Category: Sosial

CNA-IPS Survey: Racism Still A Problem

In this second of three reports that explores the findings of a Channel NewsAsia-Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) survey on race relations, Channel NewsAsia examines how racism remains a problem for some Singaporeans of minority races.

SINGAPORE: Racism remains a problem for some Singaporeans, with one in three among minority races having felt racially discriminated against, according to a nationwide survey specially commissioned by Channel NewsAsia in partnership with the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).

The survey, which polled 2,000 Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 21 and above, is among the few large-scale surveys on race relations in Singapore.

Conducted between June and July this year, the survey was done through a random sampling of dwelling types. Malay and Indian respondents were oversampled to ensure sufficient minority representation. Selected households completed a survey questionnaire then returned it to a surveyor at a stipulated time, to reduce the possibility of interviewer bias.

The results were then statistically weighted to ensure that the final sample resembled the national population in terms of racial composition, dwelling type and gender.

<Read Part 1 of the survey findings here: Success is independent of race for most Singaporeans>

Instances where respondents felt they were treated differently than other people were more commonly felt among racial minorities, the survey found. More than half of minority respondents agreed with statements such as “people have acted as if they are better than you”.

Two-thirds of Malay and Indian respondents who had experienced such differential treatment claimed that race was the basis of such treatment. Among Malays who had perceived such differential treatment, nearly half said they were treated differently because of their religion, or because of their income or education. Among Indians, 62 per cent said they were treated differently because of their skin colour.

While many minority respondents attributed these negative experiences to race, comparatively few – about 30 per cent – felt that they had been racially discriminated against.

“This could be because the notion of ‘racial discrimination’ connotes a much more negative experience which surpasses the types of differential treatment they perceived,” said IPS senior research fellow Dr Mathew Mathews, who headed the survey.

More respondents had heard of someone else being discriminated against, with nearly half of minority respondents saying someone had shared their experiences of racial discrimination or prejudice with them.

About 60 per cent of all respondents had heard racist comments, with under half of the respondents noting that such comments were made by workplace colleagues and friends, the survey found.

Faced with such comments, the majority preferred to avoid confrontation, with 65 per cent of respondents saying that they ignored the person’s comments. About 17 per cent said they agreed with the person making the racist comments, while 29 per cent said they argued with the person about the truth of their statement.

MOST PREFER OWN RACE FOR MANY ROLES

The survey results also showed a high level of in-group preference – the majority of respondents preferred those of the same race as spouses, to help them run their business or to share personal problems with.

More Singaporeans were amenable to social interaction across racial boundaries, the survey found. For example, close to 70 per cent of Chinese respondents were open to inviting Indians and Malays to their house for a meal. Most were also amenable to Indians and Malays playing with their children or grandchildren.

More minority respondents were accepting of the Chinese compared to the Chinese accepting minority respondents for various roles and relationships. The least preference among many respondents was for new citizens, according to the poll.

“Overall, the survey findings highlight that Singaporeans espouse the values of multiracialism and try to live out these multiracial ideals,” said Dr Mathews, adding that most Singaporeans are “self-aware and acknowledge that there is some racism in the community”.

He added: “The survey findings however remind us that we need to continue to nurture positive race relations.”

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

August 19, 2016
SCDF Firefighter Injured During CK Building Operations Discharged From Hospital, Recovering

A firefighter from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) lost consciousness while fighting a conflagaration at the CK Building on Wednesday (Aug 17).

He has since been discharged from hospital and is recuperating at home.

Sergeant Muhammad Hidir, a section commander and full-time national serviceman (NSF), was among the first firefighting teams to rush to Tampines Street 92 where a blaze had engulfed the industrial building.

Sgt Hidir and his team entered the building cautiously wearing breathing apparatus, said SCDF.

They went up to the fourth floor, where the fire was raging, to fight it.

But there were “highly combustible” products there, and the entire floor was “alight with flames rapidly raging out of control”, SCDF said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

“The fire had also engulfed the floor above and was spreading to the sixth floor. There were also multiple explosions from ‘flying’ aerosol cans,” said SCDF.

Mr Hidir and his team retreated as the situation became life threatening.

While retreating from the inferno, he was overcome by heat exhaustion and soon lost consciousness.

Mr Hidir was attended to by fellow firefighters and paramedics and rushed to Changi General Hospital.

He has been discharged from hospital and is on medical leave, said SCDF.

“Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I’m doing just fine right now. Really never expected the overwhelming show of concern online…and a big thank you to my buddies for always looking out for one another in the heat of action,” said Mr Hidir.

The fire at CK Building burned for hours, but no member of public was injured.

The blaze began at about 1.30pm on Wednesday, and was extinguished at 6am on Thursday – more than 15 hours later.

Highly flammable paper products and household aerosol cans fed the fire.

The building has been damaged structurally, and will be closed for reconstruction work, said the Building and Construction Authority on Thursday.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

August 19, 2016
Amos Yee Invokes Court Process To Decide On Trial Position

After several false starts, the first day of blogger Amos Yee’s trial yesterday was adjourned for the 17-year-old to use a court process that helps accused persons consider whether to claim trial or plead guilty.

He had earlier objected to a joint hearing for the two sets of offences he has been charged with.

When he was overruled, Amos told the court he would like the prosecution’s seven witnesses to testify orally, rather than through written statements.

Then, as his hearing was about to kick off, he told a judge he was “thinking of taking a certain course of action”.

Amos, who was not represented at his hearing yesterday, asked to go for Criminal Case Resolution (CCR), a court process where an accused person may ask for an indication of his possible sentences in a closed-door meeting with prosecutors that is presided over by a senior district judge.

CCR was started in 2011 to minimise wastage of court resources. It provides a neutral platform for parties to explore the possibilities of early resolution of criminal cases, instead of waiting until a trial starts.

When District Judge Lim Tse Haw asked why he had not brought up his request during his pre-trial conference, Amos said he only learnt about CCR through “sheer luck” while he was doing research.

He was given the go-ahead to attend a CCR session this morning, following which he would decide if he would want to continue to claim trial.

Amos faces six charges of wounding the religious feelings of Muslims and Christians and two counts of flouting an order to show up at a police station for investigations. Both sets of charges relate to content he posted online between November last year and May this year.

Amos argued that the nature of the two sets of charges are different and he would not have a fair trial if they are heard together.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hon Yi countered that the alleged offences happened close together and were linked.

Amos was convicted of similar offences last year and was sentenced to four weeks’ jail. But he was released on the same day as the sentence was backdated to include his time in remand.

If convicted of deliberately wounding the religious feelings of others, Amos could be jailed up to three years and fined. For failing to turn up at the police station in spite of an order, he could be jailed up to a month and fined up to S$1,500.

Source: TODAY Online

August 18, 2016
This Singaporean Has Caught Them All!

Less than two weeks after the release of the Pokemon Go game in Singapore, a 39-year-old app developer has claimed to have caught them all, including the rarest and most powerful ones.

Mr Terence Ho told The New Paper he has caught all 145 available Pokemon in the game within 10 days of playing it. He showed TNP a live video of his Pokedex as proof.

His captures do not include the six legendary Pokemon – Ditto, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mewtwo and Mew – which have not been released in the game yet.

So far, only two other people in the world have reportedly caught all 145 – Mr Nick Johnson from the United States and Mr Ahmed Ali from the United Kingdom.

Business Insider reported on July 22 that Mr Johnson from Brooklyn was the first person in the world to catch all the Pokemon, accomplishing this just 16 days after the game’s release in the US on July 6.

Mr Ahmed also caught all the Pokemon in two weeks, according to The Sun.

This could mean that Mr Ho, who took just 10 days since the game’s launch in Singapore on Aug 6 to get them all, could be the player who did so in the shortest time so far.

Mr Ho said: “It’s always been the goal of every Pokemon trainer to catch all the Pokemon in the Pokedex. I’m no different.”

Mr Ho was unaware that he could be the fastest player in the world and seemed surprised at the possibility. “Wow! I didn’t know that! But I’m sure other players may not believe me and claim that I ‘cheated’ to catch all 145 of them,” he said.

The bachelor works as an app-developer at THWL Apps, which recently released an app which compiles worldwide news onto a single app.

He said news was an integral part of his Pokemon-hunting process.

“Before you catch any Pokemon, you should always read up on the latest news so that you know where the rare Pokemon are going to spawn.”

Mr Ho also started the SG Pokemon Go Singapore Facebook group and has been updating the page with locations of the various Pokemon that he caught.

His first Pokemon was the starter fire-type Pokemon Charmander, and his last was the grass-type Victreebel which evolved early Tuesday (August 16) morning at 12.05am.

