Category: Sosial

Time’s Up For Jalan Besar’s King George’s Stand

After scoring the LionsXII’s first-ever goal in the Malaysian Super League (MSL) in 2012 against Kelantan, defender Baihakki Khaizan hurdled over the advertising boards and celebrated with the home fans in a packed King George’s Stand behind the goal atthe Jalan Besar Stadium.

It was a memorable moment cherished by the Singapore international and everyone in the local football fraternity.

Football celebrations in the King George’s Stand will be no more, though, after the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) confirmed yesterday that the 1,500-capacity facility, which had cost sponsors Kingsmen more than $250,000 to build, will be dismantled in November.

This will reduce the stadium’s capacity from 8,000 to 6,500.

Speaking to The New Paper yesterday, FAS deputy director of development and planning Benjamin Tan said: “We appreciate the understanding and approvals of the relevant authorities in granting extensions for the continued use of the King George’s Stand at Jalan Besar Stadium over the past three years.

“We are also thankful to our partners, including Kingsmen and Sport Singapore, for their support towards our continuous efforts in bringing more fans together.

INCREASE

“With an approximate capacity of 1,500, the King George’s Stand enabled us to increase the seating capacity of the stadium, which in turn allowed more fans to turn up and support our teams in action over the past few years.

“The final extension for the use of the temporary seating structures expired on Aug 29, and the dismantling and reinstatement works will commence in November.

“We will continue to work with our stakeholders and partners and explore various ways of enhancing match-day and viewing experience for our fans.”

The last time the King George’s Stand was used in an MSL match was on Aug 8 against Pahang, when the LionsXII won 4-2.

It has since been sealed off for the last few home games.

While it has seen better days, such as capacity crowds in 2012 and 2013 when the LionsXII finished MSL runners-up and champions, respectively, attendances at the Jalan Besar Stadium have declined in recent years, with an average of 5,000.

Even though the grandstand and gallery would be packed for certain games, the King George’s Stand was regularly a huge swathe of emptiness, although it did enjoy a turnaround during the SEA Games football tournament held here in June.

While a Sport Singapore spokesman said that it is open to similar arrangements in the future, there are no current plans to further increase the capacity at Jalan Besar Stadium.

“The final extension for the use of the temporary seating structures expired on Aug 29, and the dismantling and reinstatement works will commence in November.”

– FAS deputy director of development and planning Benjamin Tan

Source: www.tnp.sg

September 25, 2015
Despite Obstacles And Hardships, I Finally Graduated From Medical School

Alhamdulillah. I have finally graduated from medical school. Finally. 5 years which felt like forever. 5 years of blood, sweat and tears (Yes. all, literal).

Tears that came out when I found out that I passed were tears of relief more than happiness. Like finding an oasis in a desert, that kind of feeling? Rather than a story of success, mine is actually a story of one failure after another and how Allah helps me and sends people into my life to help me overcome my failures.

5 years ago, I was contemplating whether I should give up on my dream of becoming a doctor because the fees were too expensive. But I applied anyway after deciding that I shouldn’t deny myself an education just because of family circumstances. Nobody should. I didn’t qualify for any form of help from Mendaki so I applied to a lot of scholarship bodies and went for one interview after another. Being rejected by Mendaki was probably my biggest blessing in disguise because I wouldn’t have found the OCBC bond-free scholarship which covers some of my fees and allowance. Thank you so much OCBC Scholarship committee. Thanks to you, I was able to travel for study and for leisure, to places such as Brunei, Turkey, Korea, Japan and perform my Umrah. Some kind strangers who heard my story even contacted me and reached out to me and some wrote in to newspaper forums. May Allah reward all of you.

To my family, I’m sorry I took so long to graduate, but I did it now. I will always remember how my uncles and aunts took us in when we had no place to stay. Will I ever get to repay such kindness? And who says my family is incomplete? They are enough for me.

To my friends who listened to all my frustrations and my worries, I wish I was a better friend to all of you. Sometimes when I get too caught up in school/hospital, I forgot to ask how you ladies have been doing with your lives. Thank you for praying for me and encouraging me to persevere. You all know who you are. I love all of you.

To all the patients I’ve met, the makciks, pakciks, uncles and aunties, young and old that has cheered me on and even raised their hands to make du’a for me, thank you for reminding me why I chose this profession. To everybody else who has motivated me in one way or another, thank you.

And lastly, to my mother Jamalia Shariff who is my biggest fan and kept all these newspaper articles from long ago, thank you…for everything. All these years that was painful for me must have been more difficult for you. I am especially sorry to you that you had to wait for so long for me to graduate. Ever since you became a single parent when I was 12, I’ve learnt to be independent with the intention of not wanting to burden you. But I didn’t realise that my independence is at times a source of worry for you, especially being the youngest and the only girl in the family. But it seems like I got my strength from you, right? I will be better in the future, InsyaAllah. Today, you turn a year older, so my graduation is my birthday present to you. Happy Birthday and I pray that Allah bless you with a long and healthy life. Ameen. Terima Kasih Mak. Selamat Hari Jadi. Sayang Mak.

