Rilek1Corner

Category: Komentar

Send in your opinion to [email protected].
Kirimkan pandangan anda kepada [email protected].

  • Why Are MUIS’ Funds Used To Support The Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG)?

    Why Are MUIS’ Funds Used To Support The Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG)?

    It has been narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) that the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “If you deal in ‘Aina transactions (those that involve riba’) and hang onto the tails of cows, being satisfied with cultivation and cease to Struggle for Allah, He will inflict a humiliation upon you which will not be removed until you return to your religion.” [Reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawud and graded as authentic by Al-Qattan. Al-Hafiz states in Al-Bulugh that the chain of narrators is trustworthy and reliable.]

    Subhanallah. Look at the words of Rasulullah SAW. When we leave the Struggle for the Deen of Allah azzawajal, He will collectively humiliate us. And focus on the words used by Rasulullah SAW. The perfectly-legitimate business venture of raising livestock, when focused on exclusively without struggling for the Deen of Allah azzawajal, is being referred to as hanging on to the ‘tails of cows’.

    Brothers and sisters, ask ourselves are we not being humiliated? We fund MUIS. We pay zakah to them. They use that money to pay salaries of MUIS staff…

    Why Is RRG Using MUIS' Money

    Yet we have next to no say at all on how the organisation is run.

    Isn’t that humiliation? Have we been focusing too much on our careers, etc, and collectively as a community, left the Struggle for Allah azzawajal?

    Wallahualam.

    May Allah azzawajal Grant us the Courage to truly Struggle for His Deen.

     

    Authored by Syed Danial

     

     

  • Are Tickets For The AFF Suzuki Cup Too Expensive?

    Are Tickets For The AFF Suzuki Cup Too Expensive?

    Singapore began its defense of the ASEAN Football Championship or Suzuki Cup with a 1-2 loss to Thailand at the National Stadium yesterday. While I’ll leave others to comment on the performance, I’ll instead comment on the facility itself. You can read the match report here:
    To begin with, the pitch is hardly in ideal condition for what is the region’s biggest tournament and probably the only one where Singapore can take part in and hope to win silverware. While it’s not uncommon for new stadiums to have a ‘not so perfect pitch’ – even Wembley Stadium faced the problem initially, the fact remains that few international stadiums would have a brand new stadium with patches of sand and general unevenness.
    The new National Stadium is fast becoming an arena for foreign teams, other sports and concerts, and not for local athletes and football.  
    And with 2 other group games and 2 more final fixtures, the pitch is not going to get any better. It’s a travesty that so much has been spent only for it to be wasted. This pitch is a goner, the only way will be to tear it up after the competition is over and re-lay a new set of grass, which would have to grown elsewhere. I do hope that this is already in the pipeline.
    Baihaikki Khazan lamented the effects of a soulless new National Stadium, a view shared by many.
    But this is not the biggest issue. A few weeks after its opening, national player Baihaikki Khaizanremarked in this Instagram post, that while the new stadium is fantastic with ‘its bells and whistles’, it lacks the soul of its predecessor. There’s no Kallang Roar to be had and this was turning out to be a stadium for ‘concerts.’
    Singapore played Thailand yesterday in a stadium marked with a large swathe of empty seats.
    And judging from yesterday’s crowd, the stadium was barely half-full, there appears a ring of truth in his assessment. So yes Juventus played here, and so did a Neymar led Brazil against a Honda led Japan, but in both games it was priced out of the reach of most ordinary Singaporeans. Yes, there were some cheaper tickets, but still expensive compared to prices in the past and elsewhere. The majority of tickets and the better seats in the middle, were not cheap.
    Snaking queues for tickets outside the old National Stadium. You won’t see this sight in a hurry at the new stadium, if prices are gonna remain exorbitant.
    Is this a stadium for the rich and upper middle-class? What is the Singapore Sports Council, the FAS and the stadium’s operator trying to do? Get their money back as soon as possible or make a handsome profit? The Suzuki Cup is the region’s premier tournament and Singapore are the defending champions. In past tournaments, the stadium would be filled to the brim, even with live telecast of games. Just take a look at yesterday’s game, tickets were going at $48, $38, $28 and $18. You expect ordinary Singaporeans to fork out a minimum of $18 to watch a football game? Is money growing on trees or readily available on our pavements?
    We grudgingly accept that F1 and major tournaments like the WTA Finals featuring the world’s best will have expensive price tags and ticket prices, but not for football featuring Singapore. It should not always be about profit and recovering costs. Some events can and should cost the state money. Are we living in Singapore or Bangladesh? Can’t the Govt underwrite part of the costs, or the respective bodies not price tickets too highly and get a rebate from the Govt?
    Most Singaporeans can only dream of watching F1 races, even though its held in Singapore. But okay we can excuse that, F1 has always been expensive and is a sport usually associated with the rich. But football? Our national sport? Even the friendlies before the tournament at YishunStadium cost $12. An ordinary uninspiring stadium like Yishun and you charge $12? A former national player I spoke to was shocked at the price. This is a rip-off, just as yesterday’s prices were.
    Borussia Dortmund’s iconic Westfalen Stadion is always full for Bundesliga, Champions League and Germany internationals. And their cheapest tickets cost less than the $18 for the Suzuki Cup. And Germany like Singapore is a rich country.
    Even the Bundesliga charges lower for their games. You can watch Bayern Munchen and Borussia Dortmund at around 5 Euros (standing). For the equivalent of S$18, you can be assured of a seat, and that’s top class football. What’s the SSC and FAS trying to prove?
    Unless the operator is sacked and replaced by a local who understands the passion and means of ordinary Singaporeans, then the National Stadium will continue to be a rip-off and a soulless stadium for the rich, for concerts and for foreign teams to come play for a fee. It cannot be considered a National Stadium for Singaporeans.

