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  • Walid J. Abdullah: Muslims Are Biggest Victims Of Terrorism

    Walid J. Abdullah: Muslims Are Biggest Victims Of Terrorism

    Immigration Officer:

    First time you’re presenting at a conference?

    Me: No, but it’s the first time i’m being checked like this even after telling immigration i have a conference.

    Him: Are you nervous?

    Me: No, i’m disappointed.

    Him: Why? I’m just doing my job.

    Me: You didn’t check anyone else, so please don’t tell me this is random.

    *eons later*

    Him: You can have your passport back.

    Me: Can i ask why it took so long?

    *directs to another guy*

    Other officer: Err, we had another name like yours, with same surname too.

    Me: From Singapore? I can guarantee you there is none.

    We both know why it was only me who had to go through this, and no one else. Let’s not pretend.

    ——

    The reality is Muslims are the biggest victims of terrorism, whether directly or otherwise.

     

    Source: Walid J. Abdullah

  • Thai Crown Prince Urges Calm Over Delay In Succession

    Thai Crown Prince Urges Calm Over Delay In Succession

    Thailand’s Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has urged people not to worry about his surprise decision to delay being proclaimed king following the death of his father, said the country’s junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, as his government sought to dispel any concern on royal succession and stressed it was working as normal.

    “His Highness’s only wish is to not let the people experience confusion or worry about the service of the land or even the ascension to the throne because this issue has the constitution, the royal laws and royal traditions to dictate it,” General Prayuth, the Thai Prime Minister, said in a televised address late on Saturday (Oct 15), adding that the Crown Prince invited him and regent Prem Tinsulanonda for an audience earlier in the evening to discuss the situation “as his royal highness was deeply concerned for the Thai people during this time of national bereavement”.

    Mr Prem heads the Privy Council, a body of advisers to the monarchy, and is known to be close to King Bhumibol’s highly popular daughter Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

    He has been at the centre of Thailand’s treacherous politics for decades, first as general and then as a prime minister and even at 96, remains remarkably spry and a master political operator.

    Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, who should have ascended the throne, has asked for more time to grieve along with the nation before taking over the monarchy. The constitution dictates that the Privy Council head be the regent in such a situation.

    The prospect of complications in the succession could alarm financial markets, but the military government has been quick to quash any such speculation.

    Gen Prayuth said on Saturday that the crown prince had said “at this time everyone is sad, he is still sad, so every should wait until we pass this sad time.”

    “When the religious ceremony and funeral have passed for a while, then it will be an appropriate time to proceed (with the succession),” Gen Prayuth further quoted the Crown Prince as saying.

    “This procedure should not impact the work plan or any steps. Everyone should take this time to keep the memories of the past 70 years.”

    No date has been set for the cremation. Officials have suggested it would be at least a year. Buddhist funeral ceremonies have already begun at the Grand Palace complex in Bangkok’s historic centre where King Bhumibol’s body is kept in an ornate hall for the royal family members to pay respects. The hall will be opened to the public on Oct 28.

    King Bhumibol has long been revered as a father figure and symbol of unity in a country riven by political crises over the years, most recently by a power struggle between the military-led establishment and populist political forces. Many Thais worry about a future without him.

    Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn does not enjoy the same adoration his father earned over 70 years on the throne. He has married and divorced three times, and has spent much of his life outside Thailand, often in Germany.

    Though the king designated his only son as his heir in 1972, shortly afterwards he also raised the possibility of the eligibility of a princess becoming the monarch.

    Thailand’s strict lese-majeste laws, which have been applied rigorously since a military government took power in a 2014 coup, have left little room for public discussion about the succession.

    Thai police on Sunday charged a woman with royal defamation after a mob demanded action over a Facebook post allegedly smearing the “heir and regent”.

    The woman, who has not been named, was accused of posting a derogatory statement, according to Thewes Pleumsud of Bo Pud police in the southeastern island of Koh Samui, where an angry mob had descended earlier on Sunday demanding the woman be charged.

    The crowd hurled insults at the woman, according to videos widely shared on Facebook.

