Category: Politik

Walid J. Abdullah: Racism Only Exists When It Is Not Spoken By Them

It’s funny how some people are so bent on using anecdotes -parliamentarians especially love to talk about their personal experiences – to display the truly multi-racial nature of Singapore, and to prove racism doesn’t exist.

‘My son didn’t want to bring a ham sandwich to school to respect his Muslim friends; see, there is no racism!’

‘I saw an Indian man calling an ambulance for a Chinese lady, and a Malay dude was the medic. Singaporean multiracialism ftw!’

‘I got into the lift and saw a Malay man, and i smiled and had a conversation with him. Only in Singapore do you get this.’ (somehow, speaking in a polite manner to other humans is uniquely Singaporean, and shows racism is absent!)

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But when these people come across other anecdotes that actually work against their ‘all is hunky dory’ theory, they will find all sorts of excuses to dismiss them.

‘Oh, our MP wasn’t being offensive. She just proposed the fence because it was practical. She gets along well with Indian workers, you know. Her suggestion is nothing like Trump’s.’

‘Oh, the portrayal of a hijabi as parking attendant in the children’s book is actually a good thing and does not reinforce stereotypes. Exposes children to the hijab. Good job author!’

‘The blackface incident was just something light-hearted. Please don’t be so sensitive. We must learn to laugh at ourselves.’

‘Yeah he said Malay and Indian workers cannot speak English properly. But that’s not what he really meant. We must look at the context.’

And, the get-out-of-jail card for when one cannot perform intellectual gymnastics and is forced to admit that an incident is racist:

‘Yes, this was racist. But racism exists everywhere else. So be thankful for what you have here.’

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Yeah, continue telling yourselves that racism doesn’t exist. Continue glorifying your own experiences as the norm, and continue dismissing others’ encounters with racism as anomalies.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

October 27, 2016
Feng Tianwei Axed For Ill-Discipline, Disrespect And Misconduct

Disputes over prize money, false claims, and disrespect of authority were some of the issues that led to three-time Olympic medallist Feng Tianwei being axed from the national table tennis team.

On Tuesday (Oct 25), the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) revealed that it would not be renewing its contract with the Republic’s top-ranked female paddler, citing the need for rejuvenation of the national team.

However, TODAY understands that the STTA decided to sever ties after a series of incidents over the years.

According to sources, a dispute over prize money had erupted after last year’s SEA Games, where Feng won a gold medal in the women’s team event.

The 30-year-old had refused to pay her share of her winnings from the Multi-Million Dollar Awards Programme (MAP) that was meant for the coaches — an amount of $400 — and instigated other team members to follow suit.

This despite the STTA’s policy that a portion of the earnings has to be shared among the coaches. Even after the association issued letters asking for the amount, the players have yet to pay up.

There was also an issue of false claims amounting to a few hundred dollars submitted by the player for reimbursement of food purchases, with handwritten receipts submitted by Feng called into question.

These included the purchase of 200 eggs for breakfast over nine days, and 10 tins of milk over three days. Feng was eventually issued a warning by the STTA, and the cash was returned to the association.

On top of money issues, there were also disagreements over coaches and competitions.

Last October, Feng and team-mate Yu Mengyu’s request for a change of coach culminated in an ugly spat at the Polish Open between Yu and then-head coach Jing Junhong. Yu was handed a warning letter for the incident, while Jing was redeployed to youth development.

At the request of Feng, China-born German Chen Zhibin was appointed head coach of the women’s team in February — just six months ahead of the Rio Olympic Games.

However, the relationship appeared to have soured in August, when Feng was seen courtside coaching team-mates Yu and Zhou Yihan during the competition breaks for the women’s team event instead of Chen in an apparent show of disrespect to the veteran coach.

While it is unclear what caused the rift between the players and Chen, the women suffered a dismal outing at the Rio Olympics as they returned empty-handed for the first time since the Beijing Games in 2008.

Both Feng and Yu were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the women’s singles, while the women’s team — the defending bronze medallists — were beaten by Japan in the playoff for the bronze medal.

While Feng has since been sent packing, the STTA said on Tuesday that Chen will continue as women’s team head coach, and that his contract will end in March next year.

Feng’s participation at the annual National Table Tennis Grand Finale — a locally-held tournament which gives local players a chance to compete against the national paddlers — also sparked off unhappiness.
She had refused to pay the registration fee for the event and Feng — who had banked in some S$3 million in prize money and winnings over her career — had also complained about the prize money being too little.

Responding to queries from TODAY about the incidents, the STTA did not confirm or deny the matter.

“Disciplinary matters are private and confidential, and the STTA declines comment,” said STTA chief executive officer Wong Hui Leng.

“However, we also believe very strongly in values like discipline, respect and the importance of teamwork and working together towards our common objective of bringing glory to Singapore.

“Moving forward, we are looking forward to working closely with all our partners and stakeholders in charting the sport’s path towards the next Olympics and beyond.”

Feng, who had said that she intends to continue competing in international competitions, is expected to hold a press conference this week to talk about her plans for her post-STTA career.

Source: TODAY Online

October 27, 2016
Duterte Nixes Military Alliance With Any Nation Other Than The US

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday (Oct 24), on the eve of his visit to Japan, that he has no plan to forge a military alliance with any country other than the United States, downplaying concerns over his veering toward China.

“The alliances are alive, it is there,” the Philippine leader said, referring to the Philippines’ longest standing ally, the United States. “There should be no worry about changes of alliances. I do not need to have alliances with other nations.”