    * Post was first produced by http://anyhowhantam.blogspot.com.au
    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com
  • 60 Of Estimated 550 Germans in Syria and Iraq Are Believed To Have Died

    60 Of Estimated 550 Germans in Syria and Iraq Are Believed To Have Died

    BERLIN – The number of Germans fighting alongside Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq has increased sharply to 550 and around 180 have returned, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday.

    “We are concerned about the high number of departures. Especially in the last six weeks, it has risen further,” Hans-Georg Maassen told Welt am Sonntag.

    By now we are counting 550 people, that is how many have left Germany to go to Syria and Iraq,” he added. The previous number was 450 people.

    Around 60 of them have been killed during fighting, with at least nine killing themselves in suicide attacks, Maassen said. “That is a sad success for the Islamist propaganda.”

    As with other Western European countries, Germany is struggling to stop the radicalization of young Muslims, some of whom want to become jihadists in Syria or Iraq. Officials also worry that they might return to plot attacks on home soil.

    Since Germany is part of the alliance fighting Islamic State, the country is “naturally” a target for the militants as well as al Qaeda members, Maassen said.

    Intelligence services estimate that around 180 jihadists have returned to Germany after having fought in Syria and Iraq, Maassen said.

    In one of the largest sweeps against alleged Islamists in Germany yet, authorities last week arrested nine men suspected of supporting militant groups in Syria and raided numerous properties in several German states.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Refinancing Your Home Loan To Meet CPF Minimum Sum

    Refinancing Your Home Loan To Meet CPF Minimum Sum

    Home for Danny Tay is an HDB four-room flat in Simei that he and his wife Lynette bought for S$401,000. They’ve been living there for the last three-and-a-half years and it’s also home to their young children, Thaddeus and Judah.

    Like many Singaporeans, Danny initially took up an HDB Concessionary Loan, which had an interest rate of 2.6 per cent per annum. But when the 37-year-old engineer heard about the POSB HDB loan over a year ago, he felt he would be in a position to enjoy greater savings.

    An easy decision, thanks to lower interest rates

    He decided to refinance and signed up for the POSB HDB loan, as it offered him significantly lower interest rates.

    Said Danny: “In terms of interest per year, I am saving S$1,960, thanks to the reduced interest rate of 1.8 per cent per annum from 2.6 per cent per annum^.

    “I was attracted by the guaranteed interest rate of not more than 2.6 per cent per annum for the first 10 years of the loan.”

    For Danny, refinancing with the POSB HDB Loan was a straightforward decision.

    The lower interest rates mean that Danny’s monthly repayments were reduced greatly.

    He was able to reduce the tenure of his home loan from 30 to 20 years while paying a similar amount each month.

    “I kept part of the extra savings (from the reduced monthly payments) in my CPF account to help me meet the CPF minimum sum amount.”

    Doing so also allowed him to take advantage of the higher interest rates offered by the CPF Ordinary 
Account.

    Said Danny: “If I can save S$1,960 a year, I will be saving S$19,600 over the first 10 years of the loan^^. After 10 years, about half of my housing loan should be paid up.

    “Even in a worst-case scenario in which interest rates increase significantly after 10 years, my loan amount would still be reduced tremendously.”

    Too good to pass up

    Danny was so satisfied with the savings he’s enjoying that he has shared his story with his friends.

    “I’ve recommended the POSB HDB Loan to six friends and three have signed up so far. I am glad I took up the loan early to enjoy the benefits while interest rates were low.”

    This is the eighth story in a 10-part collab­oration between TODAY and POSB. Visit 
www.todayonline.com/voices/posb to read this story online.

    ^The HDB Concessionary Loan rate is 2.6 per cent per annum at the time of publication.

    ^^POSB HDB Loan interest rates are capped at prevailing CPF Ordinary Account (OA) 
rate which is at 2.5 per cent per annum at the time of publication. Details on CPF OA rate are available on the CPF Board website.

    Deposit Insurance Scheme

    Singapore dollar deposits of non-bank depositors and monies and deposits denominated in Singapore dollars under the Supplementary Retirement Scheme are insured by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation, for up to S$50,000 in aggregate per depositor per Scheme member by law.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

     

  • President Jokowi Travelled Economy Class To Attend Son’s Graduation In Singapore

    President Jokowi Travelled Economy Class To Attend Son’s Graduation In Singapore

    Indonesian president Joko Widodo arrived in Singapore on Friday (Nov 21) on a private visit to attend his son’s graduation ceremony at Anglo-Chinese School (International).

    Mr Widodo left the presidential plane at home, choosing to fly economy on state carrier Garuda because he was travelling for personal reasons. The decision made the news in Indonesia.

    He was accompanied by his wife and daughter, was received by the principal of ACS (International), Mr Rob Burrough, slightly after 7pm on Friday.  Jokowi – as he is affectionately known – was introduced to the directors and teachers of the school, and was invited to write a message in its graduation book.

    “I’m happy. And of course, I must say thank you to ACS for helping,” the president said of the special day for the youngest of his three children, Kaesang Pangarep. As for where his son is headed next, Mr Widodo said: “Last year he said he wanted to go to SMU, but I don’t know.”

    The Indonesian first family took some photos with members of the school board, and were seen clapping along to a drum performance by students before the graduation ceremony.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com