Category: Politik

Rahayu Mahzam: Pemerintah Harus Memberi Kelonggaran Bagi Muslimah Bertudung, Luaskan Ruang Berbicara Tentang Hal-Hal Agama

Masyarakat tempatan perlu mengadakan perbincangan-perbincangan “sangat berterus terang” tentang isu-isu nyata.

Usaha menggalakkan keharmonian kaum dan agama tidak lagi boleh dijalankan di peringkat luaran sahaja dengan setakat menghadiri majlis-majlis budaya satu sama lain.

Sebaliknya, Singapura harus “mengadakan ruang untuk bercakap tentang identiti kita, amalan keagamaan seperti membakar kertas sembahyang, pemakaian tudung, memainkan muzik semasa Thaipusam misalnya.”

Demikian seruan Anggota Parlimen GRC Jurong, semasa menyampaikan ucapan sulung beliau dalam perbahasan di Parlimen petang tadi (28 Jan).

Cik Rahayu menambah, seharusnya ada dialog-dialog terbuka kerana perbincangan sedemikian akan menghasilkan kefahaman tentang keprihatinan satu sama lain.

Mengulas mengenai debat tentang isu pengganasan, beliau menekankan, masyarakat Melayu/Islam Singapura menolak fahaman sedemikian.

Lantaran itu Cik Rahayu menekankan, masyarakat Melayu/Islam tidak boleh dipersalahkan dan taat setia masyarakat tersebut “tidak patut dipersoalkan”.

HARAP ISU TUDUNG DISEMAK LAGI

“Saya rasakan penting untuk Pemerintah mengambil langkah untuk menggalakkan perbincangan terbuka tentang hal-hal sebegini agar segala prasangka atau rasa salah faham dapat dilenyapkan dengan segera. Juga perlu sentiasa ada peringatan yang tegas untuk mengutuk dan mengekang tindakan yang berbaur Islamofobia.

“Satu lagi hal yang berada di benak fikiran masyarakat kita adalah isu tudung. Saya harap hal ini dapat disemak lagi oleh Pemerintah dan kelonggaran diberi agar wanita bertudung tidak terbatas untuk bekerja dalam mana-mana kerjaya pilihannya,” ujar Cik Rahayu.

Namun beliau juga menekankan, dalam pada masyarakat mengharapkan sesuatu daripada Pemerintah, ia juga perlu bersikap matang dan berbincang secara hormat.

Masyarakat Melayu kata beliau perlu menggunakan peluang yang ada untuk terus menjalin hubungan dengan kaum lain agar ada pemahaman yang mendalam tentang budaya dan agama Melayu/Islam dapat terjalin.

Masyarakat Melayu/Islam kata beliau, sebahagian daripada masyarakat majmuk Singapura dan perlu sentiasa prihatin untuk menjaga keharmonian kaum dan agama.

SOKONG NCMP, KRITIK KOMEN KETUA PARTI PEKERJA

Dalam ucapan beliau itu, Cik Rahayu juga mengalu-alukan peningkatan dan perubahan kepada skim Anggota Parlimen Tanpa Kawasan Undi (NCMP) yang diumumkan Perdana Menteri Lee Hsien Loong semalam.

Beliau melahirkan harapan untuk melihat lebih ramai anggota politik pembangkang seperti Encik Leon Perera dan Encik Dennis Tan, bagi menghasilkan perdebatan yang lasak demi menggubal dasar negara.

Cik Rahayu bagaimanapun membidas ketua pembangkang Low Thia Khiang dengan berkata, beliau “agak terkejut” para NCMP itu disamakan dengan kiambang.

“Tiada apa yang boleh menghalang NCMP daripada bergerak di akar umbi, melakukan lawatan rumah ke rumah dan menganjurkan sesi-sesi untuk mengumpulkan keprihatinan penduduk. Hakikatnya, saya teringat Encik Perera menyebut bahawa beliau melakukan kerja-kerja akar umbi di East Coast dan Aljunied. Peningkatan-peningkatan tersebut mengukuhkan kedudukan NCMP dan saya rasa sukar untuk berhujah sebaliknya,” ujar Cik Rahayu lagi.

AMALKAN KELONGGARAN BERI BANTUAN

Menyentuh tentang golongan yang berisiko dan kurang bernasib baik, beliau menyeru supaya lebih banyak kelonggaran diamalkan dalam membantu mereka.

Sebahagian bantuan kata beliau dibelenggu oleh pelbagai peraturan yang menyukarkan.

Cik Rahayu berkata: “Kita tidak harus berkompromi dalam sokongan sosial yang perlu diberikan kepada individu-individu dan keluarga-keluarga yang memerlukan bantuan. Malah, pada masa-masa sukarlah, kita perlu bersikap lebih ihsan.”

