Category: Politik

Najib Razak: Malaysian Chinese Are Sons Of Malaysia, Not Pendatang

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak assured the Chinese Malaysians today that he recognised them as “sons of Malaysia” and not “pendatang” or immigrants.

He said that they were Malaysians above all, and they should not “worry too much about one or two individuals” who may insist otherwise.

“As far as I’m concerned, the Malaysian Chinese have contributed a lot to the development of Malaysia, to the growth of Malaysia.

“The spectacular growth of Malaysia. You’ve played your part,” Najib said in his speech at the Gerakan annual national delegates’ conference in Shah Alam today.

“And that is why you are not ‘pendatang’. You are the sons of Malaysia. you were born here, you grew up here and when the time comes, you will be buried here, or your ashes will be scattered somewhere in Malaysia.”

Najib said the government would continue to protect the interests of the Chinese, including ensuring vernacular schools continued operating.

He said that while having a single stream of schools was “ideal”, such a system was not included in the social contract signed by Malaysia’s founding fathers.

“Our social contract allows for different streams, and we live with it. We have to live with it. There’s no use going back.”

He added that Malaysians must look beyond race and judge others by their character, rather than their colour.

“There are good Malays, there are good Chinese, there good Indians. There are also bad Malays, bad Chinese, bad Indians. There are also Malay gangsters, Chinese gangsters, Indian gangsters.

“In fact, there are even more Indian gangsters than others,” Najib quipped, prompting laughter from the hall of Gerakan delegates.

Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com

October 19, 2015
Goh Meng Seng: Singaporeans Are Self-Centred, Fairness And Social Justice Unimportant To Them

I have met quite a number of Singaporean friends in Hong Kong recently and we naturally talked about the results of last GE2015.

Part of the observations made are as follows:

Most Singaporeans don’t put much emphasis on fairness and justice. Most of the time they know with PAP as Government, there are gross injustice and unfair happenings but to them, these are non-issue to them as long as they are not affected by it.

They would continue to vote PAP even though they know PAP is not exactly a party that uphold fair play and even justice in every sense, as long as they continue to enjoy their own good life. It would be even better if they are given handouts directly, care less about fair or not unfair.

Most Singaporeans are more self centred and only concerned about their own self interests. Social issues, balance and justice are basically non of their business.

Even when they chose to swing against PAP is Purely because they are unhappy that their pockets are hurt or interests have been overlooked.

That is why not many people attend any protests that raise social issues or even important issues but have DISTANT IMPLICATIONS on their self interests.

What do you think?

Source: Goh Meng Seng

October 15, 2015
Damanhuri Abas: Masyarakat Melayu/Islam Harus Berani Persoal AP-AP Melayu PAP Tentang Isu-Isu Masyarakat

Kalau anda dilantik, apa yang pembangkang boleh buat untuk orang melayu? Suatu soalan yang dilontarkan kepada saya, oleh seorang pengundi Melayu dari Yew Tee.

Selanjutnya berlaku dialog yang agak lama antara pengundi itu dengan saya. Beliau ternyata seorang pengundi yang telah lama menyokong parti PAP dan meletakkan keyakinan penuh dengan pemimpin-pemimpin PAP amnya dan yang melayu dari PAP khususnya.

Isu-isu yang tercetus masa perbincangan termasuk diskriminasi, hak orang melayu sebagai pribumi Singapura yang termaktub dalam konstitusi Negara yang menjamin hal tersebut, sistem meritokrasi, masalah-masalah yang membelenggu orang melayu di Singapura dan yang lain-lain lagi. Tiap kali saya akan didesak untuk memberikan saranan bagi mengatasi semua isu yang ditimbulkan. Dalam masa yang ada, saya telah mencuba memberikan sedikit sebanyak pendekatan saya secara peribadi dan juga parti SDP.

Setelah agak 10 minit berbincang di tempat awam berdepan stasiun MRT Yew Tee, ia menjadi seperti permainan bola tangkis. Sehingga beberapa teman-teman calon SDP lain yang berada berhampiran memberi isyarat untuk saya menamatkan perbincangan ‘hangat’ kita. Saya mohon izin daripada insan tersebut agar kita mengambil pendekatan untuk terima perbezaan pendapat dan yang penting saling memahami dan tetap bersatu sebagai rakyat Singapura.

