Category: Singapuraku

Wearwhite: We Support The Expression Of Concern By Roman Catholic Archbishop William Goh Over The Upcoming Concert By Madonna

All religions taught us to have a higher and deeper sense and taste of aesthetics and arts. To entertain with lust and immorality is easy, cheap & hollow.

Wearwhite supports the statement of archbishop William Goh.

Let us return to Fitrah.

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Archbisop William Goh’s statement is available at https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-archbishop-warns-flock-against-madonna-concert-063258861.html

Singapore’s Roman Catholic archbishop has expressed concern at an upcoming concert by pop diva Madonna in the city-state and warned his flock against supporting those who “denigrate and insult religions”.

Archbishop William Goh said in a statement posted on the diocese website on Saturday that he had met various government officials to express the church’s concerns about the February 28 concert, part of her global Rebel Heart Tour.

The concert, at the 55,000-seat National Stadium, will be Madonna’s first-ever in largely conservative Singapore.

She was barred from performing in Singapore in 1993 after police said her performances bordered on the obscene and were “objectionable to many on moral and religious grounds”.

Goh said that in a multi-ethnic society like Singapore “we cannot afford to be overly permissive in favour of artistic expression at the expense of respect for one’s religion”.

Authorities have assured the archbishop that restrictions have been placed to ensure that content deemed offensive to religious beliefs would not be allowed on stage, the church statement said.

The Media Development Authority has restricted the concert to those aged 18 and above because of sexual references.

Local media reports said Madonna would not be performing a controversial tour segment called Holy Water, which includes dancers dressed as scantily-clad nuns performing on cross-shaped stripper poles.

The church statement said many Roman Catholics have voiced outrage at Madonna’s “disrespectful use of Catholic and other Christian symbols” in her performances.

“There is no neutrality in faith; one is either for or against. Being present (at these events) in is itself a counter-witness,” the archbishop said.

He warned his flock against supporting “the ‘pseudo arts’ that promote sensuality, rebellion, disrespect, pornography (and) contamination of the mind of the young”.

Some Catholics said they supported the archbishop’s decision and would not attend the concert.

Student Kevin Koh, 24, said he would not go but would not pass judgement on fellow Catholics who attend.

“Singapore as a society has to start being open to these things because we can no longer live in our own shells,” he told AFP.

Some online comments were critical, with one commentator saying the faithful should be allowed to make their own decisions.

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Source: Wearwhite

February 25, 2016
Modern Montessori Preschool Disallows Hijab Wear With Ludicrous Claims Of Fearful Parents

I was discriminated because I was wearing a hijab, I like to share my unfortunate experience with you. I went for an interview today at one of the modern montessori preschool in Kovan and my interview went well until my interviewer Mdm Sheela, Director of MMI told me….

Interviewer: Since you are wearing the hijab if you start working here you have to wear a bandanna to cover your just your hair.

Me: what is the reason for this policy in your company?

Interviewer: Because we have many incidents where Chinese parents are afraid to handover their kids to a staff who is wearing hijab. kids get scared too.

This is the most ridiculous reason I have ever heard for not allowing hijab in workplace.

Called ministry of manpower they refer to MUIS.

Called MUIS, they refer somewhere else.

MOM PUT ON HOLD……..

MUIS PUT ON HOLD………….

THIRD TRANSFER ——- SORRY OFFICE HOURS ARE CLOSED…

CLAP CLAP WOW SINGAPORE SO MULTIRACIAL!

Source: Sharifah Begum

February 20, 2016
Goh Meng Seng: Even Senior Civil Servants Planning To Migrate, Singapore Education System Not Teaching Good Values To Students

When I was traveling to visit a friend during the Chinese New Year period, someone called out to me, “Are you Goh Meng Seng?” I returned my greetings and thought that this was just another the usual meeting with a Singapore supporter.

But I was proven wrong. This meeting with Michael, proved to be different from others. At the very least, we spent about 20 to 30 minutes chatting on the sidewalk of the busy MRT station.

Michael told me he is an opposition supporter despite the fact that he is a civil servant. The sad thing is that he said he is preparing to migrate out of Singapore to Japan. This is not the first time I met a supporter who will tell me that they are migrating out of Singapore, to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US etc. The last one I met before Michael was Jack at Cantonment Police Station when he was getting his certificate of good conduct from the police so to facilitate his migration!

Naturally, I asked Michael why would he and his family want to migrate to Japan? If all supporters like him were to migrate out, then who do we have left behind to give opposition their continuous support?

Michael explained that he is doing all these for his children. He has been to Japan and was impressed by their education system. They teach “VALUES” to their students, not just subjects or “living skills” like how to deal with internet and the New Media.

