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Ustaz Azhar Idrus: Forbidden In Islam To Celebrate Mother’s Day

PETALING JAYA: Now recirculating on social media is a video recorded in 2012 of Terengganu-based Ustaz Azhar Idrus calling on Muslims to disregard Mother’s Day and denouncing it as a Christian festival.

In the 3.47 minute video, Azhar speaks to a crowd, warning them of the celebration’s supposedly Christian roots, saying it was linked to the Mother of the Church, the Virgin Mary.

“The movement began in the early 19th Century, applying to the church and the government to declare this day a public holiday,” says Azhar, who then explains that the movement had asked churches in 1862 to note it in church calendars as a Christian celebration.

“Mother’s Day has been declared a public holiday in all Christian nations; this is why it is forbidden to celebrate Mother’s Day,” says Azhar.

“On that day, people will give a ‘mother cake’ to their mother, and they do this once a year. But Islam teaches us to be generous with mothers throughout the year.”

He pointed out that the Chinese did not celebrate Deepavali, and the Japanese, Awal Muharram.

“They (the Japanese) will not celebrate Awal Muharram because they know it is a Muslim festival. The Mexicans celebrate Christmas and not Maulidur Rasul,” says Azhar.

“The Canadians do not celebrate Thaipusam,” The Star quoted him as preaching in the video.

Mother’s Day was founded in America in the 20th century by Anna Jarvis, the daughter of Civil War peace activist Ann Jarvis, who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and created the Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues.

Following her mother’s death, Anna campaigned to make Mother’s Day an officially recognised holiday in the States. Following her efforts, Mother’s Day was officially recognised as a national holiday in 1914, set on the second Sunday of May.

Rampant commercialisation and marketing soon brought it to the rest of the world.

Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com

May 12, 2015
Amos Yee Exposes Limits On Free Speech In Singapore

A government crackdown on a teen video blogger and independent news and opinion website has focused attention on free speech limits, and perhaps the next election, in this cosmopolitan but famously strict city-state.

Five days after the death in March of Singapore’s founding father, 16-year-old Amos Yee posted his latest American-accented blog to YouTube, titled “Lee Kuan Yew Is Finally Dead!” He shared it with the popular and provocative site The Real Singapore, one of several online alternatives to government-controlled TV broadcasts and newspapers.

After it went viral locally, with over a million views so far, Yee was arrested and charged with transmitting an obscene image and deliberately “wounding the religious or racial feelings of any person.” He refused bail conditions that amounted to a gag order and has been jailed for over two weeks, awaiting a court’s judgment on Tuesday. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to three years in prison. The government’s Media Development Authority shut down TRS, as it is known, earlier this month — though officials say it was for unrelated reasons.

“These are the things that will split the whole society,” said Alvin Tan, who as artistic director of the respected theater company The Necessary Stage has tangled with censors for over three decades. “I think we’re waiting for a tipping point.” He has refused to self-censor but negotiates with government representatives, who have had a lighter touch recently with his plays.

Singapore’s government has long aggressively protected its image and authority with legal action both against domestic and international critics, but Yee’s case stands out: A floppy-haired, wryly humorous teenager targeted by prosecutors for a strongly-worded video, sent to prison and shackled in court.

Last fall the MDA banned film director Tan Pin Pin’s documentary about political exiles “To Singapore, With Love.” Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s minister for culture, community and youth, said the film “was deemed to be a real distortion of what happened in Singapore’s history, but disguised as a documentary.”

“Freedom is not unfettered freedom. There are some limits. And the limits are put out there quite clearly,” he said Wong said the government intervenes only when concerned that speech will upset “social stability.”

Standing next to his underground black box theater, Tan said the strong reaction to TRS and “famous Amos” could be due to the political landscape. “I find things tightening up because it’s just before elections,” he said.

In the eulogies that followed Lee’s death the public was repeatedly reminded of his — and the ruling party’s — achievements, which will remain fresh in most people’s minds if the next general elections are called later this year, as is expected.