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

January 29, 2016
Tan Jee Say: Singaporeans Will Elect Minority Candidate As President Based On Merit

My comments on PM’s proposed changes to the Elected President, GRC and NCMP schemes, are as follows:

1. Elected President-

a) Existing eligibility criteria are sufficiently tight and yet flexible to permit candidates from a broad background to come forth and contest, so no need to change criteria;

b) CPA (Council of Presidential Advisers) is not elected by the people and has no mandate or moral authority to have more powers vis-a-vis an elected President, it should remain an advisory body and not empowered to dilute the authority of an elected President;

c) the Government cannot force a minorities President on the people as it is the people who decide; a President imposed on the people rather than truly elected by the people has no moral authority to check the Government; there are many minorities who satisfy criteria to be candidates and Singaporeans will elect them if they are adjudged to be better than others.

2. GRC’s –

a) GRC’s should be scrapped and Parliament reverts to SMC’s for all seats;

b) minority representation, the purported objective of the GRC scheme, can be secured through a modified NCMP scheme for a minimum number of minorities MPs.

3. NCMP’s –

a) no impact with only minimum 12 opposition MPs including NCMP’s,

b) will only make a difference if number of NCMP’s is increased to ensure minimum of over one-third opposition MPs that can effectively check government with a veto.

Source: Tan Jee Say

January 28, 2016
PPP: More Extensive Reform Of Elected Presidency Required

Response to PAP’s change of political rules

The Prime Minister has announced a few changes to our political system, basically centered around NCMP scheme, down sizing GRC, increasing number of SMCs and rules regarding the Elected Presidency.

People’s Power Party is founded on the principles of political reform based on Separation (and Independence) of Five Powers, namely Legislative, Executive, Judiciary, Selection/appointment and Impeachment Powers.

The Elected Presidency

One important advocacy of our founding beliefs is to entrench and enhance the Elected Presidency so much so that, certain powers or government institutions should fall under the charge of the Presidential Office. We are advocating the institutions of Impeachment powers, Selection/appointment powers to come under the purview of the Elected Presidency. Namely, the Elected President should take charge of the following institutions and functions:

1) CPIB
2) Election Department
3) Public Service Commission (PSC)
4) Appointment of judges
5) Ombudsman Commission
6) Equal Opportunity Commission
7) Appointment of key office holders in Temasek Holdings and GIC

On top of that, the President should have the veto powers to block any legislation which he deems detrimental to the nation’s interests. Such veto can only be overturned by subsequent two-third approval of parliamentary votes.

Thus, the reform for the Elected Presidency could be more extensive than what the Prime Minister has proposed.

Although we welcome the proposal of putting the racial balance into consideration for the Elected Presidency, but we object to the proposed increase of power given to the Presidential Advisory Council. The appointment of the members of this Council should not be decided by the ruling party or Cabinet. It should be the sole prerogative of the Elected President to appoint his own Council. Furthermore, the Elected President is elected and empowered by Singaporeans and he should have the full power to make decisions in the interests of the Nation He should be the one who will answer to the Singaporeans who voted him, not the Advisory Council. Thus, the Advisory Council cannot overshadow the powers of the Elected Presidency.

GRC, NCMP and Proportional Representation.

We welcome the announcement of downsizing the GRC. We feel that the correct size for the GRC system should be 3 to 4 seats per GRC.

However, we do not see the necessity of having any SMC nor NCMP if our proposal of Proportional Representation is implemented.

No matter how PAP tries to package it, NCMP has little legitimacy under the current setting. They will always be considered as second class members of parliament or just simply “backdoor MPs”.

The advantages of Proportional Representation system coupled with the full GRC system will truly give Singapore’s Parliament Plural Voices while prevent the loss of Ministerial caliber members of any political party which would become the ruling party or part of a ruling coalition.

Proportional Representation system guarantees intense contest and competition of ideas and ideals whereby multi-corner fights would not be frown upon or “avoided”. It will enhance political competition and consensus building based on plural voice and representation in parliament.

The current system has tremendous flaws. Beside discouraging healthy competition and contests, it also post a danger of instability. If the ruling party lost a GRC, it may risk losing one or two of its good Ministers altogether. This will not provide the kind of political stability and continuity which we need.

The Proportional Representation system also mitigates the problem of the Tyranny of Majority Rule. It would allow individuals or groups with specific focus to contest and chance of getting into parliament to contribute to the plurality of debates. Example, if a group of Nature lovers or Green activists were to be elected into parliament, they will provide a diversity in the debates in various development plans, providing the Green Views instead of subjecting our Nation and future generations to the ills of a monolithic discourse pushed by the ruling party.

