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Pakistan Has A Drinking Problem

Pakistan was recently mesmerized by a bottle of Scotch whisky. On Oct. 30, as hundreds of supporters of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (P.T.I.) were making their way to the capital Islamabad, with the declared intent of shutting down the city, the police searched the car of a P.T.I. politician and discovered a bottle of Johnny Walker Double Black.

Most Pakistanis had not seen a bottle of whisky in the news in a long time. Although there’s no ban on showing alcohol in the media, the subject rarely comes up in TV news. But this one bottle of whisky, waved around by a policeman, was broadcast on a loop. It became an emblem of the opposition’s immorality.

The politician claimed it contained honey. Yet later that evening, on a current affairs TV show, he put a sobering question to the other guests, “Which one of you doesn’t drink?” Complete silence.

If they said yes, they’d be implicating themselves. If they said no, nobody would believe them. For Muslims in Pakistan, drinking alcohol is prohibited and talking about it is taboo. Drinking and denying it is the oldest cocktail in the country.

It wasn’t always like this. The country was founded in 1947 by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who was known to indulge in the occasional drink. Alcohol shops and bars were banned in 1977 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a person who had publicly proclaimed, “Yes, I do drink alcohol, but at least I don’t drink the blood of the poor.”

That year, facing protests over an allegedly rigged election that his party had won, Mr. Bhutto decided to declare prohibition. He probably believed that he and his comrades would continue to enjoy their Scotch in private. He was hanged two years later.

Since those days, Pakistan’s rich have continued to enjoy their liquor at home and members’ clubs, but the less privileged have been persecuted and flogged, and are at risk of being imprisoned, for possessing and consuming alcohol.

It’s true that most people in Pakistan don’t drink because they are Muslim. But many more don’t drink because they are Muslim and poor. Nobody abstains from drinking because it’s prohibited by law.

When alcohol was banned by Mr. Bhutto, an exception was made for non-Muslims. They would be issued licenses and allotted a quota. Non-Muslim visiting foreigners would be able to order a drink in their hotel rooms, but the hotels would make them fill out a form saying they needed the alcohol for medicinal purposes.

In the province of Sindh, where I live, licensed shops, usually called wine stores, have operated even since prohibition. The stores are supposed to sell only to non-Muslims, but they don’t discriminate. Owners have to pay off the police, though, and any dispute can result in the shops having to close down.

The laws can be cruel and absurd. Last summer, the local police in Karachi banned liquor stores from keeping freezers, in order to stop consumers from buying a cold beer. Apparently chilled beer was a threat to our faith and to peace, but warm beer was just warm beer.

In late October, a High Court judge ordered the closure of all these stores after accepting a petition that said alcohol is prohibited not only in Islam but in Christianity and Hinduism, too. This ban means that only those who can afford imported liquor will keep buying from a flourishing network of bootleggers.

Others will have to buy one of the many versions of moonshine brewed all over the country, which routinely blind and kill consumers. Two years ago, when liquor stores were shut in Sindh over the Eid holiday, more than 25 people died after drinking home-brew. Survivors report that if the stuff doesn’t kill you or blind you, it isn’t that bad.

Members of Parliament and law enforcers and industrialists and bureaucrats and young professionals and even some religious scholars can drink with impunity. A taxi driver trying to score a beer on the go risks a jail term or losing his eyesight to moonshine.

It’s a law-and-order issue, you see. The rich drink in their own homes and frolic or puke on their own lawns, but the assumption is that if the poor get drunk in public spaces, they’ll make a nuisance. Which is why those who can afford fine scotches can also afford to give everyone else lectures about our religious duties. It seems that those who suck the blood of poor people want to make sure it’s not tainted with cheap alcohol.

No wonder Pakistanis go to any lengths to ensure they’re not seen drinking, even when they smell like a barrel of liquor. I once had dinner with a 74-year-old grandfather who sipped from his spiked bottle of cola but worried that one of the children at the table would get their Pepsis mixed up with his.

I’ve tried to interview my neighborhood liquor-shop owner, but he has discouraged me. There are enough problems in Pakistan, why don’t you write about them? But is this Bombay Sapphire knockoff you’re selling any good? How would I know? he said, I have never had a drop. Not even for medicinal purposes.

Source: The New York Times

December 6, 2016
Kad PAssion Baru Bagi Warga Emas Dilancar

Satu kad PAssion baru khusus untuk warga emas akan diberikan secara percuma kepada semua rakyat Singapura berusia 60 tahun ke atas mulai esok (5 Dis).

Sekarang ini, kad ez-link PAssion tidak mengenakan sebarang usia minimum bagi kriteria kelayakan penggunaannya, dan ini bermakna, semua orang, termasuk warga tua, perlu membayar sehingga S$12 untuk menikmati manfaat-manfaatnya.

Namun dengan Kad Konsesi Perak PAssion yang baru itu, rakyat Singapura berusia 60 tahun dan ke atas boleh menikmati manfaat-manfaat kad itu serta mendapat faedah tambahan yang eksklusif secara percuma.

Kad itu menawarkan tambang konsesi warga emas untuk pengangkutan awam, pelbagai manfaat dan faedah membeli-belah, serta akses kepada pelbagai kursus dan kegiatan yang ditawarkan Persatuan Rakyat (PA).

Kad itu menggabungkan kad konsesi warga emas yang sedia ada dengan kad PAssion agar lebih mudah bagi warga tua terus bergiat aktif dan didampingi masyarakat, menurut kenyataan bersama oleh Kementerian Kesihatan, PA dan Kementerian Pengangkutan.

