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  • Islam Keeps Me Calm, Says Johor Princess’ Future Hubby

    Islam Keeps Me Calm, Says Johor Princess’ Future Hubby

    The Dutch-born future husband of Johor princess Tunku Tun Aminah Maimunah Iskan­daraiah, who embraced Islam in 2015, says the religion keeps him calm.

    Dennis Muhammad Abdullah (pic) said he started getting close to Islam in 2014 when he was in Amsterdam.

    He said that was when he started to receive advice and views from Muslim friends residing there about the religion. He even asked them to take him to the mosque.

    Dennis said he was curious about Islam and wanted to experience how they prayed at mosques, and began learning about the religion in Dutch.

    “My heart is open to accepting the religion and I am grateful to Allah for being able to catch up on all the knowledge that has been given to me, without any obstruction.

    “Even my parents have given me their support to embrace the religion,” he told the Royal Press Office in an interview at Istana Bukit Serene.

    He said he had become a calmer person since embracing the religion.

    Dennis, who embraced Islam on May 31, 2015 at Pejabat Kadi Johor Baru, said he was an avid reader of reference materials related to the religion on the Internet besides visiting the mosque frequently to pray.

    “After obtaining the blessings of Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar to have his daughter’s hand in marriage, I was told to gain deeper knowledge about the religion,” he added.

    Dennis said he began attending Fardhu Ain classes and tried to memorise the shorter surah passages in the Quran since the beginning of the year.

    “I also managed to fast throughout the whole month of Ramadan since 2015 and performed the terawih prayers at the mosque,” he added.

    Born Dennis Verbaas on May 1, 1989, in Lisse, a town near Amsterdam, he said he had also learned Jawi.

    “I was advised by religious experts not to rush into the religion and take it slow to gain deeper knowledge,” he said, adding that he would take heed of the advice to become a good Muslim.

    Tunku Tun Aminah and Dennis are set to marry on Monday.

    The public can follow the royal wedding “live” from Istana Besar on video screens at Dataran Bandaraya and the Johor Baru City Council building.

     

    Source: http://www.thestar.com.my

  • Lawa Bintang’s Nasi Lemak Lobster Is Prove That Malay Singaporeans Can Succeed Through Diligence & Holding Belief That Sustenance And Wealth Is Given Only By Allah

    Lawa Bintang’s Nasi Lemak Lobster Is Prove That Malay Singaporeans Can Succeed Through Diligence & Holding Belief That Sustenance And Wealth Is Given Only By Allah

    Best regards

    Amongst my many years of experience dabbling in business, the current one is the most challenging and inflicted with trials.

    We are just a humble stall so for somw to compare us with a restaurant eg. how efficient Mcdonalds manage extremely long queues, would be ridiculous.

    There are only 4 stoves and 1 rice cooker in our small kitchen.
    Imagine if the rice cooker has a voice, it will definitely say that it cooks and cooks till boss say stop 😅

    We are proud to be a part of Malay Singaporeans that have proven we can succeed if we are diligent and hold on to the belief that our sustenance and wealth (rizq) is given only by Allah, in due course.

    Never crossed our minds that our Nasi Lemak Lobster will be the talk of the town.

    This makcik stall does not and will continue not to provide food for others anyhow or cincai, as some may call it.

    Yes, we know it is part and parcel of the service industry, to receive positive and negative comments.

    Those who like it Alhamdulillah, and those who do not, we appreciate your kind understanding that each person’s tastebuds is different.

    We apologise if we are unable to please and cater to everyone’s taste.

    But we deeply hope, kindly refrain from looking down on the food should you find it undesirable as food in any form, is a blessing from God.
    Having the desire and the means to eat is also a blessing from God.

    Thank you all for supporting me.

    Alhamdulillah.

     

    Source: Lawa Bintang

  • “I Would Scold Them For Quarrelling Over A Seat” – Mr Ng

    “I Would Scold Them For Quarrelling Over A Seat” – Mr Ng

    The couple who shouted at him are around his own children’s ages.

    And if Mr Chow Chuin Yee, 45, and Ms Tay Puay Leng, 38, were really his children, Mr Ng Ai Hua would have taken them to task.

    “I would scold them for quarrelling over a seat,” he said.

    As it is, the 76-year-old man who was shoved by Mr Chow at the Toa Payoh Lorong 8 hawker centre on April 21 now just wants to move on.

    In an interview with The Straits Times last night at his home in Ang Mo Kio, Mr Ng – who is also known as Ivor Ng – said that he accepts the couple’s apologies, but does not wish to see them in person.

    “The couple have received their punishment and life can move on,” he said. “It is all water under the bridge now. I just hope it can be a lesson to them.”

    Mr Ng, a retiree who used to work in the construction industry in a technical role, has two children, aged 42 and 38. On the evening of the incident nearly four months ago, he was getting ready to have his dinner alone at the hawker centre. He bought a bowl of noodles and looked for a seat.

    An umbrella was placed at a nearby table for five, and he asked Ms Tay how many people she was reserving the seats for, he recounted. She hurled vulgarities at him and Mr Chow hurried over and bumped forcefully against him, causing him to stumble.

    Videos of the incident went viral, and a hunt to find the couple commenced.

    Four days later, the pair were arrested. Last Friday, they were fined.

