong – CMIO Categorisation Is Only PAP’s Tool To Subjugate And Discriminate Against The Minorities

Rilek1Corner,

As a Malay, I am insulted by the comments of the Ambassador-at-large Prof. Chan Heng Chee in http://rilek1corner.com/2015/10/05/singapore-ambassador-at-large-scrapping-cmio…. She want to defend the outdated CMIO categorisation that is her problem but what right does she have to say that scrapping it would cause so-called “unease” among minorities. She is Chinese. Not minority. Why she speaking like she macam faham?

Worse still, she say “The majority community doesn’t feel uncomfortable. It’s (with) the minority community (where) you have to keep emphasising it’s equal language, religion, culture (and) race”. She is trying to say what? Minority races are petty? Minority races always comparing themselves with the majority? That minority races always imagining inequalities and discrimination? Then the majority race very good not racist at all?

I want to say she is very wrong. She is from majority and she is elite. She doesn’t represent us. She ambassador she got talk to people on the ground in Singapore? Who make her expert on minority issue? She ambassador so what? Don’t mean everything she say is correct.

I tell you, don’t be blinded by what she say. This is only wayang for them. Like she say, the CMIO categorisation is a “signal” to the minority that “every race has the same standing” and that “their place in society has not been threatened”.

A signal. She knows reality is not like that. A signal because the categories are the PAP’s idea of what makes up the different communities, not what the communities really are. The categorisation is a construct that makes people fall within neat categories, that, most of the time, don’t fit them well. What is a Malay? Who is Malay? The rich cultural heritage of people that come together from different parts of the nusantara are lost because of this categorisation. Bawean, Bugis, Java, Johor, Aceh – so convenient all become Malay.

This easy categorisation benefits the PAP government, not us the people. Who knows in the future Filipinos also come under the categorisation because they can easily say that Filipinos and Malays share almost the same language and physical appearance. Even now Singaporean Chinese also cannot tell the difference until they hear the accent when we talk.

It is not ony a problem culturally. There are many legal effect on people too.

Just because you are categorised as Malay, you have lower chance of owning a HDB flat in a neighbourhood you desire. HDB ethnic quota also a problem when you want to sell your house. You go serve NS and chances are that you will be posted to Civil Defence instead of Commando. Why in Civil Defence no ethnic quota? Why the PAP government can be fine with the over-representation of Malays in CD?

Maybe you have not realise before but you should know now that the CMIO categorisation is a very convenient tool to discriminate against our community. To keep us economically backward, so that the majority elites can prosper.

The ambassador talk so much about the supra-ethnic identity but if the PAP government is really serious about forging a national identity after SG50, they should do away with the race categorisation. We will not lose our ethnic identities. Actually the opposite effect is we will explore our ethnic identities and be more in touch with it. There will be a more equal playing field. Our race will not be a factor when we decide to buy a house or when called up to serve NS. Only then will a true Singaporean identity emerge.

Danial

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October 6, 2015
11 Year Old American Boy Shoots Dead 8 Year Old

An 11-year-old boy in the US state of Tennessee has been held on suspicion of shooting dead an eight-year-old neighbour in a row over a puppy.

The boy has been charged with first-degree murder as a juvenile.

According to police, he shot the girl on Saturday evening with his father’s shotgun after she refused to let him see her puppy.

The girl has been identified as McKayla Dyer. Her mother Latasha said that the two children went to the same school.

“He was making fun of her, calling her names, just being mean to her. He quit for a while and then all of a sudden yesterday he shot her,” Ms Dyer told WATE-TV.

“I want her back in my arms,” she said.

Neighbour Chastity Arwood told WBIR News that she heard the shot ring out and saw McKayla lying on the grass.

“Trying to comfort her mama and her aunt and her grandma and her grandpa and her sister and her brother was the hardest thing I ever had to do,” Ms Arwood said.

The boy is scheduled to appear in court again on 28 October.