But at the same time, with the passing of a stalwart who was the ruling party’s binding force, a political shift feels more possible. As Singaporeans celebrate 50 years of independence in August, they are also finding their own voices in social media, often the site for public debate on politics and social issues.

Meanwhile, the opposition has been on the rise, and could do relatively well in the next elections. It won 10 seats in the 99-seat Parliament in the 2011 elections, up from two previously. Losing even more seats to the opposition would be a huge blow for the People’s Action Party, which has ruled the country since 1959, and is now led by Lee’s oldest son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

“The question of who is to lead the next Singapore is going to be one of the scariest questions to answer,” said Shiao-Yin Kuik, a nominated member of parliament who runs a consultancy and small chain of restaurants aimed at encouraging public dialogue about social issues. Though she dismisses Yee’s blog comments as uninformed, she’s been working to encourage political engagement among young people.

“A kid does not have it in his head that ‘I’m going to be president one day, or prime minister.’ It’s not in the narrative. And it’s not in the narrative of their parents,” she said.

The hard part for young people in modern Singapore is determining how much they can say, whether in politics or art, without repercussions, said 26-year-old visual artist Wong Kel Win. He wrote his university thesis on self-censorship, which is widespread in the arts community and beyond.

“The problem is that we don’t know where to draw the line. Where is the line that we get into trouble?” he asked. That leads to a culture of avoiding big issues. Wong assisted a government-sponsored community center project in which participants — young and old — were asked to create art that represented their hopes for the future of Singapore.

“They draw more trees, they draw WiFi in the MRT (subway) stations. It’s painful. It’s really painful,” he said. “The country will not grow if we continue to be like that.”

Between sips of a Hoegaarden beer in a modern hotel bar, Wong was grappling with his “love-hate relationship” with Singapore. He loves the clean streets, modern conveniences and lack of corruption that have made it a world business hub.

He respects and admires Lee’s accomplishments and considers himself politically neutral. But as for the next election: “I would love to see things get chaotic a bit.”

There’s already been a bit more chaos than usual for tamped-down Singapore in the court proceedings for Yee. A man ran up and slapped him outside court in front of the media. One of Yee’s attorneys, Alfred Dodwell, said he fears for his client’s safety if he is released.

“We’re a mature society now, a very educated society, but at the same time a very sensitive society,” he said.

Dodwell is on the board of directors for The Independent, another online news site launched two years ago. He doubts the government has lost much support from the general public over free speech issues, but also predicts change on the horizon.

“The real test is the ballot box,” he said. “It’s a very important election coming up. Fifty years have come and gone, so we’re looking at the next leg.”

Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

May 12, 2015
Roy Ngerng: Free Amos Yee

Thank you everyone for coming to today’s vigil.

As we gather here today, Amos sits in his cell in remand, within four walls and bright lights.

But Amos has not done anything wrong. He does not deserve this treatment. He does not deserve to be charged.

More so, he does not deserve to sit in jail. He has been inside for 17 days now. And even more so, he should not be shackled in chains and cuffs.

He is still innocent. And he is innocent.

Amos is a child. Where is the humanity when we treat Amos as a criminal when he has not even been sentenced?

Where is the humanity when even many people do not think he has done anything wrong, but he has been unfairly persecuted?

How would the PAP ministers think if it were their own children who are put behind bars and locked up in chains?

But this isn’t even a question. We know they would not let it happen to their own children.

Then why do they allow another parent’s child to suffer such a fate?

Have they thought of Amos’s parents? More importantly, have they thought of Amos?

Have they thought of the child and the state’s responsibility to the child?

Amos is a child. No matter what we think of him or what he has said, it is disproportionate to want this kind of state violence meted on him.

If we do not have the patience, kindness and compassion for a child, how then can we call ourselves a society? How then can a people govern if they lack even this most basic instinct, to love, to understand and to forgive?

Yes, Amos said some things. But he said some things.

Many among the PAP have said worse. An ex-PAP member posted a photo of a bus with Muslim children and posed the question if they are young terrorist trainees. A PAP supporter wanted to cut off Amos’s penis and put it into his mouth. A man even physically attacked Amos and smacked him in his face because he said that Amos has criticised Lee Kuan Yew.

Amos has now suffered this abuse simply because he spoke about Lee Kuan Yew.

But Lee Kuan Yew has said even worse things than Amos about the Malays and Muslims. Yet none of the PAP members and supporters have asked for him to be arrested, charged, jailed or caned as they have wanted Amos to be.

Instead, they take what Lee Kuan Yew said to be the gospel truth.

Amos said that the PAP supporters worship Lee Kuan Yew without logic. And he was punished for it.

But what Amos said is true, isn’t it? The PAP supporters do worship Lee Kuan Yew without logic, don’t they?

In fact, if they would stay silent even as Lee Kuan Yew said worse things but would want Amos persecuted, then it clearly shows that what they are really upset about Amos is not what he said about Christians, isn’t it?

Truth is, they were hurt and “wounded” because they were upset with what Amos said about Lee Kuan Yew.

It is about Lee Kuan Yew. It has always been. Nothing else.

Some people said that these PAP supporters are using religion as a front to mask their displeasure against Amos. I am inclined to agree. It is obvious.

But there are no laws in Singapore where it is illegal to criticise Lee Kuan Yew. There is no law in Singapore where one can be found to have committed a crime because of having intentionally wounded the feelings of Lee Kuan Yew supporters.

These supporters have abused the law for their own purpose.

But Singapore is not the PAP. To the PAP supporters, they think Singapore belongs to them. They will tell you to leave the country if you are not happy with the way the PAP run their country.

But they have forgotten that the reason why Singapore can succeed today is because of the hard work and effort of all Singaporeans, and people who live in our country.

It is not just because of the PAP. It is not just because of the PAP supporters.

It is because of the many Singaporeans who are willing to earn low and depressed wages to help Singapore grow, even as the PAP supporters and the rich among them take away the high profit for themselves and leave Singaporeans with too little.

But this is what Amos said in his video too. Amos spoke about the income inequality in Singapore.

He spoke about how a “great leader” is one who will take care of Singaporeans.

Amos was right. Why was he persecuted?

Amos said that Lee Kuan Yew is a “horrible” person.

But Lee Kuan Yew is. Amos spoke the truth.

From the 1960s to 1980s, Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP arrested thousands of Singaporeans and imprisoned them without trial. Some of them were jailed for more than 10, 20 or even 30 years.

Their families suffered. Tens of thousands of their families suffered. But did Lee Kuan Yew ever apologised for it? Did the PAP ever apologised for it? Instead, the PAP continues to pretend that what they did was right. The PAP continues to claim that they were trying to protect Singapore, when it has been proven that the PAP had arrested and detained these innocent Singaporeans unfairly and unjustly.

The PAP simply doesn’t have a valid reason to do so, but they did anyway.

And the PAP never stopped. Today, Amos has become another victim in the PAP’s persecution of Singaporeans, just as I was and still am.

But the PAP is not Singapore. And Singapore is not the PAP.

We have allowed the PAP to be too comfortable with abusing their power in government for too long.

I got to know Amos about a month ago. After he made his video and was charged for it, I became concerned.

With how they treated him, I saw all the hallmarks of what I went through when I was sued for defamation and I did not want to see Amos go through what I did.

Not without support.

I needed to show him support. I want to show him support.

It is a lonely journey when you believe in something and want to fight for it.

But I am glad that this is not the case for Amos. I am glad that there are friends in Singapore and around the world who cares for Amos.

For in Amos, the conscience of Singaporeans have been awoken.

Never have I, in my living memory, seen so much support and outpouring from Singaporeans who feel so aggrieved that they have sent in their photos to support Amos for the #FreeAmosYee campaign.

This is a first for a political campaign in recent times.

I asked Singaporeans to send in their photos on Saturday, on my birthday, and in 2 days, I have received more than 60 photos, from even our neighbours in Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar, as well as from The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Never before has there been a cause that has rallied together Singaporeans so strongly against the atrocities of the PAP.

