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Local Teen Footballer Marc Embarks On England Stint

He first came to prominence as one of the stars of the 2014 Gothia Cup — regarded as the world’s largest youth tournament — as he helped Singapore’s F-17 academy achieve a third-place finish out of 120 teams in the Under-11 category.

And last November, Marc Ryan Tan, the son of Singapore’s Malaysia Cup hero Steven Tan, made his mark again during a local training camp conducted by West Ham’s academy coaches.

The 14-year-old made such a positive impression on the visiting coaches that he was invited to train with the English Premier League outfit’s academy in London this week.

The West Ham academy, which has produced players such as Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard, has been given a Category One status under the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), which puts them among the top 20 academies in England.

While in England, Marc will also train at three other English academies – Wolverhampton Wanderers (Category One), Stoke City (Category One) and Charlton Athletic (Category Two) – during the 10-day training tour, which is organised by United States-based sports management company Global Image Sports (GIS).

The teenager, who can play as a forward or on the wings, is the only local player out of four others from the F-17 academy who was shortlisted for this tour.

Speaking to TODAY ahead of the training tour, Marc said that he hopes to use this opportunity to improve himself as a player.

In addition, he hopes to impress the coaches, and any watching scouts, as he works towards his dream of earning a professional contract with a top European team in future.

“I want to go there to learn how the English kids play because I’ve never played with the European kids before,” said the Secondary 2 student at the Singapore Sports School (SSP). “It’ll be interesting to see their style of play, observe how they train and find out why they’re so good at football.

“Hopefully I can go there, improve myself and bring something back with me so that I can share my experience with my SSP team-mates and make the team stronger.

“I’m very excited for this tour and I’m confident of making an impact there. After all, my dream is to one day playing for a top European team so this will be a great chance for me to get clubs to notice me.”

His dad Steven, affectionately known as “Super Sub” when he was part of Lions’ famous 1994 Malaysia Cup-winning team, said this tour will give Marc an indication of where he stands against some of the top young talents in the world.

“At this stage of his career, it’s good for him to know where he stands at an international level,” said Steven, who is now a coach at the ActiveSg Football Academy. “He can only do that by going up against players of a higher standard. In England, the level of football there is very high.

“So I want him to go there and test himself against those boys. Hopefully, he can rise up to the challenge and meet the standard that they’re looking for.”

Steven added that he will not hesitate to send Marc overseas for the long-term if the right opportunity comes knocking.

This mirrors what fellow local football icon Fandi Ahmad has done for his sons Irfan, Ikhsan and Ilhan – the former two trained in Chile for over two years, while Ilhan is expected to head to England this week.

“Of course, I would love for Marc to train in England for the long-term, and get a school to study there as well, because it will help his football development immensely,” said Steven.

“But it’s not easy to get a permit to play in the UK, so we have to see if the F-17 or GIS can help us with the procedure and see how we can work around it.

“Unlike in my time (as players), the kids now have more opportunities to play overseas, and so we must expose them as much as we can. Going to Europe, there’ll be more people watching Marc play, so we need him to take this step and get out of his comfort zone and see how far he can develop as a player.”

Marc, accompanied by his father, departed for England on Monday (Oct 10) night. The expenses of the trip for Marc, which is expected to reach up to S$7,000, will largely be borne by the F-17 Academy.

Source: TODAY Online

October 11, 2016
Abd’ Al-Halim: The New Poor In Singapore Are Majority Malays

AsSalaam’alaikum!

This has happened before several years ago but when Al-Jazeera covered it, to hide their utter shame, the government banned the broadcast station in Singapore. At the time, there were several malay families who were kicked out of their HDB flats who had no alternative but to live in tents. The Malays were the most hard hit whenever there is any economic trouble. They are the first to be retrenched and the last to be employed. Now with the unbridled influx of foreign workers and the ongoing Islamophobia and general hatred for the Malays, even Malays with high qualification find it very very hard to get jobs. And when any Malay complain about their situation they will be told that they are too choosy or are simply not as well qualified because, this is after all, a meritocracy! This is the result of such macro-economic and socio-political mismanagement that further disadvantage the Malay-Muslims. It is a good thing that the Malays do not turn to crime as they still have not lost their faith in Islam. I worry that is a matter of time because desperate people do desperate things – Children need food shelter, proper sanitation and education.

There must be transparency in this. We need to know the racial breakdown of these people. It is also ironic to note that the PAP government had since the 60’s destroyed the kampung villages and appropriated the lands of the Malays via legislation of URA laws but now the Malays are returning to set up kampungs (villages) with a penghulu to boot. Another question is, where are the zakat (&/ waqaf) officials? Are they at ready only to collect but when there is such a clear need to disburse the funds they are not to be found?

In the early 90’s the opposition spoke about the rise of the “New Poor” in Singapore. Well, if we are not careful, the new poor will, by and large be the Malays.

Source: Ustaz Abd’ Al-Halim

October 10, 2016
Walid J. Abdullah: Trump-Supporting Bigots Living Among Us

How is it possible that there are people in Singapore who are rooting for Trump?

I don’t want to make excuses for Americans who support him, but at least you could attribute part of their support to 1) loyalty to the party, 2) growing socio-economic concerns and racism/misogyny/xenophobia become the manifestations of these fears, and 3) failure of the left to address their issues.

Apart from there being outright racists, misogynists and xenophobes amongst the Republican base, of course.

But why does he have support in Singapore? These people (arguably) have no direct stake in the election, and yet they support a clearly anti-Muslim, anti-Hispanic, anti-Black, male chauvinist, who cheated the system and bragged about not doing his fair bit for society, and who has zero experience in public office.

