Category: Politik

Normal Practice For Ministers To Be Given Expedited Clearance At Checkpoints: ICA

It is normal practice for the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to give expedited clearance to ministers, ICA said on Tuesday (July 19) in response to media queries.

ICA also confirmed that Minister for Family and Social Development Tan Chuan-Jin was travelling with 20 bus loads of people, who were his residents and grassroots leaders, on Sunday (July 17) when he, his security officers and the other passengers in his bus were given clearance, without having to queue, at the Tuas Checkpoint at around 9.20pm.

The passengers in the other 19 buses were cleared through the normal channels, ICA added.

“It is normal practice for ICA to give expedited clearance to Ministers, on both sides of the Causeway as well as members of the Malaysian royalty,” ICA said.

“Where they travel with others in a group, ICA officers will use their judgment on the clearance process,” it added.

ICA’s response came a day after Workers’ Party MP Png Eng Huat commented on his Facebook that he was “dismayed” to see a lane for immigration clearance specially opened for Mr Tan and his residents. Mr Tan is MP for Marine Parade GRC.

Mr Png said in a post on Monday (July 18) afternoon that the Singapore customs was “overwhelmed” when he and some residents were returning from a one-day trip to Desaru on Sunday. Mr Png is MP for Hougang SMC.

“Many tired travellers were relieved to see another counter opened but to their dismay, it was only to allow Minister Tan Chuan-Jin to clear as he had joined his residents for a day of outing and fun too,” he said.

He said that most people probably did not mind this, as “being a minister does come with privileges”, but he noted that some others in the group with Mr Tan also did not have to queue.

“An entourage of grassroots leaders and members with shopping bags in tow also enjoyed the privilege of fast clearance… No one else could use that counter,” he said.

Mr Png added that an 89-year-old resident in his group, and one who was injured during the tour had to wait in line.

“The chaos, anger and confusion at the Tuas Immigration check point certainly made us forget how bad the durians were yesterday, and how bad the system needs to change,” he concluded.

According to ICA, records show that Mr Png was at the checkpoint for about 30 minutes, and was cleared through immigration.

When contacted, Mr Png said that the issue was not about Mr Tan given expedited clearance, but the fact that the grassroots people travelling with him were also given special treatment. “ICA sees it fit to state that I waited about 30 minutes to clear customs. I am sure the Minister would not mind waiting 30 minutes for the rest of his travelling companions to clear customs as well”, he added.

Another Workers’ Party politician, Kenneth Foo, also wrote about the incident on his Facebook page.

Mr Png’s post had been shared more than 600 times by Tuesday morning.

Netizens debated the incident in the comments under the post, with some defending Mr Tan and others saying that grassroots leaders should not be given special treatment.

Meanwhile, Facebook group Fabrications About The PAP gave an explanation for the incident.

It explained in a Facebook post on Monday night that Mr Tan was on a semi-official trip. He then chose to join his residents for a Johor Baru tour and take the bus with them instead of driving in.

“It was a semi-official visit and his security officers carried firearms. Thus, his whole bus of residents was cleared at the same time,” said the post.

Source: The Straits Times

July 19, 2016
Learning To Appreciate Islamic Thought In Modern Context

A programme for aspiring Islamic religious leaders to better understand religious teachings in the context of contemporary, plural societies was launched yesterday.

A total of 40 recent graduates and final-year undergraduates from universities in the Middle East and South-east Asia are attending the Islamic Thought in Context: Living in Plural Societies series at the Singapore Islamic Hub over 10 days this week and the next. The sessions are organised by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore’s (Muis’) research and education arm, Muis Academy, together with the Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University.

They cover such topics as syariah in a modern context, and diversity and Islam in modern Singapore.

On Friday, Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim announced plans to study the feasibility of setting up an Islamic college here to provide a higher quality of religious education that is better tailored to the local context.

Dr Yaacob also told reporters over the weekend that such a college could have its first cohort in, say, five years, but a full-fledged institution might need a longer timeframe of between 15 and 20 years.

In the meantime, sessions like this month’s aim to help equip local religious teachers with an appreciation of current trends, and skills to better teach the religion today.