    Two other similar cases since the king’s death — in which angry crowds in Phuket and Phang Nga urged punishment for alleged royal defamation on social media — have raised fears of mob action.

    Thailand’s three main mobile service providers said on Sunday customers should report “inappropriate content on the royal institution” on social media.

    With the country facing a sensitive period, Gen Prayuth has promised to perform hus duties “with honesty and loyalty.”

    Thai government spokesperson Lieutenant-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on Sunday (SUN) that the government’s administration will continue seamlessly during the country’s mourning period.

    A Cabinet meeting would go ahead as normal on Tuesday to discuss preparation for the king’s funeral.

    “We can grief but must not forget our duties. We can feel sorrow but need to have hopes. We can be sad but must not lose love and faith towards our country,” Mr Sansern quoted Mr Prayuth as saying at a meeting on Sunday.

     

    Source: TODAY Online

  • Bahas: Masyarakat Islam Tidak Proaktif Tentang Radikalisme

    Bahas: Masyarakat Islam Tidak Proaktif Tentang Radikalisme

    Masyarakat Islam di Singapura tidak proaktif dalam menentang radikalisme.

    Inilah mauduk peringkat akhir satu pertandingan bahas yang dianjurkan siang tadi (15 Okt).

    Pertandingan tahunan itu dianjurkan oleh cabang belia Persatuan Darul Arqam.

    Ia bertujuan untuk menyediakan satu wadah bagi perbincangan secara mendalam di kalangan belia.

    Para mahasiswa dari Universiti Nasional Singapura (NUS) membentuk pasukan pencadang.

    Mereka membentangkan hujah bahawa masyarakat Islam bersikap reaktif dan bukan proaktif dalam menangani radikalisme.

    Satu sebab utama adalah, masyarakat tidak melibatkan diri dalam perbincangan secara mendalam tentang isu tersebut.

    Oleh itu, mereka tidak mempunyai pemahaman yang baik mengenainya.

    Namun pasukan pembangkang dari Politeknik Ngee Ann menyangkal hujah-hujah tersebut.

    Menurut mereka, masyarakat Islam sudah melaksanakan pelbagai inisiatif untuk menangani radikalisme.

    Satu contoh adalah semakan ke atas Skim Pengiktirafan Asatizah, untuk memastikan masyarakat Islam menerima pendidikan Islam yang betul.

    Di akhir pertandingan, pasukan NUS muncul sebagai juara.

    “Saya rasa kami mungkin akan berbincang tentang topik ini dalam kumpulan masing-masing, di setiap institusi masing-masing tetapi tidak ada satu wadah yang kami boleh gunakan untuk berbincang di antara kumpulan-kumpulan dan institusi masing-masing,” pembahas NUS, Aaeshah Ng memberitahu BERITAMediacorp.

    Sejajar dengan itu, tetamu terhormat Setiausaha Parlimen Kementerian Dalam Negeri Amrin Amin berkata meskipun bahas sudah berakhir, para belia patut terus membincangkan tentang isu radikalisme.

    “Saya menjemput anak-anak muda kita untuk menyahut cabaran ini dan sama-sama berbual dan memikirkan apakah langkah-langkah yang boleh diambil, apakah kegiatan yang boleh dianjurkan untuk kita sama-sama menangani masalah ini,” kata Encik Amrin.

    Beliau juga menekankan bukan setakat perbahasan idea, masyarakat Islam juga katanya perlu menunjukkan apa yang mereka maksudkan melalui perbuatan dan tindakan.

    Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

  • New Fears Of Communal Violence In Myanmar

    New Fears Of Communal Violence In Myanmar

    NINE police officers were killed early on October 9th in a series of apparently co-ordinated attacks on border-guard posts in the troubled state of Rakhine in Myanmar’s west. The attackers were armed with knives, slingshots and only a few guns—and reportedly made off with dozens more guns and thousands of bullets. The Buddhist majority in Rakhine has long oppressed the state’s Muslim Rohingyas. Now the victims may be starting to fight back.

