Category: Singapuraku

Qatari Basketballers Forfeit Match After Being Denied For Wearing Hijab

INCHEON, South Korea (AP) — Qatari basketballers forfeited a women’s match against Mongolia on Wednesday and are considering withdrawing from the Asian Games competition after being refused permission to wear a hijab.

Confusion over the implementation of recently relaxed guidelines outlined by the sport’s international governing body, aimed at making the game more inclusive, could be the cause of the problem in Incheon.

“The Qatari players … refused to take off the hijab,” Asian Games Organizing Committee spokeswoman Anna Jihyun You told The Associated Press. Ten minutes after the scheduled start, “At 4:25 p.m. local time, the match was declared forfeited and awarded to Mongolia.”

The Qatari contingent was surprised by the decision, with its chef-de-mission Khalil al-Jabir saying the team “was not likely to play” basketball in these Asian Games if the players are not allowed to wear the hijab.

“We were expecting our players to play with the hijab, that’s why we came here,” he said. “Nobody told us that it will not be allowed and we are still waiting for clarifications.”

Qatar is scheduled to play Nepal on Thursday, leaving little time for a compromise unless FIBA, basketball’s international governing body, intervenes.

You said match officials working Wednesday’s game did not receive any instructions from FIBA to allow head coverings, and were only following the rules which restrict the use of headgear, hair accessories, and jewelry. Such restrictions were initially designed for the safety of players, but have recently been challenged on cultural and religious grounds.

“The organizing committee is not involved in the rules, and the match officials did not have any directions from world body FIBA regarding the same,” You said.

The rules of each sport at the Asian Games are governed by their respective international federations, and many allow head coverings for certain athletes during competition, including badminton, shooting, track and field and football.

A Qatar sports official and activist, identified by the Asian Games News Service as Ahlam Salem M. Al-Mana, said the decision to forfeit Wednesday’s game should serve as a message to the game’s world governing body.

“We have to take this stand,” she was quoted as saying by the AGNS. “Let the international association accept us. We are here to push the international association that all Muslim teams are ready to compete in any competition. We knew about the hijab ban, but we have to be here.

“We have to show everyone that we are ready to play, but the international association is not ready. Because the rules of the international association, they cannot participate. In football, handball, and martial arts competitions, women can wear hijab but not in basketball.”

Regulations about head coverings in basketball came into focus this year when two male Sikh players from India were told to remove their turbans during the Asia Cup in July in China.

Earlier this month, FIBA said it was launching a two-year trial phase allowing some players to wear head coverings.

However, the Mies, Switzerland-based organization issued a clarifying statement saying: “Please note the Central Board decision allows exceptions to be applied only at the national level and the Asian Games is an international event.”

To get an exemption for domestic tournaments, national federations must petition FIBA to allow players to play with their heads covered, plus submit follow-up reports twice a year.

FIBA’s governing body will evaluate the rule again next year, and determine whether to allow head covers at some level of international competition from next summer.

A full review in 2016 will decide if it will become a permanent rule change after the 2016 Olympics.

September 25, 2014
Fallen Sex Blogger Alvin Tan Seeks Asylum and Citizenship in US

EXCLUSIVE: Two days ago, Alvin Tan chose to break his two-month long silence to the Malaysian media by leaving a comment on The Ant Daily website.

His comment resulted in an article yesterday titled “Has Alvin Tan of Alvivi finally surfaced?”

Reacting to that article, Alvin had posted another comment today using a new Facebook account (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007968164924), revealing details about his whereabouts and his future plans.

Alvin says that he is in the US presently, applying for asylum, and plans to become a US citizen in 5 years.

He also explains his reasons for leaving Malaysia and his comment forms an interesting rebuttal to his perceived trial-by-media.

We are unable to verify whether this account does in fact belong to the real Alvin Tan or is actually just an elaborate hoax. As such we are unable to vouch for the authenticity of the comment and will reproduce it here in verbatim.

“I never felt scared, because I’m not a fugitive at all (try “recognized asylum seeker”). All that talk of Interpol is just typical Umno/PDRM wayang. In any case, the US government isn’t just going to cooperate with PDRM to hand over a recognized political refugee (even the Department of State’s 2013 Human Rights Report on Malaysia cites my case for fu*&’s sake). That’s not how extradition works. I’ve already filed for asylum, and I’ve passed many preliminary filterings (interviews, documentation, court hearings) that pretty much guarantee that I won’t be deported/extradited.

