Category: Singapuraku

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
Religious Teacher Jailed 3 Weeks For Ill-Treating Children

He had ill-treated eight children under his care at the Pertapis Children’s Home in Kovan Road.

Religious teacher Muhammad Abdul Gani, 27, was sentenced yesterday to three weeks’ jail after previously pleading guilty to four of 10 charges of ill-treating the children, aged four to 11.

The other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Last month, the prosecution asked for a global sentence of four weeks’ jail for his ill-treatment of the five boys and three girls between 2012 and January last year.

But District Judge Christopher Goh said yesterday that he was “not convinced” by all of the aggravating factors cited by the prosecution.

One of them was that Muhammad had deliberately breached the home’s instructions regarding the meting out of corporal punishment.

Mr Goh said: “In my view, this was neither here nor there. Any institution worth its salt would have such restrictions as to how corporal punishment should be inflicted.

“The more pertinent issue was how closely the institution monitored whether its instructions were being adhered to.”

The incidents came to light when an ex-employee of the home told the Child Protection Services (CPS) of the Ministry of Social and Family Development that certain employees had meted out inappropriate punishments to children during religious and sports activities.

Muhammad was among the five employees named. A CPS manager then made a police report on Feb 10 last year.

Investigations revealed Muhammad had ill-treated three children in the home’s prayer room.

On two occasions, he lifted two boys – a seven-year-old and a four-year-old – by grabbing their heads.

PUNISHED

He punished one of them for not lining up properly and the other for no apparent reason.

In another incident, Muhammad pushed a 10-year-old girl in the mouth when she ignored his instruction to stop whistling in the prayer room.

This caused the back of her head to hit a cupboard.

Muhammad’s lawyer, Mr Abdul Jalil Muhammad Tahir of AJ Tahir & Co, had recommended a fine, citing medical and psychiatric reports that showed the victims had not suffered adverse physical and psychological effects.

He said his client was not “the kind to abuse children”.

While Judge Goh did not believe there was malice on Muhammad’s part, he agreed with the prosecution that Muhammad’s actions were a gross breach of trust and authority.

“What made these a more serious case… was that these were vulnerable children, sent to the home specifically because they were vulnerable and at risk,” he said.

During the period of the offences, about 60 children – generally from dysfunctional families, abused or neglected, or beyond parental control – were living in the home.

The judge acknowledged that caring for disadvantaged children is not easy as a huge burden and responsibility is placed on caregivers.

“Nonetheless, the paramount interest must be the welfare of the children… Therefore, where incidents such as these do occur, the persons involved must be brought to task and, if found guilty, punished severely,” he said.

Another employee, Joanne Joy Coloma Dadiz, a 29-year-old Filipina, was charged with one count of ill-treating an 11-year-old girl in December 2013. Her case is pending.

What made these a more serious case… was that these were vulnerable children, sent to the home specifically because they were vulnerable and at risk.

– District Judge Christopher Goh

THE NEW PAPER, SEPT 11

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 14, 2015
Agonising 9-Hour Wait For Family Of Chemist Killed In Jurong Factory Fire

It was a long nine-hour wait for the family of Ms Lim Siaw Chian, 30, the chemist who died in Monday’s (Oct 12) fire.

They had showed up at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) mortuary at around 8.30am yesterday (Oct 13) to claim her body.

Instead, they had to wait till almost 6pm before they could collect her remains.

The New Paper understands that Ms Lim had been hit by the explosions and according to Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao,

As a result, a DNA sample had to be collected from her infant daughter to help identify her remains, according to Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao.

The fire broke out at gas manufacturer Leeden National Oxygen, a gas manufacturing firm, on Tanjong Kling Road, near Jurong Shipyard, at around 9.20am.

A week before the fire, Ms Lim had returned to work after her maternity leave.

Throughout yesterday, Ms Lim’s family and relatives were holed up in the mortuary building, waiting for news.

Her husband, visibly shaken and agonised, appeared twice outside the building, where he wept silently and later stared blankly into space before going back into the building.

Described by relatives and colleagues as a “bubbly girl”, Ms Lim was well-loved by all.

“She was a very good person, a very humble person,” said Leeden safety manager Lee Mun Hong, 45.

Source: www.tnp.sg

October 14, 2015
Cracks Appearing In New BTO Flat, HDB Officer Unwilling To Do Site Visit

Dear Editors,

I refer to the recent article published in Straits Time regarding crack lines appearing in Punggol BTOs.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/cracks-appearing-in-new-bt…

We are staying in our new BTOs along Yishun Avenue 1 Blk 431D and several of us here have noticed crack lines appearing in every room in our flats, after renovation commenced above us.

We are worried about safety and have reported this issue to HDB. However, as the DLP just hit 1 year, they mentioned that they could not do anything much. While we understand that it may not be a structural defect because the HDB officer mentioned that the crack lines need to be more than 3mm or something, we believed that their professional officer should at least come and check instead of brushing us off by calls.

We hope that the authority will do something. Thank you.

Adeline
A.S.S. Contributor

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

October 14, 2015