Thus, we urge the ruling party to reconsider their plans to change the political landscape to take a serious long term view on the Nation’s political stability by adopting a more comprehensive and bold stance of political reform, which is beyond party politics, to ensure that our Nation adopts the best democratic system based on the fundamentals of Separation of 5 Powers.

Goh Meng Seng
Secretary General
People’s Power Party

Source: Goh Meng Seng

January 28, 2016
Walid J. Abdullah: Singapore Must Foster A Culture Of Intolerance Towards Intolerance

Of the recent speeches by our politicians, two in particular stood out for me.

First was the one given by Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, in which he said Singaporeans must be tolerant, and the only thing we should be intolerant towards is intolerance.

This is most definitely a welcomed speech; the idea of accepting and tolerating different viewpoints is wonderful. (of course, intolerance needs to be defined properly first.)

In this spirit, i hope more politically diverse opinions will be tolerated. I hope the media will give more coverage to different viewpoints. I hope serious discussions will take place on important issues: for example, the discourse on terrorism has been heavily skewed towards religious ideologies. While religious ideology is undoubtedly a factor, almost every major and serious research on terrorism states that other factors (foreign policy, socio-political conditions, loss of trust in authority etc) matter in radicalization too. Therefore, we must be tolerant of different viewpoints and discuss these issues openly and honestly. I further hope those with different standpoints will be met with reasoned argumentation, rather than the full force of the law.

I truly hope, that we are indeed intolerant towards intolerance; whether it is religious or political.

The second was by WP’s Leon Perrera, where he argued for a culture of diversity of opinions. Again, this would be a fantastic thing to have in our society. I hope WP will put its money where its mouth is: in the last parliament, there were occasions in which WP refused to take a stand on some issues or just ignored discourses that were going on in society, perhaps to not offend anyone and reach out to the median voter. I fail to see how keeping silent in important moments contributes to creating this culture.

Hopefully, WP will truly exemplify the culture of diversity, not only by taking a stance on important matters, but by allowing its own members to take different positions on issues.

If one is familiar with parliamentary speeches throughout the world, one would notice that they are often filled with grandiose plans and bombastic words, but unfortunately, with little outcome. One can only hope, that is not the case with these two promising speeches.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

January 28, 2016
Mufti: Teachings That Promote ‘Exclusivity And Isolationism’ A Cause For Worry

Teachings on the Internet that promote “exclusivity and isolationist” inclinations are a “serious cause for worry” because they can go as far as to deny the rights of others to exist, said the Mufti of Singapore, Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram.

It is not unfounded for some to be sceptical about the role of religion in enriching the “common space” in society, if religion preaches isolation, said Dr Fatris, who was delivering a speech at the SRP Distinguished Lecture and Symposium today (Jan 20) on Islam and developing the common space.

In extreme cases, Dr Fatris noted, isolationist tendencies with the potential to fragment societies are not limited to rejecting certain thoughts, cultural practices or beliefs, but go on to deny the right of others to exist. This has been the case with perpetrators of terrorist activities, who have “cloaked their crimes with twisted religious arguments”, he said, calling such beliefs “extremely dangerous and totally unacceptable.”

Despite the existence of clear and constructive religious resources and narratives on the “common space”, these will be rejected by those who spread isolationist teachings. As such, it will not help to increase the number of “pro-common-space narratives”, said Dr Fatris.

“We then end up with a meaningless debate and endlessly quibble over whose evidence is stronger, which will only lead to more confusion. The prejudicial approach of some groups will only bolster their resolve to reject the notion of a ‘common space’,” he said.

Dr Fatris was speaking a day after Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, outlining the threats of terrorism and radicalisation Singapore faces, said community leaders have to help lead the “fight for hearts and minds” for a united Singapore.

A resource that could be tapped are religious institutions like mosques and madrasahs, which can promote deeper interfaith understanding and offering activities for others to participate in, said Dr Fatris.

“In our respective institutions, we ought to foster a sense of bonding with other communities, to nurture respect and love for humanity and fellow citizens, to deepen what one may refer to as, the “emotional common space” between us. This ought to be a key component of our religious curricula,” he said.

Speaking to the media after his speech, Dr Fatris noted interfaith dialogues have been going on for years, and while there is still some “sense of discomfort and lack of confidence among minorities” who question the need for interfaith dialogues, this attitude has changed over the years.

“If we do not start now with a serious and constructive interfaith dialogue, I think it will be a waste for Singapore as a nation. It is something that is, for me, crucial for the next 50 years, that we have a deeper understanding of racial differences and religious diversity,” he said.

He also said there must be eagerness and willingness to come together to discuss aspects of differences in faith, adding: “Socially, we are strong enough to embark on this.”

The symposium was organised by the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Source: www.todayonline.com

January 21, 2016