Today, I am starting to see unity among Singaporeans.

I finally understand that Singaporeans are also feeling, enough is enough.

But Amos cannot see any of this because he is still in remand.

Tomorrow, his sentence will be passed. But what will happen to him?

We can only hope for the best, and that is why we are here today.

Amos did not do anything wrong. Amos has to be released.

#FreeAmosYee

Amos is my friend. Even though we have known each other for only a short one month, in fact, shorter since he has been spending most of the time in prison, I feel that I can understand him.

I see in him the honesty and truth that I uphold for myself.

I see in him the justice and fairness that I believe.

But Amos is more.

It is funny that a 16-year-old boy can teach you lessons, even when you are 34 – I just turned 34 on Saturday!

But Amos has. He has told me several times to be honest with myself. But Amos doesn’t just say it.

He does it.

This is why even though we know how important freedom to us is, Amos is willing to go into prison to fight for our freedom.

We do not know it but it is in his courage and his unbending spirit, that he has exposed the hypocrisy of the PAP and how it has bent the law for itself.

Amos has taught us the real value of freedom, of justice and of truth.

He is a friend and a teacher, even at 16.

I see the courage that he has put himself through, I see his determination.

I see his honesty.

I see the man for who he is.

Today, thank you for coming to this vigil. Amos cannot be here. But if he was, he would appreciate this.

But it is not just Amos that we are here for today. It is for courage, honesty and freedom.

And today, we have stepped up, stepped up to fight for him and for ourselves, because Amos stood up and he showed us the way.

And now, it is up to us to lead the way for him.

Thank you, all.

*This is a speech by Roy Ngerng at the Candleight vigil for Amos Yee

Source: http://thehearttruths.com

May 12, 2015
Amos Yee My Teacher

When the whole world condemns Amos’ mother that it is her fault that Amos turned out so fearlessly “rebellious”, they do not know that Amos’ mother is humbly, Amos’ first student.

Having the privilege to walk with them through this time, I saw what a wonderful love relationship they enjoy. Amos is her sunshine, and she is Amos’ moon.

Mary dedicated herself to raising her only son, almost single-handedly. She stayed home to look after Amos during his first 3 years, until she exhausted all her savings.

She breastfed him, prepared what she knew was the most nutritious food for him, and tirelessly read him books after books after books, upon his insistence.

She patiently allowed Amos to develop naturally. She recalled that Amos didn’t have to struggle learning how to walk, she said, “He crawled when he wanted to reach out for things, and then one day, about 18 months, he just stood up and walked perfect!”

Amos loves his mother, and they’ve always had open communication. While the whole world thinks how rude Amos is for calling his mother a “fucking bitch”, they do not know how deeply Amos really cared for his mother.

When Mary visited him during his recent remand, Mary told me that they didn’t even talk about the case. He only brought up 2 things:

One to apologize to her that he lied to her recently, and he wanted to clear the air, because he has never once lied to her.

Two, he asked her again, “So, did you get your divorce yet?”

Amos had always wanted his mother to be free. He has witnessed her failing marriage, and how she has been working like a bull and had no life of her own. He felt for her, and when frustrated that she hasn’t harnessed the courage to live out her own life, out comes a pouring of his emotions and his flowing words.

Mary has always known that she has an outstanding child – an advanced thinker, always thinking ahead of his time and out of the box; highly intellectual, reading abundantly and always investigating; and having the creative minds of an artist, director and writer.

She knows Amos’ artistic inclinations and aspirations, and has always given him the freedom to pursue his dreams and goals. At 13, Amos has won the Best Short Film and Best Actor award at The New Paper’s First Film Fest.

She also knows of Amos’ frustration when people are stuck in their old ways of thinking, and how impatient Amos would be.

Amos is highly aware that he does not want to follow his parent’s old thinking and old way of living. He wants to reinvent himself, and is in the process of understanding the world, going beyond the surface of things and digging deeper, and eagerly wanting to share with the world his latest discovery. He wanted not only an intellectually stimulating life, but truly a life that he can call it his own.