And about trying to command attention among Malaysians, LOL… Come on, get real. Malaysia is a small and poor market, what does it matter even if I commanded everyone’s attention in Malaysia, which I did? Has any big stars ever came out of Malaysia, built on the strength of the pathetic 30-million-strong Malaysian market with super-low disposable income? There’s no critical or financial success to be gained from “making it big” in Malaysia (what an oxymoron).

Malaysia is nothing, and anyone who wants to make it big needs to get out. Malaysia is a toxic wasteland with tons of people with negative attitude; you can’t do anything creative or different, because people are too uneducated and the government too tyrannical.

So the reason that I’m quiet is not because I’m scared. It’s because I’m too busy building and enjoying my life here in one of the most modern, exciting, culturally-and-economically-significant cities in the world.

Why should I stay back to face trial, when it’s obvious I won’t get a fair trial? So that I can sacrifice one year of my precious 20s sitting in jail like Adam Adli? He wants to be a politician — that’s his problem. I have better things to aspire to. Now, I’m on track to get a Green Card in a year, and then US citizenship in five years. Admit it, I came out on top from the Ramadhan Bah Kut Teh saga, and you people are really bitter, angry, dissatisfied, and jealous about it.

I’ve burnt all my bridges with Malaysia and will not bother to comment further on anything even remotely related to Malaysia; I’ve sold all my stakes and therefore lost all legitimacy to speak credibly on it, so to speak. I won’t return forever too, so enjoy your “beautiful” country, you bumpkins. I’m simply taking Umno ministers’ advice of “you tak suka, you keluar,” and I love it. Maybe you bitter souls should try migrating too.”

So there you have it, right from the horse’s mouth.

His comment does seem to show the same defiance that is his trademark. Yet, if we strip away the anger and bluster, we see a voice speaking his views (right or wrong be damned), and more importantly, if he truly is in the US and applying for citizenship, a person who does not only talk, but also walks the talk.

Can we say the same for most politicians and officials in Malaysia?

September 24, 2014
Woman Stabbed Lesbian Lover After Refused to Patch Up Relationship

SINGAPORE — A 25-year-old woman is on trial for attempting to murder her lover, a 22-year-old woman whom she allegedly stabbed twice in the chest after the accused’s pleas to patch up were rebuffed.

On the first day of trial yesterday, the High Court heard that the couple had a tumultuous relationship and quarrelled frequently.

Giselle Shi Jia Wei is alleged to have stabbed Ummul Qurratu ‘Ain binte Abdul on July 22, 2012, in a hotel room in Geylang.

She later stabbed herself in the chest with a knife. The charge of attempted suicide was dismissed.

Testifying yesterday, Ummul said the two were acquainted in 2010 before becoming romantically linked in July 2011.

She later moved into Shi’s house without Shi’s parents’ knowledge.

As a result of this, Ummul confined herself almost exclusively to their room.

In May 2012, Shi’s mother found Ummul in the house and asked her to leave. The couple then moved to Malaysia and later returned to Singapore.

Ummul told the court that Shi was possessive, calculative and insecure. The accused even restricted her career options and asked her to terminate her Facebook account.

Ummul also testified that they would squabble over the use of toiletries and the smallest of things, such as financial issues, jealousy and over things that Ummul had said.

On July 14, 2012, Ummul said Shi blew up inside a toilet cubicle at the Mink Club after a male friend hugged Ummul, causing her to spill her drink on Shi’s heels. Shi later said that she wanted to end the relationship, before boarding a taxi.

At about 11pm on July 21, 2012, Ummul agreed to meet Shi for the last time at the latter’s request, believing that Shi wanted some closure.

After supper, the couple headed to a hotel room in Geylang and engaged in “physical relations”.

The next day at around 5pm, Shi repeatedly asked Ummul if they could start afresh while she watched television in bed.

But Ummul rejected the idea because of their frequent fights and disagreements. Shi then said that she would be together with Ummul, whether in life or death.

“She became more desperate and frustrated,” said Ummul.

Shi later whipped out a knife from her handbag and pierced the knife into Ummul’s chest.

Ummul put up a struggle and the knife was pulled out of her chest in the process before Shi stabbed her again.

However, she managed to escape and sought help from a couple. Ummul was later conveyed to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment.

The trial continues.

Source: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/woman-trial-attempted-murder-lover

September 24, 2014
White Tiger Kills Youth in Delhi Zoo After Falling into Moat

NEW DELHI: In a hair-raising incident, witnessed by scores and captured live on many cameras, a 200kg white tiger mauled and killed a youth after he fell into the animal’s moat in the Delhi zoo, eyewitnesses and officials said on Tuesday.

