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Mufti Besar Mesir Sheikh Dr Shawki Allam Akan Kunjungi Singapura Sabtu Ini

MUFTI Besar Mesir, Sheikh Dr Shawki Allam, akan berada di Singapura selama empat hari dari Sabtu ini bagi Program Pelawat Unggul (DVP) anjuran Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis).

Sheikh Dr Shawki mengunjungi Singapura atas undangan Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, yang menemui beliau semasa menteri itu mengunjungi Mesir November lalu.

Ini kali pertama ketua agama itu, yang dilantik menjadi Mufti ke-19 Mesir pada 2013, mengunjungi Singapura dan rantau ini.

Sheikh Dr Shawki seorang pemimpin Islam dan ulama yang dihormati dan dikenali kerana dedikasi dan usahanya ke arah keamanan menerusi pemahaman masyarakat yang pelbagai dan berbeza.

Beliau, yang dilahirkan pada 1961, merupakan Mufti Besar Mesir pertama dilantik oleh Majlis Ulama Kanan Universiti Al-Azhar.

Jawatan Mufti Besar sebelum ini dilantik oleh presiden Mesir.

Dalam DVP keempat itu, Sheikh Dr Shawki akan menyampaikan ceramah dan berdialog bersama asatizah, pelajar dan pemimpin agama Islam serta bukan Islam dan orang awam berkaitan tema ‘Membangunkan Masyarakat Harmoni dalam Dunia Pluralistik’.

Beliau akan juga melakukan kunjungan muhibah ke atas Presiden Tony Tan Keng Yam dan Perdana Menteri Lee Hsien Loong di Istana serta menyertai jamuan tengah hari yang dihos Menteri Negara Kanan (Ehwal Dalam Negeri merangkap Ehwal Luar), Encik Masagos Zulkifli Masagos Mohamad.

“Beliau antara Mufti yang agak muda secara relatif di Mesir. Beliau mempunyai pandangan progresif dan menarik mengenai Islam, mengenai Muslim di dunia Islam, termasuk mengenai masalah pelibatan wanita, tentang kebebasan bersuara,” kata Naib Dekan Akademi Muis, Ustaz Dr Mohammad Hannan Hassan, dalam satu taklimat media di pejabat Muis semalam.

Kemuncak lawatan Sheikh Dr Shawki ialah Ceramah Muis yang akan disampaikannya dan dipengerusikan Dr Yaacob.

Sekitar 500 Muslim dan bukan Muslim dijangka menghadiri ceramah pada 26 Januari ini dari 8 hingga 10 malam di Hotel Orchard.

Orang ramai yang berminat menyertai ceramah itu perlu mendaftar di laman www.muis.gov.sg/cms/muisacademy.

Source: http://beritaharian.sg

January 20, 2015
Ex-Malaysian Footballer Pleads Guilty On Charges Of Conspiracy To Fix An MSL Match Involving Lions XII

A former Malaysian national footballer who absconded about three years ago after being charged with conspiracy to fix a Malaysia Super League (MSL) soccer game pleaded guilty on Monday.

Thanasegar S. Sinnaiah, 40, was nabbed again last August. The businessman, who faced eight charges, admitted to four in a district court.

He schemed with Singaporean Selvarajan Letchuman to give a bribe of not more than RM15,000 (S$5,590) to Football Association of Malaysia part-time referee Shokri Nor, 50, to ensure that the Lions XII beat Sarawak FA in a match to be played in Singapore on May 22, 2012.

That day, Selvarajan, 52, placed six bets with Singapore Pools with part of the earnings to be used as a bribe to be paid to Shokri, but the offence was not committed.

Thanasegar also conspired with Selvarajan and Shokri to conceal that arrangements had been made to “fix” the outcome of the match, in a bid to induce Singapore Pools to hand over payouts of $10,500 and $5,000 to Selvarajan. These were for bets he placed with an outlet near Rangoon Road and at Rowell Road respectively.

A district court heard that Thanasegar received a phone call in Kedah from Selvarajan on May 18 in 2012.

Selvarajan asked if he had any tips for the football match between Lions XII and Sarawak FA in the MSL to be played in Singapore on May 22. Thanasegar informed Selvarajan that Shokri, then a policeman, was the referee for the match.

Selvarajan travelled to Penang and met the pair in a hotel where the alleged conspiracy to fix the match was hatched.

But all three were arrested before the football match kicked off.

While Thanasegar was out on $50,000 bail, he left Singapore illegally by hiding in the boot of a car. He thus committed an offence of failing to present his passport to an immigration officer for examination sometime in July that year.

Thanasegar’s case has been adjourned to Feb 17.

