Alhamdulillah, this morning we visited the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, commonly known as the Bright Hill Temple, located at Bright Hill Road.
It’s a huge complex, possibly the largest buddhist temple in Singapore.
We were greeted by the Abbot Venerable Sik Kwang Sheng, a highly accomplished individual who is also the President of the Singapore Buddhist Federation and Founder of Buddhist College of Singapore.
The Kong Meng San temple gave a donation to the Aid 2 Syrian Refugees in Turkey project.
Ven Sik Kwang Sheng expressed his concerns about the situation in Gaza, and was deeply saddened after reading numerous reports on the indiscriminate killing of children there.
I briefed him on the Syrian refugee situation, after having returned from Southeast Turkey very recently.
Ven Sik urged that we should pray together for peace as we are living on the same earth.
He’s also praying that all the parties involved in the various conflicts around the world find in their hearts a way to forgive each other, and return to peace.
TAHUN lalu, Leftenan Muda (2Lt) Muhammad Iqbal Abdul Rahim dengan berat hati melepaskan peluang bermain bagi kelab ragbi di Jepun kerana sudah dipanggil menjalani Perkhidmatan Negara (NS).
Beliau menjalani Latihan Asas Ketenteraan (BMT) seperti anggota NS lain, namun hatinya tetap pada sukan yang diceburinya dari menengah satu lagi. Anak ketiga dalam keluarga empat beradik itu telah lama menanam cita-cita menjadi pemain ragbi profesional apabila dewasa kelak.
Namun, kini 2Lt Muhammad Iqbal, 21 tahun, tidak pasti adakah impian itu masih ingin dicapainya.
Ini kerana selepas beberapa bulan menjalani NS, beliau mula menimbangkan kemungkinan meneruskan khidmat sebagai pegawai sepenuh masa bersama Angkatan Bersenjata Singapura (SAF).
Anugerah Pedang Merit (Bayonet Perak) yang diterimanya semalam kerana muncul sebagai kadet kedua terbaik dalam kohort infantrinya seakan-akan mendorong anak muda ini memilih kerjaya bersama SAF seperti yang digalakkan ibu bapanya. 2Lt Muhammad Iqbal antara 553 kadet pegawai yang ditauliahkan sebagai pegawai SAF dalam upacara pentauliahan di Institut Tentera Safti (Safti MI) itu.
Seramai 456 daripadanya dari divisyen tentera darat, 50 daripada Angkatan Udara Republik Singapura (RSAF) dan 47 daripada Angkatan Laut Republik Singapura (RSN). Menurut 2Lt Muhammad Iqbal, sebelum menjalani NS, beliau banyak memberi perhatian pada “kerjayanya” sebagai pemain dan kapten pasukan Bawah 20 Tahun Singapura.
“Tiga bulan sebelum saya memulakan NS, saya diberi kontrak profesional untuk bermain bersama kelab Toyota Verblitz di Jepun selama setahun. Saya ke sana untuk menjalani percubaan namun apabila mendapat tahu tentang NS dan kecederaan buku lali yang saya alami pada waktu itu, mereka tidak menerima saya bermain,” kata lulusan Politeknik Republic itu.
Beliau berasa agak hampa kerana terpaksa melepaskan peluang yang akan menjadikannya pemain ragbi Singapura pertama diberi kontrak profesional bermain dengan kelab luar negara. Namun, selepas memasuki OCS, 2Lt Muhammad Iqbal, yang mendapat tawaran mewakili Singapura dalam Sukan SEA tahun depan, mula berminat menceburi kerjaya bersama SAF.
“Saya melihatnya sebagai satu kerjaya yang memuaskan. Saya mahu membantu mereka yang tidak bersemangat menjalani NS agar mempunyai perspektif berbeza terhadap latihan, pertahanan negara dan kehidupan mereka,” katanya yang akan meneruskan perkhidmatan di Rejimen Infantri Singapura Ketiga (3SIR) di Kem Selarang.
Dalam ucapannya, tetamu terhormat, Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Encik Tharman Shanmugaratnam, berkata landskap keselamatan Singapura semakin rumit sejak beberapa tahun lalu disebabkan ketegangan di rantau dan cabaran keselamatan transnasional seperti keganasan, bencana alam, wabak biologi dan ancaman siber.
“Sebagai penjamin muktamad keselamatan Singapura, SAF harus kekal sebagai angkatan yang kuat dan boleh dipercayai menentang semua ancaman keselamatan, demi memberi Singapura dan warga Singapura keyakinan menghadapi dunia yang tidak menentu dan bergelora,” kata Encik Tharman.
Under the National Emblems (Control of Display) Act, it is an offense for any person to display in public a national emblem which include a flag of any state other than Singapore.
Previously, a Muslim brother Gulam Yusuf who is a freelance worker in the oil trade industry, had hung a Palestinian flag — which was emblazoned with the word “free” — to spread awareness of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, notably the “mass killing of innocent civilians”. Gulam who stays in Sims Drive, took the flag down after he was advised by the police.