The Gun Violence Archive, a not-for-profit organisation that compiles data on gun violence in the US, says 559 children aged 11 or under have been killed or injured in the United States in gun violence so far this year.

Source: www.bbc.com

October 6, 2015
Singaporean Helps Fight Indonesian Fires With Solutions

Many Singaporeans have taken to donning masks or staying indoors as the Pollutant Standards Index climbs to unhealthy levels.

But not Mr Judah Jay, 60.

Instead, he headed straight for the forest fires in Jambi, a province in Sumatra, to help firefighters put out the blaze that has been causing the haze.

The Singaporean owner of a company that manufacturers eco-friendly fire extinguishers also donated about 1,000 litres of a special fire-fighting solution to the Indonesian firefighters.

When asked why he chose to help Indonesia fight the fires for free, Mr Jay said he felt a sense of responsibility.

“It’s like I am a doctor and I see someone getting hit by a car. I won’t ask if he can pay me, I would help him immediately.

“In the same way, I have all this knowledge and resources, and it is my duty to help people who need it.”

The managing director of Fire Terminator International (FTI) and his team arrived in Indonesia three months ago to market a product called JN1010, a fire-fighting solution that not only extinguishes blazes, but also rapidly cools surfaces, removes oxygen, and stops combustible gases from igniting so that the fire does not start again.

Plans to meet potential clients were cut short two months in, after Mr Jay realised the severity of the haze and forest fires.  He then shifted his focus to helping the Indonesians deal with the fires, instead.

He said: “I knew that this was beyond earning money. People there needed help, and I had the means to help them.”

For four weeks, he donned fire-fighting gear and battled the fires shoulder-to-shoulder with others in Jambi, working day and night to extinguish the blaze.

Recounting his time there, Mr Jay said: “The heat from the fires was intense. Visibility was so bad that I could not see who was beside me. It was terrible.”

Although he shipped 1,000 litres of JN1010 for the fire fighting efforts, it took less than a month to use it up.

“Even though the firefighters were so busy and tired, they gave their all and kept on fighting, so I gave them what I could too,” Mr Jay said.

MEDIA ATTENTION

His efforts caught the attention of Indonesian media, with TV network TVRI interviewing Mr Jay and showing him putting out fires during a news clip.

He returned to Singapore about a week ago to attend the Fire and Disaster Asia 2015 exhibition, which was held at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre.

When The New Paper spoke to Mr Jay at the exhibition last Thursday, he said that he was raring to return to Indonesia to help again.

“We only brought 10 per cent of our  supply that time. When I go back in three or four days, I am prepared to bring the remaining 9,000 litres to help fight the fires,” he said.

Mr Jay added that he would be heading to Kalimantan, in Borneo, this time, and would stay there for as long as he could.

His wife, Mrs Davina Jay, who is the director for FTI, will stay in Singapore to look after the business while her husband is in Indonesia.

She said: “I have confidence that he will exercise due caution there.

“He has been blessed with wisdom and know-how to help minimise human suffering. It must be shared for a good cause”.

10 firms declare no links to those causing fires in Indonesia

Ten companies which manufacture paper products sold in Singapore have pledged that they do not use raw materials from the five Indonesian firms believed to be responsible for the ongoing forest fires.

A joint press release by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) yesterday said that all 10 firms, which are certified under the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme (SGLS), have signed declarations forms.

SEC and Case also revealed that they were awaiting declaration forms from seven other third-party manufacturers.

The list of all the companies which have signed will be updated regularly on both agencies’ websites.

SEC is also encouraging other paper companies which have not participated in the SGLS to contact it for certification.

However, certified firms which are found purchasing wood, paper or pulp products from companies suspected to be involved in the haze pollution are bound by the declaration to inform SEC. They will then be removed from the list.

STRONG SIGNAL

Meanwhile, Case has issued a reminder urging consumers not to support companies using such products unless they have pledged to be socially responsible.

