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  • Time for Muslim MPs To Take a Stand on Malay and Muslim Issues

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    Photo Credit: Yahoo SG

    faisalmanapWP

    WP MP Faisal Manap raises some concerns of Muslims, as expressed in the Suara Musyawarah Report, in Parliament.

    Instead of addressing the issue head-on, PAP Muslim MPs tries to corner Faisal into taking a stand on the issue (which he didn’t, and i think he should have). Later, the MPs were either silent on the issue or tried to skirt it, or even deny it.

    Now i have a few questions for the Muslim MPs:

    1) Is the Suara Musyawarah Report not commissioned by the government? If so, what is the follow-up?

    2) What is the attitude of the Muslim MPs towards the report? Take what you like from it, and ignore what you don’t?

    3) If the latter is the case, why have the report in the first place?

    4) Even IF those things stated are not true, those are indeed the perceptions of many Muslims. Will you address those perceptions with facts and figures, and reasoned argumentation? Or will those just be dismissed or ignored?

    I call upon them to take a stand on these issues/questions, in the name of constructive politics.

    Authored by Walid Jumblatt Abdullah

    Walid Jumblatt Abdullah, a public-spirited individual, is an ongoing Political Science student of the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is a three-times award recipient of the Graduate Student Teaching (GSTA) Award Honour Roll in 2012. In the recent NUS Commencement Week, he was also selected as the Valedictorian of his cohort.

     

    EDITOR’S NOTE

    Seems like both parties cranked up their engines harder this time round with fancy new measures and proposals. The announcement on setting up of WP Malay/Muslim committee to oversee concerns faced by the community should have been done way much earlier. Nevertheless, it’s better late than never. We applaud WP to help the community alongside PAP. Having two different approaches and perspectives to issues will definitely result in expedited progress, only if sole focus is on the community, and not about the respective parties and what’s important to them.

    We are glad that more and more Muslims are speaking up for what’s good for their community. This is our country and in a significant way, we have the right to decide our future. As long that discussions are not baseless and no vulgarities involved, someday somehow someone will hear us.

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  • Muslim Couple Explore Halal Food and Share Reviews on Blog

    Credit: https://www.facebook.com/TheHalalFoodBlog
    Credit: https://www.facebook.com/TheHalalFoodBlog

    Adam Shah and wife, Maryah, saw the issue and the duo decided to embark on a journey of Halal food blogging on June 2012. The idea was to stop by any restaurant, cafe or even coffee-shop selling Halal meals and review on their experience for netizens out there.

    “The reason we started the blog was actually quite simple. We ate out quite often and were running out of new Halal places to makan but every time we searched online, there was little information for us to go on. Se we thought ‘Why not every time we makan outside, we just blog about it?’ hoping that the information would be useful to someone,” Adam said.

    “I think the biggest challenge we faced was when my wife was pregnant with our first child. This meant less opportunities for us to eat out and when we did, my wife’s appetite was a big factor. That and having to manage our time, especially now that we have a daughter, definitely a challenge.

    “This is actually just a hobby and we’re glad that it does benefit our readers somehow … We love to eat and we are going to keep doing it for as long as we can,” Maryah quipped.

    Read more on them here and here

    Source: Vulcanpost and HalalFoodBlog

     READ MORE ON HALAL RELATED ARTICLES HERE

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  • Sultan of Johor Wants Singapore’s Pedra Branca Back After Six Years

     

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    THE Sultan of Johor has ordered the state government to look into filing an appeal against the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision six years ago to award Pedra Branca to Singapore.

    Pedra Branca – which Malaysia refers to as Pulau Batu Puteh – belonged to Johor and should remain a part of it, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail was quoted by the online portals of Malay-language dailies Utusan Malaysia and Sinar Harian as saying yesterday.

    He said he was following the wishes of his father, the late Sultan Iskandar Ismail.

    Sultan Ibrahim, who was speaking at the opening of the state legislative assembly session, noted that while foreign affairs came under the jurisdiction of the federal government, it was unwise for Johor not to be consulted on the matter.

    “Don’t the Johor people understand their neighbours better than those in Putrajaya? How would the federal government know of the state’s needs or that of its people?” he said.

    Pedra Branca, an island the size of a football field located some 40km east of Singapore and home to Horsburgh Lighthouse, was at the centre of a territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia that lasted almost three decades.

    In 2003, the two countries signed a Special Agreement referring the dispute to the ICJ at The Hague, in the Netherlands.

    For three weeks in 2007, legal teams from both sides argued their case before the court. In a ruling that it said was “final, binding and without appeal” in May 2008, the ICJ awarded Pedra Branca to Singapore and outcrops called Middle Rocks to Malaysia.

    Of Sultan Ibrahim’s order to appeal against the ruling, Dr Azmi Sharom of Universiti Malaya told The Straits Times that he does not have the authority.

    “The ICJ has jurisdiction over disputes presented only by nations or governments. He may request it (an appeal), but it is the government that presents the case to the ICJ.”

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    JOHOR BAHRU 29 Mei – Sultan Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar hari ini menitahkan kerajaan negeri supaya menubuhkan pasukan khas untuk memfailkan rayuan bagi membatalkan keputusan Mahkamah Keadilan Antarabangsa (ICJ) tentang Pulau Batu Putih yang sebelum ini memihak kepada Singapura.

    Baginda bertitah, negeri ini adalah berbeza dengan negeri-negeri lain kerana mempunyai ‘jiran sebelah’ yang merupakan sebuah negara maju, malah sebenarnya mempunyai hubungan rapat dengan Johor kerana saling bergantung antara satu sama lain.