During my Medicine admission interview, my interviewers asked, “You’ve led such a hard life, if we accept you into Medicine, are you sure you can endure more years of hardships?”. So I said, “Precisely because I’ve had a hard life, which is why I think I’ll be able to endure what is to come. And I’m not going to go through it alone because I have so many people behind me.” And that was exactly what medical school was; hard. But when I fall, Allah brings me back up. He taught me humility through my failures. And I know that things will get tougher when I start working in one month’s time (you can look for me in CGH), but I have so many people counting on me that I have to keep going. I want to be the kind of doctor that everyone wants me to be. InsyaAllah. Please make du’a for me.

(the articles was from 8 and 4 years ago.)

Source: Mumtaz Yusoff

September 25, 2015
Walid J. Abdullah: Muslims Must Repond To Provocations In A Way That Helps The Ummah

Muslims must really learn not to let ourselves get provoked so easily; sometimes there is no need to glorify provocations with even a response. And when a response is needed, it must be done in a way that helps the ummah; not in a way that hurts it, and definitely not a response that is designed just to vent one’s frustrations. No doubt, we must feel angry about certain, or rather, many, things, but being angry does not mean we do not react intelligently.

Additionally, we must be fair in dealing with others. I really do not buy the idea that we must respect every single belief that differs from ours: there are many beliefs that we argue to be false, so it is ridiculous to say that we must ‘respect’ those beliefs.

Rather, a more appropriate call would be for us to respect the right of others to believe in whatever they wish to believe, even if we think their beliefs are ludicrous. Remember, many of our own beliefs are regarded as absurd by others, and we should not demand they respect our beliefs (if they did, they would be Muslim already); but we must demand they respect our right to believe in whatever we do.
By the same token, we must respect the right of others to disagree with us.

(How that disagreement should manifest itself, is clearly dependent on the social, political and cultural context of a nation/society.)

We must also remember one thing: if we do not display maturity in responding to differences and/or provocations, we are essentially giving the state fodder to justify its interventionist and muscular policies.

‘See, we told you religion can be a divisive force, that is why we must constantly keep a lid on it.’

If we persist in doing that, then we should not really complain when we witness the strong arm of the state everywhere.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

September 25, 2015
Lelaki ‘Dirasuk’ Buat Kacau Dan ‘Bersilat’ Dalam Masjid Al Khair

Seorang lelaki mengganggu ketenteraman Masjid Al Khair apabila dia mula ‘bersilat’ dan memekik-mekik di dewan utama masjid tersebut.

Kejadian ini berlaku kelmarin, iaitu pada hari Selasa (22 September), sebelum jemaah mengerjakan solat Zohor.

Semasa dihubungi BERITAMediaCorp, Pengerusi Masjid Al Khair, Encik Rashid Ramli mengesahkan kejadian ‘rasuk’ itu.

Mujur semasa kejadian, bilangan jemaah di dalam dewan solat masjid itu tidak sesak. Kejadian tersebut sempat dirakamkan jemaah dan video berkenaan mula menjadi viral di laman-laman media sosial semalam.

Video tersebut menunjukkan Imam Eksekutif Masjid Al Khair, Ustaz Fakhrudin Zaki, kelihatan melaungkan azan bagi menenangkan pemuda yang tidak dikenali itu yang turut mengeluarkan kata-kata kesat.

Pada suatu ketika, pemudah yang histeria itu membuka jurus-jurus silat dan membuat akrobatik dengan kakinya hampir menendang dan mengena imam masjid.

Encik Rashid menambah, lelaki itu kelihatan ‘dirasuk’ atau mengalami histeria. Dia kemudian ditangkap dan direbahkan ke lantai oleh sekitar 10 orang jemaah dan kakitangan masjid untuk ditenangkan.

Setelah tenang semula, pemuda tersebut kemudian dibenarkan keluar meninggalkan masjid.

Pengerusi Masjid Al Khair memberitahu BERITAMediaCorp, ia tidak membuat sebarang laporan polis kerana menganggap ini sebagai insiden kecil dan tidak menjejas kegiatan masjid atau jemaah lain.

Masjid tersebut menjelaskan, pemuda tersebut juga bukanlah seorang jemaah yang kerap mengunjungi masjid di kawasan Teck Whye itu.

Encik Rashid Ramli berkata, kejadian kerasukan atau histeria seperti itu bukan yang pertama kali berlaku di Masjid Al Khair.

Sebelum ini berlaku kejadian di mana seorang penuntut ITE perempuan, juga mengalami kejadian rasuk, dedah beliau.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

September 25, 2015
Daiso Japan Rejected Local Muslimah For Weekend Part-Time Job Because She Dons A Hijab

Saw and ad for Weekend part time cashier job.

Salary : $10/hr…(hmm not bad)

Happily went down for interview, fill in the Application form, and waited.

Minutes later, was called into the interview room and were told that for sales and cashiering job, TUDUNG IS NOT ALLOWED…

okay….smiled and left..

(1 pintu rezeki tertutup, 10 pintu akan terbuka in sya Allah)

Source: Malis Jais

September 23, 2015