Yet he has a following???

That, is far more scary to me than Trump getting elected. Because whether Trump wins or not, evidently, there are bigots living amongst us.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

October 10, 2016
A Chinese-Muslim Convert’s Experience With Ignorance In Singapore

I need to get this off my chest.

I was seeing a new doctor yesterday (4th time this month, don’t ask) and she expressed surprise that my name sounded ‘Chinese’ when I’m wearing a hijab (and therefore look like a Muslim aka. Malay in Singapore). So I said I’m Chinese Muslim, yes, my family is Chinese, yes, I’m the only Muslim in my family, yes, I’m a convert to Islam, yes.

Then she asked me why I converted. Usual question.
Me: “I researched.” (Shortest answer, I’ve figured, that prevents unnecessary questions and only engages those who really want to know more, because, what bores people more than research?! hahaa)

And then she says this.
“Huh. You researched? Don’t research until become ISIS ah!”

WELL.
I’m not offended, no don’t get me wrong. I’ve had this said to me a few times before. But today I feel so strongly about it and am just appalled to know that it has come to the stage whereby learning and gaining knowledge in Islam can be viewed as a route to becoming ‘brainwashed to terrorism’.

Ever since my reversion close to 3 years ago (I turn 3 in 10 days time, yay!), I’ve met countless Muslims and Muslim converts in Singapore week after week, class after class. Muslims who are so knowledgeable in their field of work, AND in Islamic knowledge. Scientists, mathematicians, historians- and what they all have in common is the knowledge in Islam which sets the strongest foundation in whatever they do. And I’m learning from an ustaz who has no professional certification to his name, yet embodies the humility and disposition of people who have spent years of their lives gaining more and more knowledge. Such people are overflowing with wisdom, but they don’t ever stop learning. As my ustaz would say, “The more you know, the more you realise you don’t know.”

To all my friends out there, you’ve got nothing to be afraid of, because the epitome of a Muslim lies in gaining knowledge. And the more knowledge we gain, the less we ‘become ISIS’ (I cringe even writing this sentence). What they do/ claim to do in the name of Islam, they are no more than a bunch of terrorists. Got that? Just Terrorists. No “Islamic extremists” or “fundamentalists” or “Islamists”- just terms that the media has coined to make you believe that we Muslims have got anything to do with that bunch- when in fact we are as much related to them as you are.

Now let me go back to my jihad of trying to be as patient as I can and not have a sarcastic comeback everytime someone tries to link me to ISIS. Ugh.

—
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ- peace be upon him) said: “A servant of God will remain standing on the Day of Judgment until he is questioned about his time on earth and how he used it; about his knowledge and how he utilized it; about his wealth and from where he acquired it and in what activities he spent it; and about his body and how he used it.” (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 148)

Source: Maryem Chin

October 9, 2016
Singapore Overtakes Hong Kong As 2nd-Most Pricey Asian City

Living the high life in Singapore will need pretty deep pockets, according to the latest wealth report by private Swiss bank Julius Baer.

“Singapore has overtaken Hong Kong as the second most expensive city in Asia as the latter remains out of favour with Chinese tourists,” said the report which was released yesterday. Hong Kong was in third position.

Shanghai remains the most expensive city – the same as last year – despite its relatively cheaper BMW price. Especially pricey there are hospital stays, watches, botox, cigars and high-end skin cream.

The findings are part of Julius Baer’s lifestyle index, which reveals the costs of luxury living by looking at 20 goods and services across 11 cities in Asia. Data was collected from June last year to June this year.

On the other hand, when it comes to high-end homes, Singapore has become markedly more affordable, with prices slumping 26.4 per cent compared with last year, in local currency terms.

In Mumbai, prices fell 21.9 per cent, and in Tokyo, prices dropped 11.9 per cent. Julius Baer compared homes in prime locations of about 4,000 sq ft in area.

The private bank said Singapore property prices remained soft, as previously imposed stamp duties and property loan restrictions deterred non-resident investors and dampened speculative activity.

“However, we are starting to see signs of a bottoming of activity, particularly in the prime districts where sales volumes have increased sharply in the first half of 2016 due to the various incentives and discounts offered by developers.”

Julius Baer believes that over the medium term, Singapore’s reputation for quality health care services, and as a liveable and business city, will continue to attract foreign homebuyers.

It also noted that the gradual easing of prices in the property markets is a prudent measure that has “likely forestalled a more aggressive economic adjustment”.

Golf club memberships here could be considered “cheap” relative to the region, with prices dipping 4.2 per cent, after buyers stopped trading in memberships, on the back of government announcements that it was taking back the land from three clubs and that two others would not have their leases renewed.

The bank also added a high-end skin cream to the lifestyle index this year. It added that Asia makes up 36 per cent of the global beauty market, and is expected to grow 4.5 per cent every year until 2019, far faster than the global market.

With the certificate of entitlement (COE) system in Singapore, it is no surprise that a brand new BMW 7 Series sedan here costs the most among the 11 cities surveyed.

A new BMW 7 Series sedan costs about US$430,000 (S$589,000) here, owing to import duties and regulatory taxes.

In Shanghai, “a distant second”, the same car is about US$300,000. It also expects the assets of high net worth individuals – people with net investable wealth of US$1 million or more, excluding property used as their main residence – across the region, to grow to US$14.5 trillion by 2020.

Julius Baer Group chief executive Boris Collardi said: “This year’s lifestyle index demonstrates that there remains enormous demand for luxury goods and services in Asia, but it equally signals that asset price fluctuations can be a potential drag on spending.”

Source: The Straits Times

October 5, 2016