Knowing Amos has humbled me. He has asked deeply where most people do not dare, and knows very well at heart that he has done nothing wrong, just to be himself.

He accepted his talents, his gifts, his heart, his social blunders, all of it. Amos is truly a student of life, and life will teach him what he needed to learn. He needs no one to “correct” him or point out his mistakes. He knows what he is doing.

I realized that it is we who need to change.

When I said to him in an earlier article that I would not donate one cent to this Amos who is still a slave to his own need for freedom, I have really underestimated him.

He has shown me that he has been a master of his own freedom. He knows exactly what he is doing, and what matters to him. He is just not one crazy or foolish guy trying to beat the law and make a name for himself.

Actions speak louder than words. I am so happy to see Amos making a conscientious effort to better himself. He wants to learn how to take care of his body in a more natural way, and is educating himself more about fasting, sunshine and pure eating. He decided to cut out meat, and he has learnt how to do a short fast under my guidance.

He did not break the bail for some stupid reasons. This is a highly intellectual and darn honest person, and he accepts full responsibility for his own actions.

Give Amos time and space to grow.

He is truly, a rare genius to come by, and if you were to study his videos, his critique, his writings, you will understand why after Mary, I am humbly, Amos’ second student. I thank him for challenging me to think and rethink the old and accepted way of thinking.

I have no doubt that Amos is a GIFT to Singapore. I see him blossoming and refining over time. He will have much to contribute to the world with his extraordinary gifts, talents, and his big heart.

Source: http://siokkhoonkent.tumblr.com

May 12, 2015
Singapore Navy Plans To Boost Manpower, Reaching Out To Mid-Careerists And Females

The Singapore Navy is not resting on its laurels, even as it celebrates 48 years of keeping Singapore’s waters secure.

Facing tightening manpower demographics in an increasingly complex maritime climate, it is adopting several changes to strengthen its numbers.

The Military Domain Experts Scheme started five years ago as a means of retaining servicemen with deep expertise. It is also a possible mid-career entry point, for those mulling a career in uniform. Currently, mid-careerists make up about 10 per cent of those on the scheme.

Speaking to reporters on Friday (May 8), Navy Chief Rear-Admiral Lai Chung Han said a campaign to target mid-careerists to join the scheme might be in the works.

He added that the Navy might even consider creating new vocations to better tap the skills of these mid-careerists, depending on the Navy’s needs.

But not just anyone should apply. “They must bring value, it must make sense, and it must be because there’s an operational need for these vocations – those in engineering, those in the merchant navy, those who work in industry, precision manufacturing, those with backgrounds in safety, lawyers even – because going forward I think a good understanding of law, international law, how that applies in periods of tension and so and so forth,” RADM Lai said.

Also on the Navy’s radar is the recruitment of more women into the force.

Just seven per cent of its manpower are female – a figure the Navy plans to double in the next 10 to 15 years, matching other developed navies worldwide. But the Navy Chief said this requires not only family-friendly policies, but mindset changes too.

He said: “If you look at our numbers, going forward if we don’t recruit more women, we can’t man all our positions. So to the men in the Navy, or in the armed forces who refuse this, the choice is simple – you either have that post not filled, or you have a woman who comes in, serves effectively for 20 to 25 years, but is away for maternity every now and then only.

“So that’s a choice for us, and it’s a very stark reality. You need to recognise that women also bring great value, especially in an advanced armed forces where technology is key – where there’s less heavy lifting, physical strength, but (more of) mental strength, leadership, character and values.”

And as the Navy equips itself with the latest technologies, it is also looking at how this can enable NS manpower to be better utilised.

RADM Lai said: “We don’t see larger ships, newer ships crewed by NSmen because you really need more mature platforms. (We see) NSmen augmenting the crews of these ships, whether the Landing Ship Tanks or the frigates. And as we shift very decisively to using unmanned systems, the units that are operating these systems can be NS units.”

He said he hopes as much as a quarter of the fleet could use unmanned systems, fully operated by NS units from the word “go”.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

May 11, 2015