SINGAPORE — Two books pulled off the shelves of the library’s children’s section will not be pulped, Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim told the Straits Times. Instead, they will be moved to the adult section.
“I have also asked NLB to review the process by which they deal with such books,” Dr Yaacob said in comments which were also posted on his Facebook page today (July 18).
The two books — And Tango Makes Three and The White Swan Express — were withdrawn after a complaint on the public “We are against Pinkdot in Singapore” Facebook page. Among the concerns were the depictions of families with same-sex parents. It later emerged that a third book, Who’s In My Family, was withdrawn in May following a complaint made to the NLB.
“Many objected to the idea that the books would be pulped after being withdrawn from circulation. I understand these reactions, which reflect a deep-seated respect in our culture for the written word,” Dr Yaacob posted on Facebook.
“Who’s In My Family had already been disposed of as the title had been reviewed earlier. But I have instructed NLB not to pulp the two other titles, but instead to place them in the adult section of the public libraries.
“The decision on what books children can or cannot read remains with their parents. Parents who wish to borrow these books to read with their children will have the option to do so.”
He reiterated his support of the library’s stand to withdraw the books.
“We stand by the NLB’s decision to remove the three books from the children’s section. As I said earlier, the NLB has to decide what books should be made readily available to children, who are usually unsupervised, in the children’s section of our public libraries,” he said.
“The NLB will continue to ensure that books in the children’s section are age-appropriate. We have a much wider range of books in the adult section of public libraries.”
Kiev, Ukraine: A Ukrainian official said a passenger plane carrying 295 people was shot down on Thursday over a town in the east of the country, and Malaysian Airlines tweeted that it lost contact with one of its flights over Ukrainian airspace.
Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said on his Facebook page the plane was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) when it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher. A similar launcher was seen by Associated Press journalists near the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne earlier Thursday. The Buk missile system can fire missiles up to an altitude of 22,000 meters (72,000 feet).
Malaysia Airlines said on its Twitter feed that it “has lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More details to follow.”
The Ukrainian interior ministry adviser reportedly said 280 passengers, 15 crew were dead in the crash.
The Boeing passenger liner came down close to town of Shaktarsk in the rebellion-wracked region of Donetsk after disappearing from the radar and teams from the emergency services were trying to reach the scene, an unnamed security source told Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
The region has seen severe fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia separatist rebels Donetsk People’s Republic in recent days.
On Wednesday evening, a Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down by an air-to-air missile from a Russian plane, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday, adding to what Kiev says is mounting evidence that Moscow is directly supporting the separatist insurgents in eastern Ukraine. Security Council spokesman Andrei Lysenko said the pilot of the Sukhoi-25 jet hit by the air-to-air missile was forced to bail after his jet was shot down.
Pro-Russia rebels Donetsk People’s Republic and their leader Igor Girkin , meanwhile, claimed responsibility for strikes on Wednesday on two Ukrainian Sukhoi-25 jets. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the second jet was hit by a portable surface-to-air missile, but added the pilot was unscathed and managed to land his plane safely.
Donetsk People’s Republic, Igor Girkin
Through his VK.com account, Russia’s version of Facebook, the self-proclaimed defense minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Igor Girkin — who goes by the nom de guerre Igor Strelkov — boasted about shooting down a plane.
“We did warn you — do not fly in our sky,” he wrote.
Thinking it was a Ukrainian transport plane, Strelkov added that “a plane has just been downed somewhere around Torez, it lays there behind the ‘Progress’ mine,” referring to the mining town of some 80,000 people.
“And here is the video proving another ‘bird’ falling down,” he continued. “The bird went down behind a slagheap, not in a residential district. So no peaceful people were injured,” Strelkov wrote, adding that there is also information about a Ukrainian military plane shot down.
However, Strelkov deleted the post when he found out it was actually a commercial jetliner carrying 295 innocent people — not a military aircraft.
Moscow denies Western charges that is supporting the separatists or sowing unrest in its neighbor. The Russian Defense Ministry couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday about the Ukrainian jet and Russia’s foreign ministry didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
Earlier this week, Ukraine said a military transport plane was shot down Monday by a missile fired from Russian territory.
The rebels are known to possess portable anti-aircraft rocket launchers, but Ukrainian officials say that kind of weapon would have been unable to reach Monday’s plane at the altitude at which it was flying Monday. Aviation experts, however, have questioned whether the stricken transport plane was flying at the altitude Ukrainian officials had claimed.
Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said on his Facebook page the plane was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) when it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher.FlightAware map showing Malaysian Airlines 777 which reportedly has crashed near Russia border.
MH17 malaysian AirlinesFIRST PHOTO: Eyewitness’ alleged photo of debris of #MH17 Malaysian Airlines plane in #Ukraine
Malaysian Airlines flight #MH17 reported to have been shot down by BUK-M1 [aka SA-11] surface-to-air missile system
![Malaysian Airlines flight #MH17 reported to have been shot down by BUK-M1 [aka SA-11] surface-to-air missile system](https://rilek1corner.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/bukmissile.jpg)