Sebelum mengakhiri, saya sempat membuat rayuan kepada beliau juga, agar mengajukan soalan-soalan yang sama kepada kesemua AP-AP melayu PAP dan Menteri yang bertanggungjawab. Yang tepat lagi, tentang masalah-masalah penagih melayu yang tinggi, banduan-banduan melayu yang tinggi, penceraian melayu yang tinggi, anak luar nikah melayu yang tinggi, jumlah tinggi keluarga melayu yang bermasalah, jumlah pelajar melayu yang tercicir dan bermasalah dan lain-lain lagi. Dengan kedudukan mereka dalam pemerintah dan dengan kuasa mutlak, dana yang cukup banyak dan sokongan tak bersyarat oleh hampir semua institusi-institusi dan badan-badan Melayu/Islam (termasuk swasta) selama 50 tahun ini, agak menghairankan jika pencapaian mereka kurang memuaskan.

Jika pra-syarat pemimpin melayu yang kita mahukan ialah kejayaan mereka mengatasi masalah-masalah orang melayu, tolong periksa kembali sejauh manakah kesemua AP-AP melayu PAP dan Menteri-Menteri mereka mencapai kriteria itu.

Semoga pengundi tersebut mengotakan janji dia untuk mendesak yang sama terhadap AP-AP Melayu PAP, seberani dia lakukan kepada saya.

Source: Damanhuri Abas

October 15, 2015
Faisal Manap Opens Up On Sacrifices While Serving As Opposition MP

This article is part of Yahoo Singapore’s series of post-GE interviews with former candidates who contested in 2015’s General Election. In this article, we spoke to the Workers’ Party’s candidate for Aljunied GRC (Kaki Bukit Division), Muhammad Faisal Abdul Manap.

It takes a lot of sacrifices to serve Singaporeans as an opposition Member of Parliament.

Muhammad Faisal Abdul Manap, 40, who is Workers’ Party’s (WP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Aljunied GRC (Kaki Bukit Division), has lost friends and acquaintances who did not want to associate themselves to him because of his political involvement with the opposition.

“Being an opposition MP (Member of Parliament) as well as a politician is not as easy as one can think… there’s always (a) stigmatisation that we are against the establishment. So there are bound to be people who are not comfortable to be seen affiliating themselves with us. I personally experienced it as well as my missus,” said the freelance family counsellor.

Yahoo Singapore spoke to the member of Singapore’s leading opposition party, exactly a month after the elections ended with a landslide victory for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP). WP succeeded in retaining its seats in the five-MP Aljunied GRC (51 per cent of votes) as well as Hougang SMC (58 per cent of votes).

The win gives Faisal a second chance at serving the residents of Kaki Bukit. It will also give him a second chance to speak up for issues related to the Malay/Muslim community when Parliament begins in January 2016.

Job loss and unwavering family support

Four years have passed since the father of three was first elected into Parliament. Although he lost many friends during this period, his family and relatives have given him their unwavering support.

During an hour-long interview at the party’s town council office in Bedok North, Faisal said he always believed in getting his family to understand what he goes through so that they can be there for him “emotionally”.

He would bring his parents to WP gatherings so they can witness him at work. On Nomination Day on 1 Sept, he brought them to the WP gathering site. Faisal was a family counsellor for two separate Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) from 2006 to 2008, and from 2008 to 2010. In 2010, he was “put out of job” due to his “involvement in politics”, before he decided to run for elections in 2011.

As an opposition MP, he lives with the uncertainty over whether he can retain his seat in Parliament and how his family will be affected when his term ends.

“If I don’t retain the MP position, will it be easy for me to get employed? In 2011 I was asked to leave my job in the social services because of my involvement in politics,” said Faisal, who does not believe that Singapore VWOs would be “open” to hiring him again.

Found a friend in PAP’s Kahar Hassan

Faisal found a friend in Kahar Hassan, 46, who used to be the chairman at PAP’s Kaki Bukit Branch, and was surprised when Kahar stepped down on 31 July, not long before elections began.

“Honestly, I’m close to Kahar, not only professionally but we do meet up during some of the iftar (break fast sessions) and some of the sessions at the mosque. I find him a very committed person who has done quite well in terms of serving the residents. The news of him stepping down came as a surprise to me,” he said.

The Monash University graduate felt the ruling party’s decision on Kahar was “unwise” for someone who had already built a close bond with the residents after serving them for 18 months. He said that “bonding is very important in order for you to assist and empower the other person’s life” and the “same goes for the field of serving the society”, and Kahar stepping down means that the residents will have to “start all over again”.

New PAP member Shamsul Kamar, 43, who used to be the head of department at Spectra Secondary School, took over from Kahar. Faisal said he has not had a chance to meet with him.

On being the first and only Malay opposition MP

Faisal is also the first and only Malay/Muslim opposition MP in Parliament. He said being the only minority on the opposition side to speak up on issues in the house could be a “lonely” experience at times. “It will be good if you can do things in a bigger group… the presence of another person (in Parliament) will be a bit better than you being alone,” he said.

