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  • Man Arrested For Attack On Three Madrasah Students At Paya Lebar MRT Station

    Man Arrested For Attack On Three Madrasah Students At Paya Lebar MRT Station

    A Singaporean man was arrested on Saturday (April 2) for attacking three students from a full-time Islamic religious school the day before, the police have revealed in a statement.

    Police were informed of a case at about 7.35am on Friday (April 1), in which a man allegedly caused hurt to three female students of Madrasah Al Maarif Al Islamiah in three separate incidents near Paya Lebar MRT station.

    The students, aged 14 to 16, were on their separate ways to the madrasah when the 48-year-old Chinese man hurt them.

    Said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigations & Intelligence) and Director of the Criminal Investigation Department Tan Chye Hee in the statement: “The police take a stern view of acts that could threaten the racial and religious harmony in Singapore. Any person who caused hurt to others on the basis of their race or religion will be dealt with severely in accordance with the law.”

    On Friday morning, the school’s discipline mistress made a Facebook post about the incident, saying that the three students had been physically attacked by an unknown middle aged man at Paya Lebar MRT Station at around 7.20am.

    The first victim was kicked on the left thigh, she said. The second was hit by a plastic bag containing a heavy item and the third was hit in the same manner on one of her eyes.

    In the post, which was widely shared on social media, the teacher added that a police report had been made and appealed for eyewitnesses.

    Police said it had received a call for assistance around 7.35am at Lorong 39 Geylang – the address of the victims’ school.

    In a separate Facebook post on Friday afternoon, the madrasah thanked all who had contacted it out of concern for the students’ well-being.

    “The affected students have been counselled and parents have been contacted,” it said.

    It was an incident that sparked strong condemnation online.

    On Friday, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam wrote on Facebook that he had asked the police to investigate the matter, adding that “the motives for the attack (were) not clear” at that time.

    Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs Amrin Amin also posted on social media, calling it a “serious matter”.

    He added that he was worried for the affected students, urging the public not to jump to conclusions on the matter.

    The incident took place two days after Mr Shanmugam visited another madrasah, calling on Singaporeans to reach out to their Muslim neighbours and build social cohesion, following a recent string of terror attacks globally that threatens to fray the trust among communities here.

    On Saturday night, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said on Facebook that “we should stand together against all forms of violence against innocent persons”.

    Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim posted on Facebook earlier on Saturday, saying that he was “dismayed to hear of the attack”, which he called “totally unacceptable”.

    “We should never tolerate any forms of aggression towards anyone, especially the innocent. The perpetrator must be brought to justice,” he added. “We must stay calm and united and not let this incident divide us.”

    Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu wrote on Facebook: “An attack on the innocent can never be condoned.”

    She added: “My thoughts are with the young girls, and I hope they recover soon.”

     

    Source: Straits Times

  • Students of Madrasah Hit Without Reason At Paya Lebar

    Students of Madrasah Hit Without Reason At Paya Lebar

    According to eyewitness accounts, on Friday morning at about 7.20am near Paya Lebar MRT, three students from Madrasah Al-Ma’arif Al-Islamiah was physically abused by a stranger. The students described the attacker as a foreign Chinese national middle-aged man wearing a red t-shirt, light brown bermuda with black boots and carrying a bag pack while holding a plastic bag filled with a heavy item.

    According to the eyewitness, the first victim was kicked at the left thigh, the second victim was hit by the plastic bag and the third victim was also hit the same way on one of her eyes. While a police report have been made, we are also appealing for other eyewitnesses to come forward and provide more information to the police.

    While this is a disgusting and uncalled for attack on the students, we should remain calm and rational. Whatever information we have pertaining to this case, it is best we inform the police immediately, so they could complete their investigations and arrest the perpetrator.

    Maybe this is what we get for voting for the PAP some more. Bring in large number of foreign talent, but neglect to expose them to the social fabric and social harmony we enjoy in Singapore. This is what the 70% of you wanted, right? Obvious, of the thousands they bring in, one would be a crazy who would do something like this. Happy now? You all got the government you deserve, so don’t complain

    But once again, if anyone saw the incident, please report to the police straight away.

     

    Reader Contribution

  • Unjust Policies Against The Malay Muslim Community Perpetuate Misconceptions Against The Community

    Unjust Policies Against The Malay Muslim Community Perpetuate Misconceptions Against The Community

    Our law minister Shanmugam recently mentioned that Singaporeans are obliged to reach out to the Muslims to build social cohesion.

    While the government hopes to realise a society that can fully integrate in harmony, on the contrary it has unknowingly perpetuate misconceptions among Singaporeans, in particular towards the Malay/Muslims in Singapore by means of unjust policies.

    It would be better for Shanmugan to ask the government to take the lead and not passing the buck to the people and hope everything turns out fine.

    Although Singaporeans are obliged to reach out to each other, it is also the government’s responsibility to subserve social cohesion.

    A good start would be in school. Psychologist would agree that exposing children to diverse cultural practices at a young age would most probably remove prejudices and racial bigotry.

    1. Allow the tudung in school from kindergarten level – Children are naturally inquisitive. They learn and absorb much more in natural classroom settings. Exposing them to such occurrences will help these children to better understand the multi-racial society that we live in and leads to greater tolerance in future.

