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Jokowi Meets Kofi Annan To Discuss Myanmar

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo held a meeting with former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday to discuss humanitarian aid for the Rohingya people in Rakhine state, Myanmar.

The 30-minute bilateral meeting took place before the President officially opened the ninth Bali Democracy Forum, in which Annan, who served as UN secretary-general from 1997 to 2006, became the keynote speaker.

Annan, who founded the Kofi Annan Foundation, is now the head of the Advisory Committee for Rakhine State. During the meeting, he explained to Jokowi his findings during his visit to the conflict area and advised countries to take urgent steps to help victims of the humanitarian crisis.

“Indonesia will soon dispatch humanitarian aid for the Rohingya people. I have ordered the relevant ministers to prepare the necessary logistics, especially food and blankets,” Jokowi said after the meeting.

Accompanying the President at the meeting, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Annan appreciated the Indonesian government for taking prompt action to provide humanitarian assistance for victims in the troubled state.

“In the longer term, we will also support Myanmar in terms of providing capacity building in the field of good governance, democracy and human rights. We have started these programs and will continue to do that, because it is very important,” she explained, citing results of her recent discussion with Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Delegations from 94 countries and observers from several organizations are attending the two-day conference to discuss democracy, religious tolerance and pluralism and strengthen global cooperation.

Source: The Jakarta Post

December 12, 2016
Falling HDB Parts At Hougang And Circuit Road: Town Councils To Take Action

Probes into two recent cases of facade parts falling off Housing Board blocks have been completed, and the respective town councils are taking steps to avoid a recurrence.

In October, a cladding board made of calcium silicate fell off Block 51, Circuit Road. The next month, a plaster slab dislodged from Block 449, Hougang Avenue 10 and crashed to the ground.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said investigations showed that the cladding in the Circuit Road case had dislodged because of “wear and tear”.

After inspecting the block in question and 24 other blocks in the precinct, the professional engineer appointed by Marine Parade Town Council has recommended that similar calcium silicate cladding panels at all of these blocks be removed.

Those at the service duct areas will be replaced with new metal panels.

“We understand that Marine Parade Town Council will be progressively carrying out these rectification works as recommended by the PE to ensure public safety,” the BCA said.

Marine Parade Town Council told The Straits Times that it is currently working with its professional engineer and contractor to perform the necessary works.

During the inspection, some boards were found to have “loose connection of screws to the claddings”, said Marine Parade Town Council. These damaged boards have been removed, it said, adding that visual inspections were carried out on the other 24 blocks.

In the Hougang case, a professional engineer appointed by Ang Mo Kio Town Council inspected and found all existing plaster surfaces at the incident block “in satisfactory condition”, the BCA said.

“Based on the PE’s investigation report, the fallen plaster had dislodged as it had deteriorated due to exposure to weather over time.

“We understand that Ang Mo Kio Town Council will be repairing the affected area and stepping up checks on the surrounding blocks.”

The latest investigations come amid a string of incidents in which facade parts have fallen off HDB blocks.

In September, a concrete sunshade dislodged from Block 201E, Tampines Street 23, and fell on another sunshade below it.

After a probe, the BCA said last week (Dec 4) that the sunshade, about 5m long, had no reinforcement bars on the side that fell.

In relation to the Tampines case, the BCA said it is presently further investigating to “determine whether there were contraventions to the building regulations when the sunshades were built”.

It added: “Building owners are responsible for the maintenance of their buildings, including facade elements and any exterior features. They should carry out regular checks and maintenance of the facade of their building including all such exterior features.”

While no one was hurt in any of these incidents, the BCA is carrying out a review on building facade safety here.

Source: The Straits Times

December 12, 2016
Study Finds Majority Of People Condemning Ahok’s ‘Blasphemy’ Not Well Informed

Few Indonesian people who believe that Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has committed blasphemy have a clear understanding of the context of his speech during which he quoted a Quranic verse, a survey has found.

The survey commissioned by Jakarta-based pollster Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) revealed on Thursday that 45.2 percent of respondents regarded Ahok’s remarks during his conversation with local residents in Thousand Islands regency on Sept.27, in which he cited Surah al-Maidah, as blasphemous.