Selvarajan’s case is pending while police are still looking for Shokri, who had also absconded.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

January 20, 2015
Malaysian Navy Chief Claims Credit For QZ8501 Fuselage Find By Singapore Navy

The search for Air Asia flight QZ8501 is an ardous and solemn affair which should be treated with respect. Throughout the multinational search for QZ8501, foreign navies worked hand in hand to give some closure to the family of the victims.

However, it has come to our attention that the Malaysian Navy Chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar has pulled a cheap stunt out of this tragedy. For reasons unknown, he decided to play up the the Malaysian Navy’s contribution by “stealing” the underwater images uploaded by the Singapore Defence Minister and use it as his own.

Abdul Aziz Jaafar even has “guts” to attribute the QZ8501 main fuselage find to the Malaysian navy ship MGS GEOSURVEY and its ROV team. No disrespect to the contributions of MGS GEOSURVEY but why is Malaysia’s Chief of Navy so keen to claim credit for this find? This isn’t a competition.

Worst still, the Malaysian Navy Chief did not even bother to edit out the images and simply appropriated the images wholesale for his own use. Is this an act of disrespect and slight to the efforts of the Singapore Armed Forces?

To prove this point, the QZ8501 underwater images were uploaded by Ng Eng Heng at 5.51PM (14 January 2015) whereas Abdul Aziz Jaafar sent out his “triumpant” twitter update at 10:45PM (14 January 2015).

What do you think about this gaffe?

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

January 20, 2015
SAF To Deploy Planners In Support Of Multinational Coalition Against The Islamic State

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will further deploy planners to support the multinational coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament on Monday (Jan 19).

As part of its involvement in the coalition since November 2014, the SAF has sent a needs assessment and survey team, and a liaison officer to facilitate planning and coordination between the SAF and coalition forces.

Dr Ng revealed this in Parliament in response to questions by MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC Alex Yam on Singapore’s involvement in the fight against ISIS.

The planners will be deployed to the Combined Joint Task Force Headquarters and the Combined Air Ops Centre, and a site-survey team to prepare for the subsequent deployment of its KC-135 tanker.

However, Dr Ng said that it was still “premature to determine if there would be further requests” for more support from Singapore.

He also answered another question on the risk posed to Singapore, due to its early involvement in efforts against ISIS: “It is well-nigh impossible for any security forces in any country to be able to monitor any and every citizen. And our greatest challenge indeed is if an attack occurs, what happens to the unity which we have forged over many years.

“We must continue to use this time not only to increase our vigilance… But also to ask our community to come together and withstand such false ideologies and stand together if ever such an attack occurs.”

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

January 20, 2015
Lui Tuck Yew: Drop In Oil Price Could See Decrease In Public Transport Fares

The drop in energy prices seen in 2014 could translate to a reduction in public transport fares in the next fare review exercise at the end of the year.

Based on available data for 2014, the fare adjustment could be “in the region of negative one per cent”, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew in Parliament on Monday (Jan 19), in response to a question on the fall in oil prices.

MP Gan Thiam Poh had asked, with regard to the ongoing 2014 fare review exercise, whether the Public Transport Council would consider a reduction of transport fares, as a result of the fall in oil prices since June 2014.

However, Mr Lui noted that the ongoing fare review exercise, which started in November 2014, looks at changes in indices for 2013.

“We will have to leave it to the Public Transport Council to assess the public transport operators’ applications for fare increase, the fare adjustment quantum as given by the formula and the affordability of public transport for Singaporeans, amongst other things, and decide on the fare adjustment,” the minister said.

The fare formula is pegged to changes in the core consumer price index, wage index and energy index over the preceding year. This reflects the operating cost structure of public transport operators, said Mr Lui.

The core consumer price index and wage index account for 40 per cent of the formula each. The energy index component, which accounts for energy and fuel costs, makes up 20 per cent.

In the ongoing 2014 exercise, the value of the energy index component was negative 12.6 per cent – due to lower energy prices in 2013 – but the core consumer price index went up by 1.7 per cent, while the wage index saw an increase of 4.3 per cent.

The fare adjustment quantum yielded by the formula would have been negative 0.6 per cent for the 2014 fare review exercise. However, the previous fare review exercise had announced a fare increase of 6.6 per cent in two steps.

A 3.2 per cent hike was introduced in April last year, with the 3.4 per cent increase to be carried over to the ongoing review. Mr Lui explained that is why there is a 2.8 per cent fare adjustment quantum for the ongoing fare review exercise.

The next fare review exercise is set to take place towards the end of 2015 and is based on data for the full year of 2014.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

January 20, 2015