Mr Duterte added that he only plans to have an “alliance of trade and commerce” with China.

These remarks to a group of Japanese reporters came after he announced amid a visit to China last week his “separation from the United States, both in military, not maybe social, but economics also” and suggested his country would be much better off aligning itself with China.

“America has lost. I realign myself in your ideological flow,” he told his Chinese hosts at a business forum.

“And maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to (President Vladimir) Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world — China, Philippines, and Russia. It’s the only way,” he said then.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella later downplayed the president’s remarks in China, saying he was merely “asserting the imperative to separate the nation from dependence on the US and the West, and rebalance economic and military relations with our Asian (China, Japan and South Korea) neighbours and the ASEAN community.”

The populist leader had already declared there will be no more joint military exercises with the United States, with which the Philippines has a mutual defence treaty.

Japanese government sources said earlier Monday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is planning to call for Mr Duterte to repair his government’s strained ties with the United States when they meet later this week in Tokyo.

Japan has been concerned over the strain on US-Philippine relations from Mr Duterte’s repeated anti US comments and the possible impact on stability in the South China Sea, where China is engaging in military expansion.

The talks between the leaders, likely to take place on Wednesday, will be most closely watched for whether Mr Duterte expresses a willingness to continue cooperating with Japan and the United States, which seek to halt China’s expansionary activities.

Source: TODAY Online

October 27, 2016
Habib Hassan Nama Baru Disenaraikan Dalam Buku 500 Muslim Paling Berpengaruh Di Dunia

Imam Masjid Ba’alwie Habib Hassan al-Attas menjadi nama baru yang disenaraikan dalam buku baru 500 Muslim paling berpengaruh di dunia.

Habib Hassan diiktiraf dalam kategori pendakwah dan panduan rohani.

Beliau digambarkan sebagai tunggak kekuatan dan perpaduan ke arah membina keharmonian agama di Singapura dan Asia Tenggara.

Habib Hassan juga mengutuk pengganasan dan memainkan peranan utama dalam memupuk persefahaman dengan agama-agama lain di Singapura.

Turut disenaraikan dalam buku itu ialah mantan Menteri Negara Kanan Ehwal Luar Zainul Abidin Rasheed yang sekali lagi disenaraikan dalam bidang politik.

Buku ini menyenaraikan 500 orang yang paling berpengaruh dalam dunia Islam.

Mereka dibahagikan kepada beberapa sektor seperti ilmiah, politik, pentadbiran hal ehwal agama, pendakwah dan panduan rohani, kebajikan dan pembangunan, isu-isu sosial, perniagaan, sains dan teknologi, seni dan budaya, Quran, media, selebriti, bintang sukan dan juga pelampau.

Senarai ini diumumkan kepada orang ramai setiap tahun sejak 2009.

Sebelum ini, antara tokoh Singapura yang diiktiraf pada tahun-tahun yang lalu, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Menteri Perhubungan dan Penerangan, yang juga Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam dalam bidang pentadbiran dan Iskandar Jalil, pakar tembikar dalam bidang budaya.

Buku itu terbitan Pusat Pengajian Strategik Islam Diraja di Amman, ibu kota Jordan, dengan kerjasama Pusat Putera Alwaleed Bin Talal bagi Persefahaman Muslim-Kristian di Washington DC, Amerika Syarikat.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

October 25, 2016
Table Tennis: Singapore’s Player Li Hu Sacked After Disciplinary Hearing

The Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) has terminated the contract of men’s national player Li Hu following a disciplinary committee hearing on Monday night (Oct 24).

The three-person committee, chaired by STTA vice-president Lim Soon Hock, reached a unanimous decision to sack Li, following repeated breaches of the association’s Code of Conduct.

The disciplinary investigation found that Li had displayed insolence, insubordination and continued to violate house rules despite verbal warnings. This pertained to the 28-year-old misconduct in bringing a female guest to his dormitory on several occasions.

Reports last week indicate that Li, who is ranked 58th in the world, had already been evicted from the STTA hostel where he had been staying.

According to the STTA, the decision to terminate Li’s contract was also based on his track record with the association during his employment, noting that the player had also other disciplinary issues throughout his tenure.

Li had in fact been issued a final warning letter in January for another indiscretion, and he was also informed by writing that any further misconduct will warrant a termination of his employment.

Said Lim, in a statement issued by STTA: “The STTA does not tolerate indiscipline. Li Hu’s repeated breaches of the Code of Conduct is a cause of serious concern to the STTA. His insubordination is unacceptable and is not tolerated.”

Last week, it was reported that Li is assisting the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in a case of alleged attempted bribery said to be related to his disciplinary troubles.

When queried, CPIB declined to provide further information, saying in a statement to Channel NewsAsia: “Due to the nature of our work, we will not confirm or deny whether any individual or identity is being investigated for corrupt practices.”

A former world junior champion, Hubei native Li arrived in Singapore in 2010 and became a citizen the next year. Once ranked as high as 26th in the world, he is seen as the natural successor to veterans Gao Ning and Yang Zi.

In 2014, he partnered Gao to a bronze medal in the men’s doubles at the Asian Games in Incheon, and to gold in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Li and Gao also won men’s doubles gold at the 2015 SEA Games.

But Singapore table tennis has suffered a dip in fortunes of late, with the men’s team failing to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, while the women’s team returned empty-handed for the first time since the 2008 Games.

Source: ChannelNewsAsia

October 25, 2016