    “Oleh yang demikian, walaupun hal ehwal luar negara terletak di bawah kuasa Kerajaan Persekutuan, adalah tidak wajar jika kerajaan Johor tidak dimaklumkan atau tidak dibawa berunding dalam perkara yang melibatkan kepentingan Johor dan Singapura. Bukankah orang Johor lebih memahami tentang jirannya berbanding orang di Putrajaya?

    “Bagaimanakah pihak Persekutuan lebih tahu tentang keperluan atau kehendak negeri dan rakyat Johor? Inilah kesannya apabila orang luar yang tidak faham tentang sejarah dan kedaulatan negeri Johor (tetapi) diberikan tugas untuk mempertahankan kes tersebut,” titah baginda.

    Sultan Ibrahim bertitah demikian ketika merasmikan penggal kedua Sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri Johor Ke-12 di Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim, Bukit Timbalan, di sini hari ini.

    November tahun lalu, Kerajaan Persekutuan memaklumkan tiada rayuan semula dibuat selepas kalah dalam kes tuntutan Pulau Batu Putih kepada Singapura pada 2007 kerana ketiadaan bukti kukuh dan fakta lengkap namun tetap meneruskan usaha mencari bukti dan maklumat baharu untuk persediaan masa hadapan dengan kerjasama Arkib Negara.

    Malah pada penghujung bulan yang sama, Malaysia dan Singapura bersetuju menubuhkan sebuah jawatankuasa kecil baharu bagi membincangkan penandaan sempadan maritim Pedra Branca atau Pulau Batu Putih, Batuan Tengah dan Tubir Selatan – kelompok batu yang muncul di laut kedua-dua negara.

    Source: The Straits Times, Utusan Malaysia

     

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  • Workers’ Party: Set Up Committee to Address Malay-Muslim Concerns

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    SINGAPORE – Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap of the Workers’ Party yesterday called for the formation of a committee to address concerns of Malay-Muslims over how their loyalty to the nation is viewed.

    But in a swift rebuttal, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Manpower Hawazi Daipi deemed his suggestion unnecessary as this was an issue that could be overcome by strengthening inter-racial ties.

    The exchange began with Mr Faisal saying that more needed to be done to “address and find solutions” to community concerns highlighted in a recent report. He quoted the findings of the Suara Musyawarah committee, which said Malay-Muslim participants felt left out in certain policies and practices which “question the loyalty of Malays to the country”.

    The committee was formed in 2012 to gather feedback on the thoughts, concerns and aspirations of Malay-Muslims. Its report highlighted personal accounts of employers expressing a preference for non-Malay workers and surfaced concerns over exclusion from certain parts of the Singapore Armed Forces.

    Mr Faisal acknowledged that progress has been made in terms of opportunities afforded to Malay-Muslims in education and national service, but said the committee’s formation could offer a “quick solution” to achieving a “more inclusive and open Singapore society”.

    Responding to his speech, Mr Hawazi and Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) later asked Mr Faisal if the latter had ever felt that his loyalty to the country was questioned, and what his own views on the issue were.

    “I’m concerned (that) if we highlight the differences, we will be widening (them) not only among one community but all communities,” said Mr Hawazi, adding that schools and community activities are means to forge greater social cohesion.

    In response, Mr Faisal stressed that the issue of loyalty among Malays was surfaced by the Suara Musyawarah report, and not him.

    Mr Hawazi then suggested that Mr Faisal had cherry-picked portions of the report, failing to highlight, for example, that Malay-Muslim participants also said they were “very committed” to Singapore on issues that include defence and security.

    Maintaining that he was reflecting concerns on the ground, Mr Faisal said: “I have said in my view that I am aware and agree there is progress made, but because there are still many people who say that this issue is present, I, as a voice of the people, would like to voice it out.”

    Source: The Straits Times

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  • Syariah Court Require Divorcing Couples with Kids To Discuss Co-Parenting at Counselling Stage

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    SINGAPORE — From early next year, the Syariah Court will require divorcing couples with children who are minors to discuss their co-parenting plans at the counselling stage, as part of efforts to better protect children during divorce proceedings.

    The move, announced by Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim at a seminar yesterday, will help ensure that parents consider the best interests of their children from the onset of the divorce process, he said.

    On average, more than 2,000 children below the age of 18 are involved in divorce proceedings every year, said the Syariah Court in a statement.

    In his speech yesterday, Dr Yaacob said divorce hurts the family even when it is amicable and that the impact on children can continue into adulthood.

    “Research has shown that those who experienced divorce as children face challenges breaking the cycle in adulthood,” he said. “The last thing we want is for the legacy of tragedy to be passed on from one generation to another.”

    To ensure a more child-centric divorce process, the Syariah Court said couples with children below the age of 18 will need to submit a post-divorce co-parenting and care arrangement plan for their children. The plan must be prepared at the marriage counselling stage before divorce proceedings commence in court.

    “This would make it compulsory for parents to consider their children’s welfare and the custody, care and control and access arrangements when making decisions that would inevitably affect their children,” said the Syariah Court.

    As part of the Syariah Court’s collaboration with Malay-Muslim self-help group Mendaki, a family social services initiative called Nadi Khidmat will be extended to the court’s clients, especially those with children who are minors, to help them access information and referral services to national agencies for other forms of assistance.

    In August, the Syariah Court’s marriage counsellors will undergo a skills-based workshop to enhance their knowledge of working with children. This will provide them with a better understanding of the complexities of helping divorcing couples who have children.

    Currently, existing administrative measures to safeguard the interests of children include pre-divorce briefings conducted by the PPIS As-Salaam Family Support Centre and the Muslim Law Practice Committee.

    The Syariah Court also refers cases of divorcing couples who have children to the Housing and Development Board, so they can receive guidance on housing after the separation.

    Social welfare reports are also prepared to help the court make informed decisions on cases that involve child custody disputes.

    Source: TODAY

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