Sessions will be taught by lecturers from both RSIS and the Muis Academy, as well as international scholars such as University of Melbourne Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies Abdullah Saeed, and University of Notre Dame Professor of Islamic Studies Ebrahim Moosa.

Participant Muhammad Ashraf Anwar, 23, said the series would help him better understand current issues facing the community. Said the final-year Islamic theology student at Al-Azhar University in Cairo: “In Egypt, we learn traditional Islam from credible sources, but the community in Egypt is very different. We have to learn how to contextualise what we study to better serve the community here.”

Muis Academy’s vice-dean, Ustaz Mohammad Hannan Hassan, said: “The programme was created to help students consult the Islamic tradition and place it within the context of Singapore’s plural society.” He added: “This contextualisation is not something outside of Islam, it’s an established part of our tradition.”

As for an Islamic college, SRP Head of Studies Mohammad Alami Musa said it would benefit madrasah graduates, who are now not able to pursue higher religious education locally. A pool of some 15 asatizah (religious teachers) with master’s and doctoral degrees could be part of the faculty, he said.

Other community leaders also welcomed the college. Managing director of education group SimplyIslam Mohamed Nassir Abdul Sukkur said it was “long overdue”.

Mr Alami said: “It has been a dream of asatizah from the pioneer generation to have an Islamic college here.”

Source: Berita MediaCorp

July 19, 2016
Proposed Kelantan Cinema, Its First In 26 Years, Sparks Protests, Excitement

The Kelantan Youth wing of opposition Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) has delivered a memorandum of protest against the opening of the first cinema in the east coast state since the Islamist party took over in 1990, but it is unclear what exactly it is rallying against.

The memorandum submitted last week is believed to be against Paragon Cinema which was supposed to open this month at the KB Mall in Kota Baru, but the cineplex’s launch is still on hold as its operators await licence approval from the local municipal council and the Kelantan state government.

However, the PAS-led state government has denied receiving any licence application from any cinema operators so far, despite a posting on the mall’s official Facebook page claiming that Paragon’s doors will open this month.

“There has been no application made at all as of this moment,” Kelantan’s local government, housing, youth and sports committee chairman Abdul Fattah Mahmood told Malay Mail Online when contacted on Monday (July 18).

However, he refused to comment when asked about the status of Paragon Cinema, which was reportedly nearly completed.

PAS Kelantan Youth Chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, who led the protest, told Malay Mail Online on Monday that he was afraid the opening of cinemas would cause the state government to deviate from its strict rulings on entertainment outlets.

“We asked for the government to be stricter with the enforcement of the enactment if they are going to allow it,” he said.

“We are worried that it won’t follow the enactment at all and this might lead to problems in the future.”

KB Mall’s leasing executive Mohd Ashrul confirmed the plan to open a cinema is still in the pipelines, but said an opening date has yet to be set as no licence has been issued so far.

“The construction is still on-going. There is no actual date on the opening yet,” he told Malay Mail Online on Monday.

When asked for elaboration on the licence application, Mr Mohd Ashrul revealed that the mall is still negotiating with Paragon Cinema’s top management about adhering to the strict restrictions set by the state authorities.

“About the licence, we are still negotiating on the application details. We are waiting for an answer from the top management,” he added, but refused to confirm whether an application has been lodged.

Since PAS took over Kelantan in 1990, several cinema outlets including Rex, Odeon and Lido were closed down as they did not adhere to the Entertainment Control Enactment 1998.

PAS vice-president Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, who is also Kelantan’s Deputy Chief Minister, told The Star over the weekend that the state is willing to consider the return of cinemas, even after the staunch protest from PAS Youth wing.

Mr Mohd Amar said however cinema operators would still be subjected to stricter guidelines which include gender-segregated seatings and restricted screenings during Muslim daily prayer times.

The Paragon Cinema complex, said to offer eight screening halls, stoked the excitement of Kelantan folks after its opening was announced on KB Mall’s Facebook page. The Facebook post has since been deleted.

According to Mr Mohd Ashrul, the cinema is a joint-venture between the mall operators and an outside investor looking to open the first cinema there, where entertainment outlets are a thorny topic.  Meanwhile, PAS’ Youth Wing on Monday objected to a concert by Selena Gomez in Shah Alam next week, claiming that the “sexy” American pop singer taints the Muslim month of celebration.

