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Malay Race Being Discriminated When Apply for SG Citizenship

As promised this is the real-life story which I feel all true blue Singaporeans should know. Compare it with the ease with which PR and citizenship are dished out to foreigners, especially from the PRC, the PAP’s favourite hunting ground for immigrants to make Singapore more Chinese than it already is. And naturally Yang Yin’s case comes to mind.

This insulting tale which I’m about to tell I believe is not an isolated one. Many others may have been suffering – and still suffering – in silence.

Yaacob (not his real name) is the youngest in a family of 6 children – 5 boys and a girl. He is in his thirties and was born, bred and schooled in Singapore. He works and contributes to the economy as a forklift operator.His elderly parents and all his elder siblings are full citizens with pink ICs. Through some unexplained circumstances Yaacob is the only one holding a blue IC.

The fault could have been caused by an inadvertent mistake of his father, a simple folk, or that of the officer at the NRO.

Having faced all the inconveniences of a blue IC holder and missing out on all the rights and privileges of a citizen through no fault of his, Yaacob finally decided seek help. He did not say whether he had gone to see any MP because he might have thought that as a blue IC holder he would not be entertained. Incidentally he lives in Ang Mo Kio and the principal MP there is none other than the PM himself.

He went straight to the Immigration/National Registration Office at Kallang, armed with copies of his parents’ and siblings’ birth certificates and ICs.
After a lengthy wait he was interviewed by an officer. But instead of assisting him the officer, a Chinese, threw insults at him by telling him:

1. Though he might be born in Singapore it does not necessarily mean that he can become a citizen.
2. The issuing of pink ICs to his parents and siblings was a mistake, and this killer statement …..
3. His parents could have got married after he was born!

He was then asked to bring his school records and told to leave and wait for a letter from the authorities. He is still waiting.

Yang Yin forged a degree, joined the RC, allegedly cheated and stole from an elderly Singaporean, lied about his association with local organisations, took photographs with the MP and the PM and rumoured to have donated large sums of money to the PAP grassroots, etc and he got his PR. No question need to be asked nor a background check necessary.

Yaacob on the other hand is only making his contributions as a forklift operator but born, bred and schooled in Singapore. What is he getting? INSULTS! CAN YOU TAKE THIS?

To the PAP skin colour and money talk! Others don’t matter.

Authored by Mohamed Jufrie Bin Mahmood*

*Mohamed Jufrie Bin Mahmood is a politician from Singapore. He was a prominent opposition political figure in the country in the 1980s and 1990s, when he stood in elections as a candidate for both the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and the Workers’ Party. He served as the Chairman of the SDP from 2011 to 2013.

September 29, 2014
Roy Ngerng and Han Hui Hui Are Anarchists, Visceral and Vicious Towards Special Needs Children

The actions of the ‘activists’ at Hong Lim Park on Saturday betray the anarchic nature of their cause and the demagogic character of the individual actors.

The anger with which Roy Ngerng and Han Hui Hui spoke was visceral and vicious. What cause have they to speak so incensed? What gross injury is being done to them? One can hold different views on important issues but there are mature and peaceful ways to communicate and debate them.

Instead these self-styled “champions of the people” choose confrontational methods which play on the emotions surrounding hot button issues. They blow things out of proportion and seek to provide legitimacy for themselves and their cause through “victim-seeking” tactics.

Their actions to disrupt the YMCA event speak to self-indulgence, social carelessness, immaturity and this is ironical, a disregard for the rights and concerns of other Singaporeans especially those in genuine need.

But that is not what is fundamentally egregious about these political provocateurs. This is that they are possessed of a mind-set framed by two self-reinforcing features.

First, the view that Singapore and specifically, its governance, is a grand conspiracy. Everything about the government and all events are construed as being part of a system of control. All and any action but anyone who differs from their extreme views is treated as a co-conspirator. It is this mind-set that explains how they could perceive an event to raise awareness and support for children with special needs as a power-play to stymie their protest.

Second, they seem to believe, and waive dubious charts and circular arguments to the effect, that they possess some special insight into the truth about public policies. The simplistic and even silly interpretations of complex policy issues makes the propositions of these provocateurs superficially attractive. Instead that they reveal is that the output of being uninformed and uneducated is the conviction that simple straw man arguments have credence because they are asymmetrical to matters which have innate complexity.

These two mental qualities play into each other into a simple set of motives. First that the government is out to cheat the people. Second, that foreigners are a source of evil. Third, that our social challenges are easy to solve. Fourth, confrontation is the best mode of advocacy.Tools

Each and everyone of these motives are a nonsense and the twinned frames which make up their mind-set are shoddy construct made up of intellectual drift-wood held together by the creeper vine of ignorance.

The failure of the official opposition to date to take a strong stand on the behaviour of these provocateurs is reprehensible. But this failure would be a shared one by all reasonable Singaporeans if we do not now take a stand to condemn these provocateurs, see them for what they are – anarchists, and insist on ejecting them from the space for legitimate debate on issues of national importance. This is their McCarthy – Murrow moment.