I was stunned by his words. I thought there are no other Singaporeans like me who would talk about “VALUES” or the lack of it in our education system. In fact, from top down, Political Leaders to civil servants and commoners, wrong values were transmitted in various subliminal messaging through the political system and pop culture. One of the reasons why I decided to step into opposition politics was due to my rejection of PAP’s vote buying exercise via using ASSET ENHANCEMENT HDB UPGRADING carrots. It is basically telling Singaporeans that your votes and soul could be sold or bought by such pork barrel politicking. I did not want my children to live under such system which cultivate such BAD VALUES. Thus, I decided that either I fight PAP to change this system or I shall resign myself to making more money and prepare myself to leave this place; for the sake of my future generations.

In fact, I have decided to let my daughter to study in Hong Kong instead of Singapore, purely because of my rejection of PAP’s indoctrination of BAD values through the education system. The massive brain washing via distorted history books and slanted National Education which mixed PAP’s propaganda into various messaging.

I do not see the day I could successfully eradicate the PAP’s system of self interests and self preservation. But at least, I tried and am still trying.

And Michael is right, our education system has stopped cultivating our shared common morals and good values with regards to Morals, Equality, Fairness, Humanity, Social Justice, Social Responsibility and Democracy. Even our National Pledge was treated just as an empty promises of the State and ruling party everyday; rightfully so because PAP has openly declared that this National Pledge is nothing and has no value at all but just a Highfalutin ideals which we should just ignore.

Our education system is more interested in Elitism, to filter out the “bright” Scholars with high IQ, never mind if he or she has any morals or core values to begin with, so that PAP could just put them into civil service and eventually into their party to serve their political monopoly.

Michael told me that many civil servants, high ranking civil servants, are looking into migration out of this place we call Singapore. I was surprised because no matter what, civil servants, especially those high ranking ones, were the ones who helped created the current system! Why are they migrating out of their own creation?

They are just here to work and meet their KPIs which may or may not give the best results that the society needs but definitely serve their own promotions and bonuses. They saw the flaws of the system in many instances but the Top down management would just discourage any dissidence towards the Elite Scholars. Thus, when their time is up, they would just leave Singapore, for the sake of their children.

Michael also told me that the stifling academic environment will not provide the kind of First World education that Singaporeans deserved. He said that he has known various foreign lecturers employed by the local universities had their contracts or tenure shorten or discontinued just because they have made unflattering remarks on local politics, PAP and its policies. The lack of academic freedom would compromise the standards of learning dependent on critical thinking.

Our education system basically discourages critical thinking while promotes conformity or group thinking. This is why Michael felt very pessimistic about the future of his children if they were to remain here in Singapore.

My little conversation with Michael has to end as I was late for my visit. But this little conversation with Michael sets me thinking on the future of Singapore.

Education is the foundation of every Nation and it involves not merely economic importance but also the cultivation of our Nation’s Soul. This Soul will determine how our society will look like, how our National Identity will be forged or disintegrate. Any political system’s effectiveness will depend on this cultivation of the Nation’s Soul, its cultural and social consensus based on the values it holds. But somehow, our Good Core Values are serious lacking while bad influences like political propaganda have been on the rise.

Without the Freedom to Think with strong cultivation of Core Values, there will only be Mind Slaves left in the country.

Goh Meng Seng

Source: People’s Power Party – PPP

February 17, 2016
SDP: PAP Clearly Violating MOE Policy Of Maintaining Apolitical Schools

Singapore Democrats

In 2009, the Straits Times reported that Minister for Law K Shanmugam had warned his party members in an editorial in Petir, the PAP’s newsletter, that “younger voters can erode its dominant position should the party fail to convince them that Singapore…needs a strong leadership and a political system that allows for effective and speedy decisions to be made”.

Mr Shanmugam felt that for the PAP to prolong its power, it needed to “provide greater political education for Singaporeans, in particular, students”.

Another Straits Times report said that Mr Shanmugam proposed that schools teach “comparative political systems” but to do this in the context of “improving the Government’s effectiveness in reaching out to younger Singaporeans”.

This is why the SDP applied to the Ministry of Education (MOE) to allow us to conduct talks with students and to present another point of view. The MOE, however, says that “schools are neutral places for learning and not platforms for partisan politics”. The SDP documents here how biased and partisan history and social studies textbook are.

Educate students about politics, says Shanmugam
By Zakir Hussain
Straits Times
19 December 2009

For 50 years, the PAP has stayed in power because it has delivered progress to the people, its leaders often point out.

But Law Minister K. Shanmugam feels younger voters can erode its dominant position should the party fail to convince them that Singapore, more than most countries, needs a strong leadership and a political system that allows for effective and speedy decisions to be made.