    In an interview with The Sunday Times, Mr Chow and Ms Tay said they regretted their actions and wanted to apologise to Mr Ng in person. They also said they felt “punished by society” and felt like they were living like “fugitives”.

    To Mr Ng, the punishment that the couple faced was not just the fines meted out by the court, but the excoriation they received online and even in person.

    “Because of what has happened, they are shamed and they can hardly show their faces in public,” he said. “I leave it to people to judge them.”

    He added that he does not blame the public for the outcry. “People saw it and felt upset. They saw that the couple had gone too far.”

    Mr Ng, who has a Facebook account, did not follow the online discussions himself because they were “endless” and he knew what had happened well enough.

    “All I wanted was a seat so I could eat my bowl of noodles,” he recalled. “It is a public place and there is free seating. I was polite and courteous. I didn’t want any trouble.

    “I felt disgusted by what happened and I felt the man behaved in a very ungentlemanly manner by ramming me from behind,” Mr Ng said. “At least he should face me.”

    He was not injured in the incident. The table in front of Mr Ng prevented him from falling over.

    As for the “choping” culture here, Mr Ng feels it is “silly”, and actions like placing a tissue paper packet on a seat leave room for ambiguity. “People don’t know if someone else accidentally left the tissue paper behind or if they are even going to return to the seat they reserved.”

    Now, Mr Ng wants to close the chapter. “If they are sincere and really regret their actions, then people will know. But if it is an act, people can also judge. Life is like that.”

    He added: “This is a bad experience for me, but there are all kinds of people in the world. What has happened has happened, and I want it to be over now.”

     

    Source: http://www.straitstimes.com

  • Indonesia: Giant Statue Of Chinese God Covered Up With Sheet In Indonesia After Upsetting Local Muslims

    Indonesia: Giant Statue Of Chinese God Covered Up With Sheet In Indonesia After Upsetting Local Muslims

    A colossal statue of a Chinese god has been unceremoniously covered up by a giant white sheet in Indonesia after upsetting the local Muslim population

    The giant god-turned-ghost is Guan Yu, a heroic Three Kingdoms era general who was later immortalized as a folk deity in China. The 30.4-meter-tall statue reportedly cost 2.5 billion Indonesian rupiahs ($187,000) to build and was funded by private donations to the Kwan Sing Bio Temple in Tuban, East Java.

    It was publicly unveiled last month at a ceremony held inside the temple that was attended by prominent local politicians. Billed as the largest statue of Guan Yu in Southeast Asia, it was hoped that the colossus might help to attract more tourists to the city.

    Instead, so far, the giant statue has attracted only outrage from the locals of Tuban, who are predominately Muslim. Online, many argued that the statue was an affront to Islam and the local people of Indonesia, claiming that it showed how the Chinese were in fact in control of Indonesia’s government. Others claimed that the statue was built on public land and without the proper building permits — despite the fact that the statue was entirely built on land owned by the temple.

    The decision to cover up the statue was made last weekend by the temple’s management following consultation with a governmental organization, the Forum of Religious Harmony, which is tasked with ensuring peace between different religious groups in the country, as a way of calming down the situation.

    However, local Muslims have said that merely covering up Guan Yu is not good enough, vowing that if the government does not take action to tear down the statue, then they will do it themselves, holding rallies outside governmental buildings this week to urge local authorities to demolish the ancient warrior god.

    Didik Muadi, the leader of the protests, told the local news site Tempo that the statue of the Chinese god should be torn down and replaced with one honoring Indonesia’s national heroes who helped fight for independence, though he is apparently fine with the temple erecting a statue to their god… just so long as it isn’t so big.

    “Actually we can allow them to build the statue, just not as high as it was and it should be in the temple, not outside,” he said, adding that “We are tolerant.”

    Sounds like Didik should really avoid ever paying a vist to the waterfront of Hubei’s Jingzhou city.

     

    Source: shanghaiist.com/

  • Commentary: Horrible Advert, Terribly Dismissive And Reductionist Campaign That Makes Fun Of Poverty

    Commentary: Horrible Advert, Terribly Dismissive And Reductionist Campaign That Makes Fun Of Poverty

    Just saw this horrible ad at Dhoby Ghaut MRT ( there were 2 other equally horrible ones, but there were people resting on them and I did not want to intrude on their privacy with my anger by taking photos). Anyways I was so so pissed that I sent a message via FB messenger to their customer service representative. Received a reply that my concerns will be forwarded but I think it’s just standard speak for ok oversensitive member of the public we hear you k thanks bye. Posting my rant in full so that those of you (especially Circles.Life users) can also send them a message and get this terribly dismissive and reductionist ad campaign that makes fun of poverty!!!! taken down.

    “I saw this at Dhoby Ghaut MRT and I would just like to state my extreme displeasure at the insensitivity of this ad! I’m flabbergasted that no one flagged this as a terrible idea. Yes, not having enough data is a problem, but to liken it to issues of global poverty which people actually die from? I mean guys seriously way to be insensitive and dismissive of a real global problem, especially when juxtaposed with what can clearly be seen as a first world problem. I understand that you’re just a frontline officer and this was most probably created by an ad agency and okay-ed by your bosses. But seriously can we take it down please? I am just so horrified and shocked by this! Who do I reach out to??”

    The ad in question:

     

    Source: Hazirah Mohamad