Category: Singapuraku

A Letter From Australia – Thank You SDP For Well-Run Campaign In GE2015

Dear Singapore Democratic Party,

I am a Singaporean living in Australia. I am married to an Australian and live here with our family.

I followed closely both GE2011 and more recently GE2015 from afar, which has been made possible by the Internet in current times. Needless to say, given that I am writing this letter to you, I am supportive of having strong and credible opposition voices in the current political climate in Singapore.

Since GE2015, 9/11/15, I have been left somewhat broken-hearted, and to be honest, a little shell-shocked. It is not my intent to go into a political analysis here – I am not a political commentator, neither am I au fairewith the intricacies of politics in Singapore – I am sure that you all would have done/ will do a post-mortem of the outcomes from GE2015 and are in a much better position to do so that I am.

However, I would like to give my gratitude to ALL OF YOU, candidates and volunteers alike, at the SDP (and all other opposition parties) for putting yourselves forward in a bid to secure an alternative, and equally as good if not better, future for the country and people of Singapore. Thank you. You are all courageous and progressive people that Singapore should be proud to call sons and daughters.

In my opinion, GE2015 saw the fielding of the strongest pool of opposition candidates that Singapore has seen since Independence. Not just in formal qualifications, but also in personality, character and voice. It was because of this that I was so heartbroken that the ground did not show the support that I had wished it to. It was never a question for me that the incumbent party would still form government at the end of this round of GE based on numbers alone (and dare I say, so should they as they are probably the most adequately resourced to do so at present), but I had felt that the opposition field this time would have been able to provide the much-needed alternative and credible voice in Parliament, to challenge both the incumbent and people of the nation to think outside-of-the-box, be more progressive and dare to dream beyond our backyard as a nation. I would have been happy even with a stronger margin for the opposition than what GE2015 delivered, for a more promising GE2020. Alas, that wasn’t to be so.

So it leaves, I guess, the opposition parties and their supporters to re-evaluate their positions, as they face the cross-roads post GE2015.

In any case, please accept my gratitude again for a campaign well-run for GE2015. Onwards and forwards to the next milestone!

With best wishes,
Elin

Source: http://yoursdp.org

October 19, 2015
Former Construction Safety Officer Earns $4,000 A Month Doing Your Grocery Shopping

For a small delivery fee, he will take your grocery shopping list that you have specified online, visit the store, call you if the products are not available, and deliver on the same day.

Mr Achmad Sobirin Suhaimi, 31, is part of a new wave of service providers taking online shopping to a new level.

The former full-time construction safety officer used to squeeze in grocery deliveries before or after work to earn some extra bucks.

Two months ago, he started his own company, and today, earns $3,000 to $4,000 a month helping clients – both individuals and businesses – do their day-to-day chores such as dealing with couriers, and personal grocery shopping.

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 19, 2015
Zulfikar Shariff: Keep Up The Struggle, Remember There Is No Success Without Allah

A few weeks ago, I read a Muslim post a status that seems quite despondent.

He mentioned several of the difficulties that we face…from the discrimination by the PAP to the difficulties Muslims face internationally.

The US and Russia, both representing two poles of the same political evil dominate world politics. Capitalism, Zionism, secularism, liberalism, our world is on a path of destruction and we are caught in it.

We try to feed the hungry, we help end oppression, we raise our voices, write petition, teach our children, our young, the not so young to live as Muslims and more challenges appear.

Sometimes it feels like all we do is fight fire. We put one out and another appear. For some, it feels like a never ending battle.

A battle they cannot win.

A battle they are doomed to fight…over and over and over.

To those who despair that the world is in such a terrible state, who feel that nothing we do seem to matter…

Do not despair.

The battle will not end.

And it is not a bad thing.

This life is not for us to relax.

It is one for us to struggle for.

These challenges are opportunities for us. The challenges we face allow us to strive…with our hearts and minds…our sweat…to serve Allah.

We will be tested.

We will face massive challenges.

Our role is to face it. Work at it.

Persevere.

Keep fighting.