At the same time, he believes “things happen for a reason” and that he will do everything within his means to bring about change for the community.

When Parliament starts in 2016, Faisal said he will continue to speak up on issues relating to the Malay/Muslim community, such as the “perceived discrimination against the Malays in the Singapore Armed Forces”, the decline in the Malay population, and the hijab issue, among other things.

He also hopes the Malay/Muslim individuals in the government will be open to working with him on issues related to the community.

Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

October 15, 2015
Han Hui Hui Trial: Heckling Of Children Was Like Someone Bringing A Coffin To A Wedding

The trial for blogger Han Hui Hui and three others — who allegedly caused public nuisance during a protest that clashed with a YMCA event — started yesterday (Oct 13) in bizarre fashion, with Han questioning the mothers of the special needs performers on their views on the freedom of speech and if they understood the Constitution, among other things.

Taking the witness stand, the parents repeatedly objected to Han’s questioning and asked the judge to intervene. One of them likened the protesters’ actions at Hong Lim Park in September last year as bringing a coffin to a wedding.

During the #ReturnOurCPF protest, Han, 24, and fellow blogger Roy Ngerng, 34, had led a few hundred people in a march around the park and allegedly disrupted YMCA’s annual carnival Proms @ the Park when some performers who have Down’s syndrome were on stage.

Six people — including Han and Ngerng — were charged for causing public nuisance. The two bloggers had an additional charge of organising a demonstration without approval. Ngerng and another co-accused Chua Siew Leng, 43, have pleaded guilty and were fined S$1,900 and S$300 respectively.

Han, Goh Aik Huat, 42, Koh Yew Beng, 60 and Low Wai Choo, 55, are contesting the charges against them in a trial scheduled for four days. They are conducting their own defence without any lawyers.

Yesterday, Han cross-examined three witnesses — two mothers of the performers and a member of the public who had filmed the protest.

Among other things, she asked them whether they felt the protesters were a nuisance, whether they took steps to stop the demonstration, what they saw that day, and what they felt constitute freedom of speech.

The two mothers, whose children were part of a group called Y-Stars that was invited to dance for the YMCA event, declined to respond to several of her questions, with District Judge (DJ) Chay Yuen Fatt having to intervene on several occasions.

Referring to the Central Provident Fund protest, one of the mothers, Ms Karen Lee, said the YMCA carnival was “spoilt by people in the other event”. “It’s just like a wedding function, and someone brings a coffin around, do you think you will be happy?” she asked.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Amanda Chong asked the mothers how the performers — comprising children and adults — responded to the commotion caused by the protestors. In response, they said the dance routine went awry because the protestors made “loud and high-pitched noises” which distracted the performers.

Ms Regina Ang said: “People with Down’s syndrome are more sensitive to noise … Every segment of our dance is synchronised, but now everyone is doing their own dance, some stuck in their first pose, because they cannot hear the music.”

Referring to a video recording of the YMCA event which was shown in court yesterday, Ms Ang pointed out that her son, 27, had his lips pursed — an expression that he usually makes when he is anxious or uncomfortable, she said.

She added that the performers were unusually quiet after the event, whereas in the past they would “cheer and give each other high-fives” after a performance. “We kept trying to distract them, praise them, trying our best not to let them dwell too much on what happened,” Ms Ang said.

She added: “I didn’t understand the cause (of the protest) … You may want to speak up on your cause but it is not right to interrupt … Maybe I had too much faith in human nature to think they could stop for three-and-a-half minutes to let (the participants of the YMCA carnival) perform.”

She said that, until now, some of the performers are still emotionally affected by what happened. She alluded to how one performer cried when being interviewed about the carnival earlier this year.

The trial continues today with Han — who had contested unsuccessfully in the General Election last month — cross-examining the prosecution’s fourth witness, who is also a caregiver of a Y-Stars performer.

At the end of yesterday’s hearing, DJ Chay told Han to shorten her questions during cross-examination, and advised her not to question, among other things, “undisputed facts” such as whether witnesses attempted to stop the protest. “You ask questions to establish a fact … (It is already agreed) that no one tried to stop the protest,” the judge said. He also told her to refrain from asking questions about the Constitution, for example.

Fourteen prosecution witnesses, most of whom were members of the public present at the event, are scheduled to take the stand.

For causing public nuisance, a person can be fined up to S$1,000. The maximum penalty for organising a demonstration without approval is a S$5,000 fine.

Source: www.todayonline.com

October 14, 2015