    2. Set up student exchange programme from the mainstream school with the Madrasah schools – We have overseas exchange programmes. So why not have it with the Madrasah schools? These students can benefit like any other overseas exchange programmes. It goes both ways. It helps both students from the mainstream and madrasah to understand our unique social settings.

    3. Remove discriminatory criteria for enrolling in SAP schools – We heard of how Malays are under represented in SAP schools. The criterion to speak Mandarin to be eligible for enrolling of one’s child, automatically exclude majority of the Malay/Muslims students to be eligible. This criterion unwittingly segregates the populace. There are students who went to SAP schools and study up to higher level without having the experience of associating themselves with other races and cultures except the one where they come from. How does that help to build social cohesion?

    4. Put an end to the unwritten policy that forbid the Malays/Muslim from entering certain restricted areas in the RSAF. We heard and read of many accounts even from the non-Malays of how they (Malays) were prevented from entering the premises just because they are of a certain race. At this level, continuing with such atrocious policies only seek to preserve the misconception the general masses have on the Muslims.

    5. Lift the ban on hijabs to be worn in uniformed groups – The narrative from the government is that allowing it will cause racial disharmony and harm social cohesion. On what basis does the Government has to support its claim? Policies that are discriminatory, when implemented must be of substantive reasoning else it runs the risk of creating ill-will between the people.

    I believe the above is a good start for the government to initiate in building greater cohesion among the people. Passing the buck to the populace is not going to help much when it actively maintain policies that prevents the society from integrating positively.

    The baton is now over to you Mr Shanmugam.

     

    Source: Khan Osman Sulaiman

  • Zulfikar Shariff: A Racist Will Insult Islam Because He Is Racist, Not Because Of Media Influence

    Zulfikar Shariff: A Racist Will Insult Islam Because He Is Racist, Not Because Of Media Influence

    One reaction by the Muslim community that annoys me…

    is when they see some racist insulting Islam….they assume that person insult because of what they see in the media.

    Lets be clear…a racist will insult Islam because he is racist.

    It is not because of the media.

    It is simply because he is a racist.

    Stop apologising.

    Stop trying to explain that “Islam is not what you see on TV” or “ISIS is not Islam”.

    Stop making excuses for them as though they would have been fair minded if not for the media.

    A lot of non-Muslims watch TV and read about ISIS and do not insult Islam.

    Racists refer to the media to justify their racism.

    Stop making excuses for them.

     

    Source: Zulfikar Shariff

  • Almakhazin: PAP Control Islam For Their Own Political Gains

    Almakhazin: PAP Control Islam For Their Own Political Gains

    Contrary to the views of many Muslims, the government does not control MUIS through funding. Government grants makes up barely 5% of MUIS operational expenditure.

    Instead, MUIS is controlled through legislation, appointment of its senior officers by the President and Minister and through protocols as demanded for being a statutory body.

    MUIS officers also regularly meet with and receive instructions from the PAP Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs, the intelligence departments and Ministry of Home Affairs.

    While they do have some discretion in discussing specific, “non-sensitive” items in public, MUIS also receive instruction on what it should discuss and what it should not.

    But MUIS is not the only body the PAP uses to promote its political interests.

    One of the clearest declaration of how the PAP uses Malay organisations and leaders for its political purpose was made during the Collective Leadership Conference organised by the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) in 2000.

    AMP proposed the setting up of a Collective Leadership system that involved the convening of an Annual Muslim Congress to discuss the community’s challenges, progress and develop strategies for future development.

    For most neutral observer or member of the community, this proposal seems positive and needed. More than 500 Muslim community leaders and organisation representatives attended the event and gave support to the proposal.

    What many did not seem to realise was how strongly the PAP would reject it.

    The then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong spoke on the second day of the conference.

    He began his speech by reminding AMP that they receive grants from his government.

    He then declared that Muslims can discuss the idea for Collective Leadership as much as we want. But it is “a No Go”. We will not be allowed to have a Collective Leadership system or convene the Annual Muslim Congress.

    And the reason he gave was simple: the proposal for a non-partisan Muslim leadership that is independent of the PAP…

    Represents a threat to the PAP Malay MPs.

    According to Chok Tong, a “collective Malay leadership to be elected by Malays only…is clearly a political challenge to the Malay MPs”.

    Instead, he declared what the PAP want for the Malay community’s leadership structure:

    “At the apex is the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs. He is assisted by the Malay MPs. They are supported by two key pillars.

    MUIS is the first pillar… There must only be one authority in charge of Islamic Affairs, and that is MUIS.”

    The second pillar is the government owned MENDAKI.

    Chok Tong demanded that we accept the Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs and the PAP MPs as our leaders.

    They are supported by MUIS and MENDAKI.

    Both organisations are controlled by the PAP.

    We are not allowed to elect or appoint our own community’s leaders.

    They must be appointed by the PAP.

    Our supreme leader, the one at the apex of the community is the PAP politician who reports to his party.

    MUIS and Mendaki, the PAP controlled organisations, support him.

    We are not to have any leader that is responsible to our community.

    Like the Malay MPs, MUIS and Mendaki…

    Our leaders can only be appointed by the PAP.

     

    Source: Almakhazin