Let us stand up for Singapore by demonstrating to ourselves foremost but to all others too, both what we, as a people, are not – we are not stupid, we are not anarchic, we are not gullible, we are not xenophobic and we are not socially careless, and what we are – active, informed, mature, considerate, welcoming and respectful.

Authored by Devadas Krishnadas*

*Devadas Krishnadas is the chief executive of the Singapore-based Future-Moves Group, an international strategic consultancy and executive education provider. The views expressed in this Facebook post reproduced in Singapolitics, are his own.

September 29, 2014
Perjalanan Hidup Razzi M Dulu Dan Sekarang

MUZIK telah menjadi darah dagingnya dan minat yang begitu mendalam dalam seni muzik tidak pernah luput dimamah zaman.

Walaupun usia telah menjangkau 67 tahun, selaku ketua dan gitaris utama kumpulan bertaraf legenda, Black Dog Bone (BDB), Razzi M atau Encik Ishhar Masrom, tetap aktif bergiat dalam bidang muzik.

Lima tahun lalu, Razzi menubuhkan sebuah kumpulan muzik, Nadaria, dalam satu usaha mengumpul bakat-bakat muzik lama agar terus bergiat dalam seni muzik.

“Kami kumpulkan kawan-kawan yang boleh main muzik dan kami jadikan satu kumpulan khas bagi persembahan dalam acara seperti majlis perkahwinan.”

Anggota kumpulan Nadaria ini terdiri daripada orang-orang lama yang dahulunya mereka adalah penggiat seni yang pernah main gitar, akordian dan lain-lain.

“Saya bimbing mereka bermain sambil belajar baca muzik. Kami memainkan lagu seperti dari era ’40-an dan ’50-an,” kata Razzi.

Kumpulan Nadaria yang terdiri daripada sekitar 10 anggota mendapat sambutan baik.

“Kami menghidupkan semula lagu-lagu yang didendangkan oleh Nona Asiah dan Allahyarham Tan Sri P. Ramlee,” tambah pemuzik generasi perintis.

Razzi dan isterinya santai ketika ditemui Berita Minggu di halaman rumah di Toh Guan Road.

Isterinya, Cik Rohaya Mohamed Taib, 56 tahun, merupakan penyanyi nasyid kumpulan Hidayah.

Mereka mempunyai tiga orang anak dan masing-masing berbakat dalam bidang seni muzik bak pepatah mana nak tumpah kuah kalau tak ke nasi.

“Buat masa ini BDB belum lagi mempunyai rancangan mengadakan konsert,” kata Razzi yang merupakan presiden bagi Festival Muzik Amal (CMF).

Awal tahun ini, BDB membuat persembahan di CMF II – Masih Ada Yang Sayang – bagi mengumpul dana membantu rakan seni yang memerlukan bantuan kewangan rawatan kesihatan.

Antara penerima lalu CMF adalah pemain bes BDB, Hamid Ahmad, yang kini telah dapat berjalan dengan bantuan kaki palsu.

Kisah beliau diterbitkan akhbar ini baru-baru ini. Perancangan CMF tahun depan pula telah pun diadakan. “Kami akan adakan konsep keluarga dan dapatkan artis-artis yang digemari semua generasi,” ujar beliau.

Baru-baru ini, Razzi mula menceritakan kisah-kisah lalu BDB di laman Facebook yang turut disisipkan gambar-gambar. “Orang selalu bertanya macam mana asal BDB dari titik mula ia ditubuhkan. Jadi saya ceritakanlah segala perkembangan BDB sejak awal dan kisah jatuh bangun kami,” katanya.

Dimulakan pada 1973 di Singapura, BDB telah mewarnai industri muzik serantau lebih empat dekad. Bagaimanapun, katanya, sebelum itu anggota BDB berasal daripada kumpulan yang bermain dan mengiringi artis-artis Cina. Katanya, cinta terhadap muzik merentasi bangsa dan bahasa.

Dijelaskannya di laman Facebooknya, Razzi mengimbas kembali pada 1968 di mana beliau berjinak-jinak dengan muzik Cina dan bekerja di Malaysia Bar Kelang Lane bermain gitar bas dengan gaji sebanyak $120 sebulan. Itulah titik permulaan persahabatannya bersama pemuzik mapan, S. Atan.

“Pada mulanya kecoh jugak sebab tak pernah dengar pun lagu-lagu Cina ini, mentelah lagi lagu-lagu Cina klasik… tapi S. Atan banyak membantu kerana beliau memang dah master dengan lagu-lagu Cina, lagi pun beliau boleh bertutur dan menulis dalam bahasa Mandarin… yang bestnya kita dapat bekerja di tiga berlainan kelab sebab sebuah kelab hanya bekerja selama tiga atau empat jam saja.

“Ini berlanjutan sehingga dapat saya kumpulkan teman-teman yang diberi nama Black Dog Bone… Jadi jangan heran kalau Black Dog Bone memang berasal daripada kumpulan yang bermain dan mengiringi artis Cina… dari bar ke restaurant, dari restaurant ke kelab, lagu-lagu Cina dah sebati dengan kami…” tulis Razzi dalam Facebook-nya.