The Islamist party wing’s missionary bureau chairman Hafez Sabri said Ms Gomez’s concert on July 25 coincides with the 20th day of Syawal, the month of Aidilfitri.

“The appearance of the American born artist who has been synonymous with a sexy appearance would tarnish the nobleness of the month of Syawal that is celebrated with gratitude and penitence by Muslims … (It) promotes the culture of hedonism among the younger generations in this country,” he said in a statement.

Source: TODAY Online

July 19, 2016
TMJ Dakwa Ada Bukti FAM Amalkan Rasuah Selama 30 Tahun

Tunku Mahkota Johor, Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim mendakwa beliau mempunyai bukti bahawa Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia (FAM) dicemari amalan rasuah selama 30 tahun.

Dalam catatan di laman Facebook rasmi kelab Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) hari ini (18 Julai), Tunku Ismail memuat naik gambar beliau sedang memegang ‘pendrive’ sambil tersenyum.

Beliau juga mendakwa mempunyai butiran lanjut amalan rasuah itu, termasuk ketirisan penjualan tiket perlawanan akhir Piala FA dan Piala Malaysia, pengambilan duit kelab dan laporan audit yang “merepek”, menurut Malaysiakini.

“Apa yang pelik adalah anda semua boleh terima selama ini dan sanggup mempertegakkan 30 tahun korupsi dalam Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia (FAM).

“Ini adalah ‘pendrive’ diberikan kepada saya oleh sahabat-sahabat saya yang berkedudukan tertinggi di Kuala Lumpur.

“Ia berkenaan maklumat dan aktiviti dalam FAM, ketirisan penjualan tiket perlawanan akhir Piala FA dan Piala Malaysia, orang-orang media yang FAM selalu gunakan termasuk bekas-bekas pemain di Malaysia, duit-duit kelab yang diambil oleh FMLLP (Usahawan Liabiliti Terhad Bola Sepak Malaysia) dan diberikan kepada FAM serta laporan audit yang merepek,” tulis Tunku Ismail dalam catatan di Facebook Johor Southern Tigers.

JANGAN DIAJAK PENEMBAK TEPAT PERGI MENEMBAK Anda memberi komen tentang pemain yang bersara dan membuat kenyataan…

Posted by JOHOR Southern Tigers on Sunday, 17 July 2016

Tunku Ismail menambah, beliau memutuskan untuk mendedahkan demikian hari ini kerana “mungkin sudah sampai masanya untuk penyokong bola sepak tanahair melihat dan menilainya sendiri.”

“Akhir sekali, saya ingin mengingatkan, duit rakyat sepatutnya digunakan untuk rakyat sahaja. Bukan untuk bola sepak dan kepentingan politik. Sila selesai isu gaji pemain yang sudah lama tidak diselesaikan,” kata beliau.

Selain itu, Tunku Ismail juga mengkritik komen-komen yang dikeluarkan tentang persaraan empat pemain JDT dari skuad kebangsaan, dan berkata, ia “seolah-olah mereka tidak pernah berkhidmat dan mencapai kejayaan bersama pasukan kebangsaan.”

Empat pemain JDT – Safiq Rahim, Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak, Amirul Hadi Zainal dan S Kunanlan – mengumumkan persaraan mereka sebelum ini. Tunku Ismail ketika itu mendakwa mereka bersara kerana tidak diberi layanan baik.

“Apa yang susah sangat untuk menghormati keputusan mereka? Satu perkataan sahaja yang anda (pengkritik) harus katakan tentang mereka atau kepada mereka iaitu ‘terima kasih’.

“Terima kasih atas pengorbanan mereka selama ini. Itu sahaja,” tulis Tunku Ismail dalam catatannya di Facebook.

TMJ DEDAH DOKUMEN BUTIRAN KELEMAHAN PASUKAN, FAM

Dalam satu lagi catatan di Facebook itu beberapa jam setelah itu, Tunku Ismail juga mendedahkan sesetengah maklumat yang menurutnya, dicetak dari sumber dalaman FAM dan “salah satu organisasi tertinggi yang masih sayangkan bola sepak Malaysia.”