    Nobody has yet claimed responsibility, but police say the attackers—at least two of whom were captured and eight killed—were Rohingyas. One local official blamed the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, a militant group that has been dormant for decades. The two who were detained reportedly told authorities that they planned the raids with fellow locals.

    The central government’s response has been reasonably level-headed. On the same day it held a press conference to appeal for caution and restraint. Two days later it dispatched high-ranking officials to talk to local leaders in the Muslim-majority townships where the attacks took place. Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s de facto leader, did not cast blame, but reiterated her commitment to “peace and stability”. “Rakhine State’s problem is Myanmar’s problem,” said the information minister.

    Since the attacks in northern Rakhine, however, clashes have broken out there leaving at least a dozen people dead—including unarmed civilians, according to locals. The government has beefed up an already heavy military presence. Some worry that the stolen guns will be used in future attacks on security forces, or that in trying to retrieve the weapons, the police will target innocents.

    By far the biggest concern is that unrest could spread, as it did in 2012, when communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims killed scores and displaced tens of thousands. Many outside Myanmar have criticised Miss Suu Kyi for failing to speak up for the Rohingyas. Anti-Muslim sentiment runs deep among the Burman Buddhist majority. Wirathu, a virulently nationalist monk and master of social media, posted a video on his Facebook page this week that he claims shows the attackers calling for Rohingyas to join the jihad.

    In August Miss Suu Kyi invited Kofi Annan, a former UN secretary-general, to head a commission investigating human-rights abuses in Rakhine. Buddhist nationalists protested, and the Rakhine parliament passed a resolution condemning the commission. But as this week’s events have shown, efforts to bring about a just and durable peace in Rakhine are more urgent than ever.

     

    Source: www.economist.com

  • Damanhuri Abas: Distrust Of Malays By The Government Have To Stop Now

    Damanhuri Abas: Distrust Of Malays By The Government Have To Stop Now

    Was at Reach Feedback session with Dr Yaacob and Mdm Rahayu this evening.

    EP was hot tonite. Salleh Marican of Second Chance fired the first salvo and stated that 3 years ago his biz paid up caps qualifies him to contest for the EP but it looks like his chance is gone now.

    With bleak economic outlook job prospects will be serious issues that will beset Singaporeans. No clear way forward on this one as the Malay community is least independent of the govt help.

    The rushed changes to the EP and the strange interest and concern on the Malay community has inevitably exposed the hypocrisy of selective meritocracy that has existed for the last 50 years which scholarly works by Prof Hussin Mutalib and Dr Lily Zubaidah (related to President Yusuf Ishak) have already exposed for years but ignored.

    Thus I raised to them about the fallacy of meritocracy and discrimination that starts with the government for their strange unjustified distrust of the loyalty of the Malay community.

    This unhealthy relationship of distrust between govt and the Malay community is toxic and must be eradicated. It has secondary effects on the wider community as imposed structural barriers denying Malays access to so-called sensitive position in government jobs get expanded into entrenched attitudes in the wider society.

    The Malays has done nothing to deserve this distrust. Our track record of loyalty to land and country are unmatched based on the peformance of the Malay regiment who sacrificed their life for Singapore during the Japanese invasion of this country.

    To blanket the entire community on baseless grounds of disloyalty are unfair and unjust, denying our meritocratic right to have full unhindered opportunity like everyone else just because we are malays.

    Examples of silly reasons of ship kitchen dietary constraints in the navy no longer cut any ice with a matured and thinking citizenry. So please stop this outrageous justification to maintain discriminatory practices when questions of loyalty and distrust are the real excuses and must end.

    Yes changes are taking place but more can and must be done to stop discriminatory practices. The change must start from the very top beginning with the government. Real meritocracy must be implemented.

    Then only maybe one day Singaporeans will truly be a one united people as what our kids recite daily in school.

    Special thanks goes to Dr Yaacob and Mdm Rahayu for accepting me and others into the session. They are more courageous than some Minister who rather call off his session than faced Dr Tan Cheng Bock.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas