Category: Singapuraku

Zulfikar Shariff: A Racist Will Insult Islam Because He Is Racist, Not Because Of Media Influence

One reaction by the Muslim community that annoys me…

is when they see some racist insulting Islam….they assume that person insult because of what they see in the media.

Lets be clear…a racist will insult Islam because he is racist.

It is not because of the media.

It is simply because he is a racist.

Stop apologising.

Stop trying to explain that “Islam is not what you see on TV” or “ISIS is not Islam”.

Stop making excuses for them as though they would have been fair minded if not for the media.

A lot of non-Muslims watch TV and read about ISIS and do not insult Islam.

Racists refer to the media to justify their racism.

Stop making excuses for them.

Source: Zulfikar Shariff

March 31, 2016
Shanmugam: Singaporeans Have Obligation To Reach Out To Muslims, Prevent Islamophobia

Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam has called on Singaporeans to reach out to their Muslim neighbours and build social cohesion, saying they are obliged to do so as the recent string of terror attacks threatens to fray the trust between communities here.

He underlined the need to thwart Islamophobia from developing on Wednesday, after a closed-door meeting with 60 students from the six full-time madrasah, or Islamic religious schools, in Singapore.

“Whatever it is, we are Singaporeans together and that trumps everything else,” he told reporters, adding that “the 85 per cent who are non-Muslim have an obligation to reach out to the Muslim community and make sure the bonds are strong”.

He noted that after each of the recent terror attacks in Europe and the US, the number of attacks against Muslims shot up three-fold.

While there was no immediate threat of such violence erupting in Singapore, he warned that non-Muslims could start developing negative attitudes towards Muslims.

“People will be too politically correct to express them, but internally they will start looking at Muslims differently,” he said, adding that feedback from Muslims indicate they are concerned about rising Islamophobia in Singapore.

Before the dialogue, Mr Shanmugan visited the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) and later, the adjacent Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri.

Muis chief executive Abdul Razak Maricar and Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs Amrin Amin also took part in the dialogue.

Mr Shanmugam said the students raised the topic of Islamophobia in Singapore, adding that it was an issue the Government recognised as a significant risk to the country’s social fabric.

If Singaporeans become prejudiced against Muslims, terrorists will find it easier to recruit them, he said.

“If 85 per cent of the population that’s non-Muslim starts developing Islamophobia, that’s precisely what the terrorists want you to do… When the minority Muslim community feels marginalised and discriminated, that’s when you get fertile ground for recruitment.”

“We’ll be playing right into their hands,” he added.

A student at the dialogue, Madrasah Al-Maarif Pre-U 1 student Afifah Shameemah, recounted to reporters an incident at a school camp two years ago when a participant from another school made a joke about Muslims being terrorists.

The 17-year-old said it hurt her feelings, but she did not speak up at that time.

But if it were to happen today, she would, she said. “It may be a joke, but beause we are in a multi-racial country, we really have to be careful of what we say and make sure we aren’t hurting anybody with our words.”

Madrasah Al-Arabiah Secondary 3 student Kasyful Azim, 15, who also took part in the dialogue, suggested including madrasah schools in more national sports and academic competitions so that their students can better integrate with their peers in mainstream schools.

Source: Straits Times

March 31, 2016
Almakhazin: PAP Control Islam For Their Own Political Gains

Contrary to the views of many Muslims, the government does not control MUIS through funding. Government grants makes up barely 5% of MUIS operational expenditure.

Instead, MUIS is controlled through legislation, appointment of its senior officers by the President and Minister and through protocols as demanded for being a statutory body.

MUIS officers also regularly meet with and receive instructions from the PAP Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs, the intelligence departments and Ministry of Home Affairs.

While they do have some discretion in discussing specific, “non-sensitive” items in public, MUIS also receive instruction on what it should discuss and what it should not.

But MUIS is not the only body the PAP uses to promote its political interests.

One of the clearest declaration of how the PAP uses Malay organisations and leaders for its political purpose was made during the Collective Leadership Conference organised by the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) in 2000.

AMP proposed the setting up of a Collective Leadership system that involved the convening of an Annual Muslim Congress to discuss the community’s challenges, progress and develop strategies for future development.

For most neutral observer or member of the community, this proposal seems positive and needed. More than 500 Muslim community leaders and organisation representatives attended the event and gave support to the proposal.

What many did not seem to realise was how strongly the PAP would reject it.

The then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong spoke on the second day of the conference.

He began his speech by reminding AMP that they receive grants from his government.

He then declared that Muslims can discuss the idea for Collective Leadership as much as we want. But it is “a No Go”. We will not be allowed to have a Collective Leadership system or convene the Annual Muslim Congress.

And the reason he gave was simple: the proposal for a non-partisan Muslim leadership that is independent of the PAP…

Represents a threat to the PAP Malay MPs.

According to Chok Tong, a “collective Malay leadership to be elected by Malays only…is clearly a political challenge to the Malay MPs”.

Instead, he declared what the PAP want for the Malay community’s leadership structure:

“At the apex is the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs. He is assisted by the Malay MPs. They are supported by two key pillars.

MUIS is the first pillar… There must only be one authority in charge of Islamic Affairs, and that is MUIS.”

The second pillar is the government owned MENDAKI.

Chok Tong demanded that we accept the Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs and the PAP MPs as our leaders.

They are supported by MUIS and MENDAKI.

Both organisations are controlled by the PAP.

We are not allowed to elect or appoint our own community’s leaders.

They must be appointed by the PAP.

Our supreme leader, the one at the apex of the community is the PAP politician who reports to his party.

MUIS and Mendaki, the PAP controlled organisations, support him.

We are not to have any leader that is responsible to our community.

Like the Malay MPs, MUIS and Mendaki…

Our leaders can only be appointed by the PAP.

Source: Almakhazin

March 30, 2016
MUIS: Stand Together With All Muslims and Singaporeans In Offering Deepest Condolence

Over the past few months we have seen too many ugly incidences of violence all around the world – from Istanbul to Jakarta, from Syria to Cameroon, Ankara, Brussels, and just two days ago, Lahore.

Hundreds of innocent lives have been lost, including, sadly, horrifically and unforgivably, women and children.

We are saddened and outraged at such cruelty and misguidedness, which truly have no place in this world.

We stand together with all Muslims and all Singaporeans in offering our deepest condolences to the families of all the victims of these senseless tragedies. ‪#‎prayforthevictims‬ ‪#‎prayfortheinnocents‬

Source: MUIS

March 30, 2016
Should Dr Chee Give Up His Candidacy Just To Prove to PAP That The GRC System Is Flawed?

It is amusing to see supporters of the ruling party start campaigning for their party before the actual candidate does so. As expected, they have brought up the bogeyman of a poorly-run town council if Dr Chee Soon Juan becomes the Member of Parliament for Bukit Batok. Of course, these claims do not have to be rational, but they are spouted anyway. The assumption that a ward would suddenly become a slum – especially a Single Member Constituency, which is much easier to manage than a GRC – when an opposition member takes over is, to be honest, quite laughable. Moreover, they (purposely) ignore other factors that could, if not should, be considered by voters: such as alternative representation in Parliament, having more checks against the ruling party, quality of candidate (which can be measured in many ways), and so on.

But i digress.

SDP has said that Dr Chee will be contesting in the by-election. Many observers have said that they would rather see A/Prof Paul Tambyah as the candidate instead, and i have to agree. For a very simple reason: the party has always opposed the GRC, and this is an opportunity to show that the GRC system is not needed, as minority candidates would be elected regardless (i do not necessarily subscribe to this view though).

I remember watching a video of a debate between Mr Chiam See Tong and Encik Jufrie Mahmood, against senior PAP members including former Prime Ministers Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong, on the GRC. Encik Jufrie basically asserted that the system is not necessary, and that the ruling party should have the prerogative to place minority candidates in SMCs. Opposition parties would then have to field minority candidates in those wards as well. This obviously does not have to be entrenched in law, but could take the form of some sort of a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between the ruling and opposition parties.

Now that PAP has announced it will field an Indian candidate, to bolster SDP’s calls for the abolition of the GRC system, i think it is only right that they too field a minority candidate. This would show that the party indeed believes in minority representation, without the aid of a GRC. Whatever the results of the by-election, the party could then truly boast that it was true to its democratic principles of both electoral fairness and representation. Otherwise, its calls would ring hollow, and the party would actually demonstrate that it just as opportunistic as any other political entity.

The way i see it, the ball is really in SDP’s court.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

March 28, 2016