Pemuzik generasi perintis serta rakan seperjuangya itu telah pun mendapat pujian sejauh Eropah.

Tahun lalu pula, BDB diberikan Anugerah Khas Anugerah Planet Muzik (APM) yang merupakan pengiktirafan tertinggi dalam majlis anugerah tersebut.

“Saya rasa ada harapan muzik tempatan boleh berkembang.

Kebanyakan mereka meraih populariti secara segera melalui memuat naik rakaman ke laman Facebook dan YouTube.

“Mereka seharusnya pelajari daripada pengalaman penyanyi lama yang bermula dari bawah dan terus mengasah bakat mereka,” nasihatnya kepada generasi pelapis yang bakal menerajui persada seni masa depan.

Sumber: http://beritaharian.sg/setempat/perjalanan-hidup-razzi-m-dulu-dan-sekarang

September 26, 2014
MP Intan Azura Does Not Know Yang Yin Personally, Denies She Went Into Hiding

Member of Parliament Intan Azura Mokhtar said yesterday that she did write a letter of appeal regarding Mr Yang Yin’s application for permanent residency (PR) here. But she did so only at the behest of Madam Chung Khin Chun.

Questions had been raised over the former China tour guide’s role in the Jalan Kayu Neighbourhood Committee, after pictures of him at various grassroots activities surfaced online. The People’s Association confirmed that he had been a member of the neighbourhood committee since July 5 last year but resigned on Sept 8 this year.

Dr Intan, who is an MP in Ang Mo Kio GRC and adviser to the committee, said she did not know Mr Yang personally. She recalls meeting him only when he was participating in a cooking activity.

She does remember the time Madam Chung approached her.

“She first came to see me and sought my help in May 2011… for her grandson,” said Dr Intan. “This is what she told me and I referred Madam Chung’s request to the authorities.” She said she responded only because Madam Chung was “a resident of my constituency and a Singaporean”.

“If Mr Yang had come to me, I wouldn’t be able to help him because he’s not a Singaporean,” she said. “What I would have told him is that you probably can apply for PR to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority directly.”

Dr Intan also said she later received a piece of “feedback” on Mr Yang. She did not reveal the nature of the feedback as there are ongoing court proceedings concerning Mr Yang, but said it was forwarded to the authorities the same day.

Dr Intan also explained why she had initially referred to Mr Yang as a grassroots “leader”, when asked about him two weeks ago. She said she considers all grassroots volunteers “grassroots leaders”, reiterating that Mr Yang “did not hold a key position… he was just an ordinary member”.

In recent days, Dr Intan’s Facebook page has been inundated with questions about Mr Yang. Some claimed that she had gone into “Internet hiding” by not addressing the questions and making her Facebook page private.

When asked if comments about Mr Yang had been deleted from her Facebook page, she said the staff administering the site may have done so and she does not know what “Internet hiding” is.

Dr Intan also made it clear that only citizens and PRs can join the grassroots, although others can help out as ad-hoc volunteers. When asked if taking part in these ad-hoc activities can help in an application for permanent residency, she said that was up to the immigration authorities.

When contacted last night, Madam Chung said she remembered seeing Dr Intan “a few years ago”, but could not recall what was discussed.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the ICA made it clear that volunteering in grassroots organisations is not part of its criteria when assessing applications for PR and citizenship.

It said: “Applications for Singapore Permanent Residence or Singapore Citizenship (SC) are evaluated on a range of factors including family ties, qualifications, income and length of stay in Singapore. While volunteering in community service such as with PA grassroots organisations had been suggested as a possible criterion, it has not been part of ICA’s criteria when assessing SC or SPR applications. Each application will be assessed on its own merits.”

The ICA also added: “Individuals who provide false information in their applications for immigration facilities will be dealt with firmly under the law. In addition, they will have their immigration facilities cancelled or revoked.”

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/courts-crime/story/mp-intan-azura-mokhtar-says-she-does-not-know-yang-yin-personally-

September 26, 2014
I Am Disappointed With PAP Muslim MP Dr Intan Azura

A few years back, my son was conned into signing for iPhone and later all the telcos went after him for subscription fee.

He just turned 18 and the conman told him to sign for the iPhone while the conman pretended to be a surveyor looking at how the counter personnel perform, after which took the iPhone away from my son, saying that he will return the iPhone back, which of course the conman took them away for good. However, the conman got arrested after that. The telcos did not want to waive the subscription and insist that my son pay them in full even though we provided the arrest report.

The first time we went to see Dr Intan Azura, I needed to go somewhere else urgently so my son got to meet her personally. Do you know what she said?

She asked my son to pay all the telcos in installment so that this can be a lesson to him. I was totally shocked that she could say something like that?

So my son was totally devastated and wanted to quit school to pay the subscription… You see what kind of person this Intan is ? She literally refused to help him…

I am not going to sit down and accept this, so I went to another session and really get the copywriter to make another letter to state all the facts again… this time I got the waiver from all the telcos.

And Intan did not lift a finger to help her constituents at all… So she is really a useless person in actual fact.

Zulkifli Jabal

September 26, 2014