Category: Uncategorized

Anak Selebriti Sharin Azhar, Berlatih Dengan Pasukan Bolasepak Valencia Di Sepanyol

Ibu bapa mana yang tidak bangga, lebih-lebih lagi jika anak mereka cemerlang dalam bidang yang diceburi dan berada setapak lebih dekat dalam menggapai impiannya.

Demikianlah yang dirasakan personaliti setempat, Shahrin Azhar Mohamed, apabila anaknya yang ketiga, Danish Qayyum mendapat peluang keemasan untuk mengikuti kem latihan di Kelab Bola Sepak Valencia, di Sepanyol.

Danish merupakan antara 12 pemain bola sepak bawah 16 tahun yang terpilih untuk menyertai kem latihan tersebut selama seminggu di bawah biasiswa Yayasan Olimpik Singapura-Peter Lim. Mereka bertolak ke Sepanyol pada Isnin lalu.

Dalam satu video yang dimuatnaikkan oleh ayahnya di laman Facebook, Danish berkata: “Saya ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada semua dan insya-Allah saya akan membuat yang terbaik.”

Pelajar berusia 14 tahun itu turut menerima ganjaran dermasiswa (bursary) sebanyak S$2,000 oleh Peter Lim, jutawan Singapura yang juga merupakan pengerusi bagi kelab Sepanyol itu.

Ketika dihubungi BERITAMediacorp, Shahrin Azhar tidak dapat membendung rasa syukurnya atas peluang yang diterima oleh anaknya itu.

“Ini adalah satu rahmat kerana dia sudah lama mengimpikan peluang seperti ini. Malah, Danish juga pernah menyuarakan hasrat untuk menjadi seorang pemain bola sepak profesional.

“Sejak kecil, saya dapat melihat potensinya untuk menjadi seorang pemain yang baik dan saya gembira melihat perkembangannya kini. Alhamdulillah,” kata ayah empat orang anak itu.

DARI SEORANG YANG PEMALU KE PEMAIN YANG BERANI

Awalnya disifatkan sebagai seorang yang pemalu, Danish juga lama-kelamaan dilihat semakin berani dan tidak lagi takut untuk berhadapan dengan pasukan lawan yang lebih dewasa, menurut ayahnya itu.

Seorang pemain penyerang yang turut bermain untuk kelab Home United bawah 15 tahun, Akademi Bola Sepak Kebangsaan (NFA) bawah 14 tahun dan Sekolah Sukan Singapura Kelab Bola Sepak Chelsea (Chelsea F.C. SSSG), Danish juga sering menemani ayahnya ke perlawanan-perlawanan bola sepak dan diajak bermain bersama.

(Gambar-gambar: Shahrin Azhar)

Pelajar Sekolah Menengah Coral itu turut dilatih oleh bekas pemain kebangsaan Singapura, Yahya Madon di peringkat sekolah.

“Danish menyertai sekolah tersebut melalui Kemasukan Langsung ke Sekolah (DSA) menerusi ko-kurrikular bola sepak. Malah, di bawah bimbingan jurulatih Yahya Madon, ramai rakan sepasukan Danish juga menjadi lebih baik disebabkan kemahiran teknikalnya yang bagus,” dedahnya kepada BERITAMediacorp.

MENDAPAT EMPAT TAJAAN

Turut diuruskan oleh syarikat pengurusan StarComm Management, bakal pelajar Sekolah Menengah Meridian itu, turut menerima empat tajaan termasuk Adidas, Lucozade, Yokohama Tyres dan AXA Insurance.

Sekolah Menengah Meridian adalah gabungan Sekolah Menengah Coral dan Sekolah Menengah Siglap, mulai tahun depan.

Menurut Shahrin, syarikat pengurusan tersebut juga mempunyai rancangan selanjutnya untuk mempromosikan Danish bagi sesi latihan di England dan Australia.