“This will send a strong signal to the errant companies that consumers’ goodwill should not be taken for granted and consumers will not support companies which are environmentally irresponsible and/or have contributed to the environmental disaster year after year,” it added.

Last month, Singapore started legal action against five companies which it believes are among the culprits behind Indonesia’s pollution-causing fires. Four are Indonesian companies which have been told to take measures to extinguish fires on their land, not to start new ones and submit action plans on how they will prevent future fires.

The fifth one is Singapore-listed firm Asia Pulp and Paper. It has been served a legal notice to supply information on its subsidiaries in Singapore and Indonesia, as well as measures taken by its suppliers in Indonesia to put out fires on their concessions. – The Straits Times.

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 6, 2015
Speed Dating Goes Halal In Malaysia

Dressed in a headscarf and full-length robe, 24 year-old Nurnadille Edlena takes notes intently as the man before her introduces himself.

The two are at Halal Speed Dating, a new matchmaking event in Kuala Lumpur that is helping Malaysian Muslims find partners in a largely conservative society where courtship is frowned upon and marriages are often arranged.

The dating service is halal, meaning permissible under Islamic law, as it is practiced with an Islamic twist: women speed daters must be chaperoned by a wali, or guardian until she gets married and who grants her the permission to do so.

“I brought my parents as they are the best people who can guide me to find someone,” said Nurnadille.

“I’m focusing on finding someone who can willingly accept me for who I am.”

Malaysia is a largely moderate Muslim country, where Islam is the official religion and ethnic Malay Muslims make up two thirds of the 30 million people.

Many young Malaysians meet as young people do in many places, including through the dating app Tinder and on Facebook, but dating is complicated for young Muslims in Malaysia, where public displays of affection and intimacy before marriage is strictly disapproved of.

Halal Speed Dating’s founders say most of their clients hope to find a spouse. A client can shortlist up to three possible partners but can only negotiate marriage with one at a time, in accordance with Islamic rules.

“Halal Speed Dating is the anti-Tinder,” co-founders Zuhri Yuhyi, 34, and Norhayati Ismail, 41, said in a release, referring to the U.S.-based dating app that has gained a reputation for free and easy match-making.

“Instead of casual hookups, Halal Speed Dating is about dignified and chaperoned meet-ups with the intention of marriage. In fact, we do not condone the modern dating that is commonly practiced.”

They say their system can prevent what they see as the social ills of premarital sex and adultery, which they believe are fostered by apps like Tinder.

Norhayati say it is not just Muslims who are interested in their system and making inquires.

“I can tell people are looking for something new,” she said.

The founders have organized the event twice in Kuala Lumpur. The first time in May when about 80 people joined, and the second time last week with 60 hopefuls.

About 2,300 people have signed up to attend a session, most of them urban professionals between the ages of 25 to 35.

Mohamad Fauzan, 26, who helps to run his family business in Kuala Lumpur, halal speed dating provides another option in his quest to find true love.

“I’ve done online dating and gone on blind dates, but in our religion, going halal is the better thing to do. It’s better to first get the permission of the parents, but I’m open to all options,” he said.

Source: www.reuters.com

October 6, 2015
Malaysian Trade Union Congress Calls For Six-Hour Work Day

he Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has called on the government to implement six-hour work day, citing the health of employees as a reason.

MTUC president Mohd Khalid Atan told daily Harian Metro that the body has always been championing for lesser working hours, from the current 48 hours per week to 40 hours.

He cited Sweden as one of the countries which had reduced its working hours from eight hours to six per day.

He said a majority of workers in the country are working additional hours of up to four hours a day, bringing the total hours of work to 12 hours a day.

“This has brought various health issues like heart disease, irregular blood circulation and others,” he told the daily.

“Give them a chance to enjoy a wholesome life which emphasizes on health. This will ensure their work productivity is not affected,” he added.

The 40 hour work week for a full-time employee has been trimmed to 30 hours at some Swedish firms,CNN reported while some studies have found that the result is more productivity and better morale.

Source: http://english.astroawani.com

October 5, 2015