He gave this warning to his party members in an editorial in the latest People’s Action Party bi-monthly magazine, Petir.

Mr Shanmugam appears to have his eye on the clock when he issued his word of caution, saying no political party had stayed in power continuously for more than 70 years.

The way for the PAP to outlive this record, he feels, is to provide greater political education for Singaporeans, in particular, students.

However, he said: ‘The education should not trumpet the virtues of any particular system.’

Instead, students should be taught, among other things, how political systems work in different cultures, the impact of geographical and social factors on societies and why city states rise and fall.

‘This will make people look carefully at the liberal democratic model and help them decide which aspects best suit Singapore,’ he said as he set out how the PAP can communicate better its message that Singapore needs good governance and that only the PAP can deliver it.

His concern comes at a time when a younger generation of better-educated voters feels the political process and system in a democratic state should be based on the Western model of liberal democracy.

Mr Shanmugam and government leaders reject the view, arguing that the best systems are those that fit the society they govern.

‘Not every aspect can be transplanted in toto across cultures, without regard to different economic, social and geostrategic situations,’ said the Law Minister.

It is a position he has argued vigorously in favour of in the past three months: first to a group of international lawyers meeting here in October, then the Harvard alumni in Singapore last week, and now, PAP members.

Mr Shanmugam, who is also Second Home Affairs Minister, said the PAP’s message had resonated with the older generation who experienced the turmoil of Singapore’s early years.

‘But the collective memory of this is not as strong among newer generations, whose viewpoints will increasingly influence the political process,’ he added.

Younger Singaporeans may therefore believe that the Western model of liberal democracy can be adopted without trade-offs, he said.

‘Singaporeans are entitled to decide whether they want the trade-offs.

‘And if the majority chooses slower development and a lower quality of life, and is willing to accept more tensions within our society in return for changes in the political system, then so be it,’ he said.

‘But that choice must be an informed one,’ he added.

Source: http://yoursdp.org

February 17, 2016
What PAP Really Wants Is Assimilation, Not Multicultaralism

The ban on hijab is part of the PAP’s attempt to remove Islamic identity among Malays in preference of a Chinese cultural hegemony.

The last few weeks, the Muslim community has once again, been treated poorly by the PAP Ministers.

K Shanmugam Sc] accused the community of being distant (even though the Malays are the most open and accommodating community in Singapura).

Then Masagos Zulkili justified the ban on hijab and likened the ban to the law against gay sex.

As stated in the other post, Assoc Prof Lily Zubaidah Rahim argued the hijab ban is due to a Secular Fundamentalist PAP government trying to control Islam.

But why does the PAP, a party that claims to promote multiracalism…

ban an Islamic obligation in the name of harmony?

The answer is that what the PAP want is not multiracialism but assimilation.

For a community to be assimilated into another, they need to change their values, behaviour, beliefs and anything that makes them different.

And become the same as the community they assimilate with.

Barr and Low observed:

“the Singapore systems of meritocracy and multiracialism are no longer concerned primarily with intercommunal tolerance…

but are aggressive programmes of assimilation of the racial minorities into a Chinese dominated society.”

“Chinese values—or at least the government’s narrow, sectarian version of Chinese values—were promoted to the whole population…”

“Where does that leave the minority races?… [To] prosper in this society, they need to internalise ‘Chinese virtues’ and become ‘like the Chinese’ in subtle but important ways.

In short, they are expected to submit to a form of partial or incomplete assimilation into a Chinese generated, Chinese-dominated society.”

The authors further argued that “the onus was thus placed on the Malay community to assimilate into the predominately Chinese Singapore, or risk continued marginalisation and discrimination.”

While LKY’s and the PAP’s desire to privilege their race is understandable even though it is racist…

Barr and Low assert that the Malay MP’s major function is to facilitate the Malay community’s assimilation into the Chinese community.

They noted “the overwhelming evidence is that the public leadership of the Malay community across the board are keen to help their constituency to assimilate, since this seems to be the path to prosperity and peaceful coexistence.

The PAP Malay MPs are obviously enthusiastic assimilationists, since this is a large measure of their raison d’etre…

Indeed, this need to assimilate into the rest of society in the public sphere is recognised by Syed Haroon Aljunied, Secretary-General of MUIS.

When asked if he thought ‘assimilation’ was necessary for the Malays to gain a higher representation in the civil service,

he replied ‘Yeah that’s right. Then they don’t see any difference.”

Reference:

Barr, M. D., & Low, J. (2005). Assimilation as multiracialism: The case of Singapore’s Malays. Asian Ethnicity, 6(3), 161-182.

Source: Almakhazin SG

February 16, 2016