“Sebagai ibu bapa, kami harus memahami dan mengenal pasti bakat anak kita, tetapi saya membiarkan syarikat pengurusan untuk menguruskan anak saya supaya dia mendapat peluang yang secukupnya di luar negara,” jelasnya.

“Malah, saya sering menasihatkan Danish bahawa jika dia mahu bermain bola sepak secara profesional, dia harus faham bahawa ia bukan setakat kemahiran sahaja, tetapi dia juga harus mengimbanginya dengan bisnes dalam konteks hari ini, sebagai contoh Cristiano Ronaldo dan Lionel Messi,” sambung Shahrin lagi.

TERUS RENDAH DIRI DAN FOKUS PADA MATLAMAT

Bagaimanapun, sebagai seorang ayah, Shahrin tetap berharap agar anaknya sentiasa rendah diri sekiranya dia meraih lebih banyak kejayaan pada masa hadapan.

“Kejayaan mungkin boleh membuat kita lupa. Tetapi kita harus sering mengingatkan diri untuk fokus pada matlamat yang ingin kita capai agar kita dapat terus berjaya, sekaligus memberi inspirasi kepada orang lain bahawa mereka juga boleh melakukannya, tanpa mengira latar belakang.

“Tentunya, pengalaman untuk berlatih di luar negara seperti ini adalah suatu yang berharga dan tak ternilai harganya,” kata Shahrin lagi tentang penerobosan yang dicapai anaknya itu.

Danish Qayyum dan 11 pelajar lain dijangka pulang ke Singapura pada Selasa depan.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

December 16, 2016
Walid J. Abdullah: Do Not Forget About The Concept Of ‘Justice’ In Islam

Lately, people have been emphasising the importance of the concept of mercy in Islam. Personally, i feel this is a great thing. I do wish at times that some Muslims would follow the example of our Christian brethren in underscoring love and mercy in their faith. Gentleness would undoubtedly be a better ambassador than harshness in most cases.

Yet, one must be cognizant of certain realities. One who constantly talks about love and mercy, but chooses to remain silent when there is a need to speak of justice and condemn oppression, has very little credibility then when he/she champions the former qualities as essential aspects of Islam. It is only natural that people would question what his/her motives are when he reiterates love and mercy, but neglects justice or fairness.

What, or perhaps whose, agenda is one serving when one engages in such cherrypicking?

To paraphrase Professor Tariq Ramadan, when people with religious authority condemn acts of violence by the lay people, but are silent when dictators commit oppression, that is a sure way to drive more young people toward the path of extremism.

It is indeed strange that some people harp on mercy, but ignore justice. Worse still are those who are quick to display harshness when Muslims are aggressors, but somehow suddenly find their merciful side when Muslims are victims, or when powerful people are doing the oppressing.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

December 15, 2016
Father’s Last Embrace Saves Girl In China Building Collapse

A little girl protected by the embrace of her dead father was the last survivor pulled out of the rubble of collapsed multi-storey buildings in China, reports said on Tuesday (Oct 11).

She was found deep in the debris of four six-storey residential buildings more than 12 hours after they crumbled in Wenzhou in the eastern province of Zhejiang, killing at least 22 people, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Three-year-old Wu Ningxi survived with only minor injuries thanks to the protection offered by her young father, who was found dead after shielding her from falling rubble, it added.

“The child was able to survive entirely thanks to the fact that her dad used his own flesh and blood to prop up a life-saving space for his daughter,” a rescuer told the China Youth Daily.

The 26-year-old shoe factory worker was found under a thick cement pillar, draped over his daughter.

The family had been buried alive in their living room and the body of Wu’s mother was discovered not far from the pair.

Photos showed hard-hatted rescuers lifting the girl’s half-naked body from the mess of cement and fallen bricks late Monday, her hair matted with dust as they carried her out and gingerly placed her onto a stretcher.

The search through the three-storey-high debris concluded early Tuesday, the Lucheng district government said at a press conference, with 22 confirmed dead and only five survivors other than the girl rescued.