However, when they were asked about the governor’s remarks, only 11.5 percent of the respondents said they clearly understood what Ahok had said.

The study further found that only 12.9 percent of the public had seen the video of Ahok’s speech uploaded on the Internet.

“As the study found that only a very few people had actually watched the video [of Ahok’s statement], much of the blasphemy-related negative sentiment about Ahok is baseless,” SMRC founder Saiful Mujani told a discussion on Thursday.

SMRC surveyed 1,220 respondents aged 17 years and above in its study conducted from Nov. 22 through 28 in response to the massive anti-Ahok demonstration organized by Islamic organizations, including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), on Nov. 4. The survey was conducted through direct interviews with respondents in various areas across the country.

Source: The Jakarta Post

December 12, 2016
Semua Masjid Singapura Akan Bantu Kumpul Dana Bagi Penduduk Aceh, Kaum Rohingya

Bermula Isnin (12 Dis), semua 70 masjid di Singapura akan menjalankan usaha mengumpul derma bagi membantu para mangsa gempa Aceh dan juga mangsa di Rakhine.

Inisiatif itu diterajui oleh Yayasan Rahmatan Lil Alamin (RLAF).

Kotak-kotak derma akan ditempatkan di kesemua 70 masjid di Singapura selama seminggu, dari Isnin depan sehingga 19 Disember 2016.

Pada minggu lalu (7 Dis), daerah Pidie Jaya di Aceh dikejutkan dengan gempa sekuat 6.5 magnitud.

Menurut pihak berkuasa, sehingga pagi ini (10 Dis) angka korban akibat gegaran yang memusnahkan banyak bangunan sudah melonjak melebihi 100 orang.

14 masjid turut dilaporkan mengalami kerosakan akibat bencana alam itu.

Penduduk Aceh bersolat Jumaat di luar masjid yang sudah roboh akibat gempa. (Gambar: CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP)

Di Rakhine pula, keganasan tercetus menyusuli serangan-serangan oleh kumpulan-kumpulan militan ke atas tiga pondok polis sempadan pada 9 Oktober lalu.

Sejak itu, terdapat laporan-laporan tentang pengusiran beramai-ramai penduduk Rohingya dalam satu operasi tentera, dakwaan askar-askar membunuh ramai orang awam dan juga kampung-kampung yang dibakar.

Pelarian Rohingya menunjuk perasaan terhadap penindasan yang berlaku di Rakhine. (Gambar: MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP)

CARA-CARA UNTUK ANDA MENDERMA

Tertera pada tabung-tabung derma di masjid-masjid adalah: “Usaha Bantuan Kemanusiaan Bagi Aceh dan Wilayah Rakhine” (Humanitarian Relief Effort for Aceh and Rakhine State).

Orang ramai juga boleh menghulurkan derma secara tunai atau cek, dengan cek ditujukan kepada “RLAF” dan dituliskan “Humanitarian Relief Effort for Aceh and Rakhine State” di bahagian belakangnya.

Derma tunai dan cek boleh dikirimkan ke Bangunan Muis di Hab Islam Singapura. Orang ramai juga boleh membuat derma online menerusi laman Muis https://zakat.sg/ePayment/donations.aspx.

Hasil kutipan derma akan dibahagikan sama rata untuk digunakan sebagai bantuan kemanusiaan bagi para mangsa di Aceh dan wilayah Rakhine.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

December 11, 2016
Goh Meng Seng: Is Singapore Government In Panic Mode About Economy?

PM Lee is basically trying to tell us, don’t panic ok, this is not a crisis yet!

However, MAS has, for the very first time in my memory, giving out subtle but CRITICAL warning to Singaporeans not to over spend and try to save for rainy days 。。。。

It defies Keynesian economics logic actually. When time is going to be bad, consumption needs to boost up, not down. If MAS is making such call, it means that time is REALLY REALLY REALLY going to be EXTREMELY BAD! And believe me, this is THE CRISIS mode already!

Oh Not to forget, PAP government is so Kan Cheong that it now puts up a law, I guess this is ONE OF ITS KIND of LAW in this world, that puts mandatory requirement on company to report to Government if they are retrenching 5 or more workers within 6 months! Alamek… This is the REAL PANIC MODE!

Source: Goh Meng Seng

December 11, 2016