Insha Allah every little effort we put in for Allah’s sake, will be rewarded.

When we feel tired…Keep fighting.

When we have been hit so much we struggle to get up…Keep fighting.

When all the world seems to want to destroy us…Keep fighting.

This life is short.

Jannah is eternal.

Keep up the struggle. Know that Allah’s promises are true.

There is no success except with Allah.

Source: Zulfikar Shariff

October 19, 2015
NUS Dining Operator, Chartwells, Served Non-Halal Roast Beef At Halal Counter

A dining operator at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was found to have served non-halal roast beef at a halal counter earlier this month.

The beef was served at two dining halls for students from four residential colleges at NUS on Oct 8. Close to 2,400 staff and students, including about 80 Muslims, attended the dinner.

A spokesman for Chartwells, which was appointed the dining operator for both halls in June, told The Straits Times that the lapse “is an isolated incident, resulting from a (chef’s) poor judgment call, for which the chef feels deeply regretful”. The chef had worked at the kitchens on the NUS campus for “a number of years” and has since been suspended, pending the outcome of Chartwells’ full inquiry.

When contacted, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said Chartwells had breached conditions of the halal certification system, and that Muis “will be taking further action”.

Muis said the halal certificate may be suspended or revoked. Anyone found guilty of abusing the Muis halal certificate and logo could also be fined up to $10,000 or jailed for up to a year, or both.

An NUS spokesman told The Sunday Times that a Muslim student resident had told an academic staff member on Oct 8 that the beef served at a halal counter was prepared in an oven in a non-halal kitchen. Chartwells has halal and non-halal kitchens in NUS. NUS’ Office of Housing Services then immediately alerted Chartwells and apologised to the affected Muslims the next day in an e-mail.

The beef had been taken to the halal kitchens before being served at a halal counter, and the halal kitchens were closed after NUS learnt of the incident. They will reopen only after being re-certified by Muis.

While Chartwells is still serving non-halal food, it stopped serving halal food a day after the incident and was replaced by another halal-certified vendor, Eurest Catering. But some NUS students were uneasy with this arrangement.

Mr Syamil Maulod, believed to be from the University Scholars Programme (USP), posted on Facebook on Oct 10 that Eurest Catering and Chartwells belong to the same parent company, Compass Group.

“Our trust was violated. We do not feel it is right to engage the same (parent) company,” he wrote.

An article on The Cinnamon Roll, an official online publication of the USP, also said last Sunday that “most students, Muslim and non-Muslim, regard (the lapse) a serious breach of trust”.

The NUS spokesman said that getting Eurest to provide halal meals was an “interim measure” and a “third-party, external halal-certified caterer” has been providing halal meals since last Thursday. The caterer is not related to the Compass Group, said NUS.

Compass Group Singapore managing director Andrew Marshall said: “We deeply regret this issue… We continue to work closely with NUS and the student body to rebuild the trust of the community.”

A Cinnamon College resident, who declined to be named, said that NUS should have given an assurance earlier and asked the vendor to provide a public explanation.

“Only Muslims need to observe the dietary standard, but if you think about it, it is about food handling in general,” he said. “People who are vegetarians, or people who have allergies… we expect their needs to be taken care of.”

Source: www.straitstimes.com

October 19, 2015
Rich Singaporean Wives Hiring Women To Lure Their Husbands

Singaporeans have been hiring agencies in China to get their husbands’ mistresses to back off, according to a foreign report on these “mistress-ditching” firms.

But what if the spouse’s lover is in Singapore?

To save their marriages from falling apart, Singaporeans have been paying five-figure sums to hire honey trappers to seduce their own misbehaving husbands or wives, reveal private investigators here.

The honey trapper will attempt to seduce the third party or the cheating spouse to destroy the extramarital relationship, they say.

Yes, agents have been engaged by distraught husbands, too.

“It is not an advertised service. The request must come from the client,” says Mr David Ng from DP Quest Private Investigation Consultancy.

“They usually know what they want. They would request a particular profile of a honey trapper that they want, specific to the preference of their cheating spouses.”

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 18, 2015