Mr Ho bought ‘coins’ in the game to buy incense, lucky eggs and lures, in order to progress faster in the game. He claims to have spent $150 on these in-app purchases.

Mr Ho admits that he spent many hours after work catching Pokemon at the nearby park and would play till even after 1am on many nights.

He has also been to locations all around the island, including Punggol, where he finally caught the rarest of all Pokemon, a Cloyster.

Since completing the whole set of Pokemon, he has cut down his play time by at least half after achieving his goal.

He said with a laugh: “It’s time for me to get back to proper work!”

Mr Ho caught all his Pokemon when he was at level 24, but crossed level 25 late on Tuesday. The highest level in the game is 40.

He had decided to use his ‘candy’ in the game to evolve into new Pokemon rather than to power up his Pokemon to higher combat levels.

“My focus has been catching all the different types of Pokemon and filling the Pokedex,” he said.

As for the best spots to go to catch the rare ones, Mr Ho said Sentosa was a “nest for Pikachus”. “Occasionally, a Raichu may be spotted too!”

To complete his set of 145, Mr Ho had to catch Pokemon in region-exclusive spots – North America, Europe, Australia and certain areas of Asia.

These Pokemon are Tauros (US exclusive), Farfetch’d (Asia exclusive), Mr Mime (Europe exclusive) and Kangaskhan (Australia and New Zealand exclusive).

When asked how he caught these virtual creatures from Singapore, Mr Ho said he got friends living in these regions to log in for him to catch them.

Mr Ho said this was a “creative way” to catch Pokemon without breaking the rules, even though some players would consider this cheating.

“Every one of us use our own unique and creative ways to solve each problem. All players have this problem of catching region-exclusive Pokemon,” he said.

“What I did was to think out of the box, devise a possible solution and executed it. I only have every supportive friend around me to thank for this accomplishment.”

Source: The New Paper

August 18, 2016
Pendakwah Britain Anjem Choudary Didapati Bersalah Sokong ISIS

Salah seorang pendakwah di Britain, yang terkenal dengan ceramah-ceramah yang menerapkan kebencian, kini berdepan dengan hukuman penjara setelah didapati bersalah menyokong ISIS.

Anjem Choudary dijatuhi hukuman di Old Bailey setelah para juri mendengar bahawa dia mengikrarkan taat setia kepada ISIS, lapor The Guardian.

Lelaki berusia 49 tahun itu, yang ada kaitan dengan salah seorang pembunuh Lee Rigby, Michael Adebolajo dan anggota militan Omar Bakri Muhammad, juga menggesa para pengikutnya supaya menyokong beberapa rancangan ISIS yang disiarkan di laman YouTube.

Anjem dan rakannya yang turut berdepan hukuman, Mohammed Rahman, 33 tahun memberitahu para penyokong mereka supaya mematuhi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, iaitu pemimpin ISIS, yang juga dikenali sebagai khalifah, serta menggesa mereka agar ke Syria untuk menyertai ISIS atau “khilafah”, mahkamah dimaklumkan.

Kedua-duanya didapati bersalah pada bulan Julai namun perincian perbicaraan termasuk keputusan mahkamah tidak boleh dilaporkan sehingga sekarang.

Anjem dan Rahman berdepan hukuman penjara selama 10 tahun kerana memberikan sokongan kepada pertubuhan yang berbahaya, menurut The Guardian.

Mereka akan dijatuhi hukuman pada 6 September di Old Bailey.

Menurut Ketua Polis Metropolitan Anti-Pengganasan, Komander Dean Haydon: “kedua-dua lelaki ini cuba mengelak pengawasan pihak berkuasa sejauh ini, namun tiada seorang pun dalam bidang anti-pengganasan yang meragui pengaruh mereka, kebencian yang mereka sebarkan dan orang-orang yang mereka galak supaya menyertai pertubuhan pengganas.”

“Berkali-kali kami menyaksikan orang-orang dibicarakan atas kesalahan paling serius, yang pernah menghadiri ceramah kedua-dua lelaki ini. Ikrar taat setia mereka kepada ISIS adalah satu titik perubahan – akhirnya kami mempunyai bukti yang menunjukkan bahawa mereka sudah melanggar undang-undang dan kami boleh buktikan bahawa mereka menyokong ISIS,” tambah beliau, menurut laporan The Guardian.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

August 18, 2016