Antara masalah yang didapati pada pasukan kebangsaan, kata beliau memetik dokumen itu, ialah “kualiti pada jurulatih tidak memuaskan” dan “pemilihan pemain di tahap liga diganggu oleh pegawai-pegawai atasan”.

SESETENGAH MAKLUMAT DI HALAMAN 3.1.2.1 dan 3.1.2.2 YANG TELAH DICETAK DARI SUMBER DALAMAN FAM DAN SALAH SATU ORGANISASI…

Posted by JOHOR Southern Tigers on Monday, 18 July 2016

Antara masalah pengurusan yang didapati dalam FAM pula, menurutnya, ialah “FAM menggunakan kaedah lama dalam pengurusan bola sepak”, “gaji jurulatih tempatan dan jurulatih pasukan kebangsaan terlalu tinggi” dan “tidak pernah mengambil serius skandal mengatur perlawanan.”

FAM NAFI BENARKAN BUDAYA RASUAH

Sementara itu, FAM menegaskan pihaknya tidak membenarkan budaya rasuah dalam persatuan itu kerana Persekutuan Bola Sepak Antarabangsa (FIFA) dan Konfederasi Bola Sepak Asia (AFC) turut bertegas dalam menangani rasuah, lapor Malaysiakini.

“Jawatankuasa Integriti juga ditubuhkan FAM untuk memantau bukan sahaja pasukan bola sepak, malah keseluruhan pentadbiran dan juga barisan kepimpinan,” kata Setiausaha Agung FAM Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin dalam sidang media hari ini.

Datuk Hamidin juga menambah, “sesiapa sahaja ada hak (laporkan) kepada SPRM (Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia” ketika ditanya sama ada beliau berpendapat Tunku Ismail perlu melaporkan perkara itu kepada SPRM.

Datuk Hamidin berkata beliau akan menghubungi sendiri Tunku Ismail berhubung hal itu.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

July 19, 2016
Damanhuri Abas: The Turkey Failed Coup Exposes Western Hypocrisy On Democracy

The failed coup in Turkey exposes again (but conveniently ignored in mainstream discourse) western hypocrisy. It can be deduced from western mainstream media as the coup unfolds, their inclination to see Erdogan go. Shamelessly discarding their mantra of the defender of democracy. They were probably hoping that like Morsi in Egypt, to just let another of this ‘Islamist’ disappear ‘into the night’ quietly.

By the Grace of God, the people of Turkey unlike the Arabs in Egypt, stood together as one united people in denouncing the Military (most probably western backed) coup. Even the so-called secularist had the integrity to see through the game being played and stood by the democracy they believed in where differing opinions are discussed and debated and where disagreements do not mean hatred for each other.

This coup also exposes the conniving hypocrites in the ranks and file of state institutions in Turkey who instead of addressing grievances through the ballot box, had the audacity to resort to non-constitutional means to overthrow an elected government.

There is a lesson in all this for everyone who shout so much about rule of law, that when it comes to their own interest/preference (even in Singapore), they are likewise guilty of fanning this hypocrisy by rooting the illegal coup ‘quietly’ wishing for the overthrow of Erdogan. When will we grow up to behave like mature adults to debate and discuss and differ too but respect the rule of law to ensure justice for all within the democratic process. Or are we in truth only pretentious and not so civilized after all.

Integrity is the true test of character and sadly in the aborted coup event in Turkey, in our instinctive response, exposes our severe lack of it. Failure in our collective consistency to always follow agreed rule of law (local or international) but instead flip-flopping shamelessly, has led to the mess in the middle east when western powers since the time of colonization until today, deemed it their strange privilege to decide leaders of countries justified by their own self-interest ignoring the wishes of the indigenous population.

We will continue to allow this injustices on earth through our selective conscience so long as we choose to look the other way when our comfort zone, our people, our religion, our heritage, our civilization, our guy is doing the bad thing.

Instead we who claimed to be educated, modern and the so-called proud believers in democracy must raise our collective voices in praise of the success of the people of Turkey in fighting back and defying rogue elements of the Turkish military with their lives. In truth, the Turks in the streets of Ankara and Istanbul last Friday are fore runners in moving humanity forward in the spirit of defending civilization than all of us put together.

Walk the Talk people!!!!

Source: Damanhuri Abas

July 18, 2016