The incident, which took place between 12.30pm and 1pm, created a sensation and word soon spread through the city, with photos and video of the tiger — one of the zoo’s star attractions — dragging the youth going viral.

Eyewitnesses and zoo officials said the young man, who was later identified as Maksood, 20, a resident of Anand Parbat in Delhi, had “crossed the stand-off barrier” of the white tiger’s enclosure and then fell or jumped into the moat which separated the enclosure from the visitors’ gallery.

The majestic six-foot, seven-year-old tiger, named Vijay, which was some distance away, saw the man in the concrete moat, that was covered with dry leaves, and bounded up to him.

Footages showed the tiger glowering face to face at the man, as it initially appeared to be surprised on seeing the sudden human intrusion into its habitat.

“As soon as the youth fell into the moat, the tiger approached him and silently watched him for nearly 15 minutes,” Bittoo, an eyewitness, who recorded the entire incident on his mobile, told media persons. He said what possibly provoked the tiger to attack the man was when onlookers and a guard tried to divert its attention by pelting stones at it.

“Everyone was pelting stones and making noises to divert the tiger’s attention,” Bittoo added. “It was then that the tiger pounced on the youth with his paw and dragged him inside his enclosure by his neck,” Bittoo told IANS. The tiger then dropped the limp body at the far end of the enclosure.

Another eyewitness Himanshu said: “The man was cowering in fear and appeared to be pleading with folded hands to the tiger to spare him.”

Some eyewitnesses said it was not clear whether the man was drunk or he was clicking photos of the tiger when he accidently fell from the cemented fencing. Delhi Police official said post mortem report will reveal whether the man was drunk and fell accidently or jumped knowingly.

Police is also investigating why the man came alone to the zoo.

A statement by Amitabh Agnihotri, the zoo director, said: “An unfortunate incident occurred in the National Zoological Park around 1pm when a male visitor named Maksood, son of Mehfooz, resident of Gali No. 11, Anand Parvat, aged 20 years crossed the stand off barrier of the white tiger’s enclosure … and jumped into the enclosure.

“Praveen, guard posted at the enclosure, sounded the alarm and collected his supervisor and other staff of the zoo by sending wireless SOS message. Praveen along with other staff of the zoo tried to divert the attention of the tiger from the visitor but to no avail. The tiger mauled the visitor who died on the spot. The ambulance and police were called immediately.”

National Zoological Park curator RA Khan told IANS that the youth himself jumped into the tiger’s enclosure. “The tiger was later locked up. The tiger will be kept under observation and medically examined,” Khan said.

The space where the white tiger stays comprises of a moat, a natural space for the animal to roam around and a concrete enclosure. There are in all ten tigers in Delhi zoo, six of them white and four normal Bengal tigers.

“All the enclosures of the National Zoological Park are absolutely safe. No visitor can reach the moat wall of the enclosure without the stand off barrier. The visitor crossed the stand off barrier and ultimately jumped into the enclosure which lead to his death by the tiger,” the zoo statement added.

The National Zoological Park, located in the centre of the capital and one of the oldest in the country, is spread over 176 acres is home to about 1,556 different birds and animals. Delhi Zoo sees footfalls of 5,000 to 6,000 on weekdays and 12,000 to 13,000 on weekends.

Suparna Ganguly, founder trustee of Bangalore-based Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, an NGO for animal rehabilitation, said the tiger was not at fault.

“We get to see a lot of hooliganism among zoo visitors. People misbehave, disturb and harass the animals who have already been deprived of their natural habitat.”

But many thought that since there was a considerable gap between the man falling into the tiger enclosure and the animal attacking him, zoo authorities could have reacted with greater alacrity and could have been better equipped to handle this emergency.

This was not the first such instance in Delhi Zoo. Six years ago a drunk man had fallen into the enclosure of a lion but the lioness had spared him.

Earlier too many such cases have been reported from Indian zoos, including one in July 2012 when a 32-year-old man was mauled and seriously injured by a tiger after he sneaked into its enclosure at the Jharkhand zoo.

Inadequate response, unruly visitors led to zoo death: Experts

Lack of an adequate response mechanism by the authorities and unruly behaviour of visitors led to the unfortunate incident at the Delhi zoo Tuesday, where a white tiger mauled a man to death, wildlife experts said.

“The zoo certainly lacks adequate response mechanism. If the tiger had not attacked the man for 15 minutes, then the authorities could have used a tranquiliser and at least tried to divert his attention,” Jaya Simha, managing director of Humane Society International (India), told IANS.

According to witnesses, the white tiger attacked the man after almost 15 minutes of his falling into the enclosure.