The cause of the disaster was still under investigation, CCTV said.

Recent heavy rainfall combined with the poor quality of construction and age of the buildings, built by the villagers themselves, were probable contributing factors, it cited a preliminary analysis as saying.

Neighbouring buildings constructed in the 1970s were being demolished to prevent further collapses, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The buildings had been packed with migrant workers, among them Wu’s parents, hundreds of millions of whom have moved from China’s countryside to its towns and cities in recent decades, their labour fuelling the country’s economic boom.

Many remain poorly paid and face restrictions on buying homes in the areas where they work.

China has seen several building collapses in recent years, with some blamed on low-quality construction.

In May 16 people were reported dead after a residential building in Guizhou province in the southwest collapsed due to landslides.

Source: ChannelNewsAsia

October 12, 2016
Filipino Sex-Scammer Got Trolled By Local Abang

FB user ‘Faris Freeze’ was fasting…..and bored. Out of the blue, one ‘Aiko Lee’ claiming to be a Thai national messaged him with an offer of paid sex. All ‘Faris Freeze’ had to do to was to transfer the money to a POSB bank account and then send confirmation of the transfer.

Unfortunately for ‘Aiko Lee’, the abang was fasting and thinking with his brain. He was onto her scam.

‘Aiko Lee’ didn’t have a clue the abang was trolling her. Even when the abang told her he was asking if SPF officers also want to join them and that they can have sahur (pre-fast) meal at McDonald’s.

She eventually lost it when the abang sent her a photo of a handwritten “receipt” on the back of an envelope. That’s when it began to unravel and ‘Aiko Lee’ revealed her true colours.

The abang say his maths cannot make it. But that does not make him bodoh like ‘Aiko Lee’, or whatever the name of the Fiipino scammer is.

So this FIlipino lady(?) added me on Facebook and started a conversation with me. Of course I know, it’s a scam right from the beginning. I was bored, so I played along.

In all seriousness, Singapore Police Force and POSB, please get your cyber crime branch to arrest these pests okay? Pretty sure you can track this pest by the POSB account number that he/she conveniently gave to me.

Oh, also, if you need me to re-enact this on your Crime Watch show, please don’t hesitate to contact me. One time payment of $500 is enough for me 🙂. K thanks bye.

Source: Faris Freeze. You can view the full album here.

June 27, 2016
Walid J. Abdullah: Religious Conservatism Does Not Equate Extremism

Do not conflate religious conservatism with extremism.

As is always the case, once a terrorist attack occurs (which again seems to be the exclusive domain of Muslims, as the media has shown from its reluctance to use the word ‘terrorist’ to describe the murderer of Jo Cox), experts rush to dissect what is wrong with Islam.

Almost inevitably, there will be a group of analysts who suggest that Islam itself is the problem, and that Islam needs a ‘reformation’. They would then proceed to conflate expressions of religious conservatism with extremism.

Which is not only mistaken, in my opinion, but extremely dangerous. Suddenly, conservative Muslims are viewed with much suspicion. How many times have we heard – whether in jest or otherwise – people making remarks such as ‘eh why your beard so long? Like terrorist/osama/al-qaeda/isis.’

What these people do is essentially equate conservatism with extremism.

Personally, i do shake hands with members of the opposite gender, i do wish non-Muslims on their festive occasions, and so on, but i know many Muslims who do not, but utterly despise extremism and extremists.

And if we start saying that conservative expressions are signs of extremism, as was recently done when it was suggested that not wishing ‘Merry Christmas’ was a step toward/an indication of extremism, where do we draw the line? What about those who do not shake hands with those of the opposite gender? What about someone who dons the hijab? Or someone who only eats halal? Or someone with a beard?

We must be more careful in using terms such as ‘moderate Muslim’, ‘extremist’, ‘radical’ inter alia, as words do have meanings, and they may shape perceptions. Otherwise, we may end up creating unnecessary frontiers in the fight against extremism.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

June 17, 2016