She said that as the animals are kept in an artificial environment, they tend to reflect stereotypical behaviour.

“Zoos in India do not follow the guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority. The zoo should have had enough guards and enough distance from the enclosures. The zoo has lost the essence of being a centre of education and conservation,” Simha said.

Suparna Ganguly, founder trustee of Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) in Bangalore, told IANS over phone that the onus cannot be put totally on the authorities but the visitors too.

“We get to see a lot of hooliganism in zoos. People misbehave, disturb and harass the animals who have already been deprived of their natural habitat and kept in enclosures,” Ganguly said.

Wildlife expert Ajay Suri agreed: “The onus for the incident lies at many places. But there should be some mechanism in these zoos that visitors are at least given some basic education about the behaviour of the wild cats.” The experts said it was time for the government to think and analyse the need of having zoos in the country.

“It has now become crucial that the government should rethink about having zoos as a place for education and conservation. It should only be a place for captive breeding and they should be let off,” Ganguly said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Tiger-kills-man-in-Delhi-zoo-after-silently-watching-him-for-15-minutes/articleshow/43256551.cms

September 24, 2014
Why Do Singaporeans Hate Filipinos?

It’s the obvious question everyone is asking nowadays amidst a raft of hate blogs and other such digital artifacts going “viral” all over the Net. Many of these seem to have stemmed from the whole fracas surrounding a plan by Filipino community leaders to stage a 12th June Independence Day event at a major shopping centre in Singapore. The plan attracted a lot of debate and, with it, anonymous trolls lobbing racist abuse into the mix. Politicians on both sides of the sea have since chimed in even as organisers of the event withdrew their plans presumably under the weight of the harassment. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has condemned Singaporeans who were involved in the online harassment for their “thuggish behaviour”. Charles Jose, spokesman of the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) assured everyone that this is an “isolated” incident and that such attitudes reflect only that of “a small number of Singaporeans who don’t have the full appreciation or understand of the role of Filipinos there”. But the more important question remains the elephant in the room politicians and mainstream commentators tiptoe around: What is the source of this hate, and why does it seem to resonate amongst a big sector of Singapore society; big enough to shut down a major community event such as this year’s Independence Day commemoration there? The most recent and, by far, most virulent sower of hate against Filipinos in Singapore involves a 24th May post in which the author encouraged his (or her) compatriots to “step on them, push or shove them” when boarding a train. Before that there was another blog published by a different author proposing that Filipinos be made to ride in separate buses owing to their being perceived as too loud and annoying. This intolerance seems baffling considering that, by any measure, Singapore is one of the most racially-tolerant societies in a region where racism is often an institutionalized part of society and governance. Racial and religious harmony is regarded by the Singapore government as a crucial part of Singapore’s success, and played a part in building a Singaporean identity. But achieving and maintaining this harmony was (and continues to be) no easy task. The 1964 race riots were a series of riots that took place in Singapore during two separate periods in July and September between Chinese and Malay groups. The first incident occurred on 21 July during a Malay procession marking the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In total, the violence killed 36 people and injured another 556. About 3,000 people were arrested. At that time (1963–65), Singapore was a state in the Federation of Malaysia. In 1969, seven days of communal riots, a result of the spillover of riots also occurring in Malaysia, resulted in a final toll of 4 dead and 80 wounded. Singapore would not experience a major riot until 44 years later when the 2013 “Little India Riots” erupted on the 8th December 2013 after a fatal accident occurred at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road. About 300 migrant labourers from Tamil Nadu and Bangladesh were involved in the riot which lasted for around two hours. Where do Filipinos figure in this scheme of things? According to the records of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, there are 180,000 Filipinos living and working in Singapore. The Philippine government’s stated position on this large presence is that these residents “remain an important part of the city-state economy”. That is, of course, seeing it at a macro-economic level. The way individual Singaporeans see that presence at a street level may tell a different story and may have deeper social implications separate from the economic numbers. And that is, perhaps, where the “debate” around root causes should be. As such, the Philippine government’s position on the matter may be incomplete, which means that an incomplete or, worse, aflawed solution to resolve this (if any such is actually being planned) may aggravate the problem further. The last thing we need, specially in times when the Philippines grows ever more dependent on foreign capital and employment for its survival, is for the proverbial elephant in the room to keep growing bigger. [NB: Parts of this article were lifted from various Wikipedia.org articles related to Singapore in a manner compliant to the terms stipulated in the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License that governs usage of content made available in this site. Photo courtesy Pinoy-OFW.com.] Source: http://getrealphilippines.com/

September 23, 2014