Warga Singapura yang layak, yang sekarang ini tidak mempunyai Kad Konsesi Warga Emas, akan menerima surat menjelang 31 Januari 2017 yang mempelawa mereka untuk menghantar gambar mereka supaya mereka dapat menerima kad tersebut.

Mulai esok, Kad Konsesi Perak PAssion akan dihantar secara berkumpulan kepada alamat-alamat rumah rakyat Singapura yang sekarang ini memegang kad konsesi warga emas.

Kad PAssion yang baru itu dilancarkan secara bersama oleh Menteri Kesihatan Gan Kim Yong dan Menteri di Pejabat Perdana Menteri Chan Chun Sing, serta Cik Josephine Teo, Menteri Negara Kanan Pejabat Perdana Menteri merangkap Ehwal Luar dan Pengangkutan, hari ini.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

December 6, 2016
Anwar Gagal Mulakan Tuduhan Qazaf Terhadap Bekas Pembantu

Bekas Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini (5 Dis) gagal untuk memulakan prosiding pertuduhan qazaf terhadap bekas pembantu peribadinya, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, di Mahkamah Syariah.

Ini berikutan panel tiga hakim Mahkamah Rayuan Syariah yang dipengerusikan Datuk Seri Dr Md Yusup Che Teh menolak rayuan dan semakan Datuk Seri Anwar terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi Syariah pada 14 April 2010, yang menolak permohonannya bagi memulakan prosiding qazaf terhadap Encik Mohd Saiful Bukhari.

Mengikut Akta Kesalahan Jenayah Syariah (Wilayah-Wilayah Persekutuan) 1997, pertuduhan qazaf ialah membuat tuduhan terhadap seseorang yang melakukan zina tanpa membawa empat saksi lelaki, dan jika sabit kesalahan, boleh dikenakan hukuman penjara sehingga tiga tahun atau denda sehingga RM5,000 (S$1,600) atau kedua-duanya.

LIWAT TIDAK TERGOLONG DALAM TUDUHAN QAZAF

Hakim Md Yusup dalam keputusan sebulat suara bersama Hakim-hakim Datuk Yusof Musa dan Mohd Amran Mat Zain berkata mahkamah itu terikat dengan undang-undang Malaysia mengikut Akta Kesalahan Jenayah Syariah (Wilayah-Wilayah Persekutuan) 1997 bahawa liwat tidak tergolong dalam pertuduhan qazaf.

“Qazaf hanya untuk kes pertuduhan zina sahaja dan kami terikat dengan Seksyen 41 itu. Oleh itu kami tidak mempunyai pilihan lain, perlu mengikut undang-undang di negara ini bagi pertuduhan qazaf,” katanya.

Beliau juga berkata mahkamah juga tidak boleh campur tangan terhadap kuasa ketua pendakwa Syarie berhubung sesuatu pendakwaan kerana itu kuasa eksklusifnya yang tidak boleh dipaksa untuk memulakan pendakwaan.

Katanya oleh yang demikian, mahkamah itu tidak mempunyai alasan untuk campur tangan terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi Syariah tersebut seterusnya mengekalkan keputusan itu.

Beliau berkata Datuk Seri Anwar selaku perayu juga gagal mengemukakan hujahan bertulis untuk menyokong rayuannya sebaliknya hanya membangkitkannya dalam hujahan lisan.

“Rayuan perayu (Anwar) ditolak dengan kos RM5,000,” kata Md Yusup.

Pada 7 Januari 2010, Datuk Seri Anwar menfailkan permohonan bagi mendapatkan perintah untuk mengarahkan Ketua Pendakwa Syarie Wilayah Persekutuan supaya mendakwa Encik Mohd Saiful Bukhari atas tuduhan qazaf.

Beliau menamakan Ketua Pendakwa Syarie Wilayah Persekutuan, Pengarah Jabatan Agama Islam (JAWI) dan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom sebagai responden. Datuk Seri Jamil Khir hadir pada prosiding hari ini.

Datuk Seri Anwar juga hadir di mahkamah. Peguam Dr Rafie Mohd Shafie yang mewakilinya ketika ditemui berkata pihaknya akan memfailkan semakan terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan Syariah itu kepada Yang di-Pertuan Agong secepat mungkin.

Datuk Seri Anwar, 69, kini menjalani hukuman penjara lima tahun di Penjara Sungai Buloh selepas Mahkamah Persekutuan pada 10 Februari 2015 mengekalkan sabitan dan hukuman penjara yang dijatuhkan Mahkamah Rayuan selepas dia didapati bersalah meliwat Encik Mohd Saiful Bukhari.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

December 6, 2016
Guru Tarik Rambut Pelajar Berkeperluan Khas, Seretnya Di Lantai

Seorang guru dilihat menghimpit pelajarnya yang berkeperluan khas ke lantai, menarik rambutnya dan mengheretnya, dalam sebuah video yang dimuat naik ke Facebook.

Sebuah lagi video yang turut dirakamkan oleh telefon bimbit itu juga menunjukkan guru terbabit, Linda Winters-Johnson, 53 tahun, memukul kepala pelajar perempuan itu dengan termos, lapor Huffington Post.

Menurut WAPT Channel 16, insiden itu berlaku di Sekolah Tinggi Greenville di Mississippi pada 21 September lalu.

THIS SHIT JUST PISSED ME OFF THE CHILDREN T GREENVILLE HIGH CAUGHT ONE OF THE SPECIAL NEED STUDENTS GETTING TREATED LIKE THIS YALL SHARE SHE NEED TO BE FIRED licensing@viralhog. com

Posted by Kesha Williams on Thursday, 6 October 2016

DIPECAT, DIARAH KE MAHKAMAH

Winters-Johnson dilaporkan sudah dipecat dari jawatannya sebagai guru pelajar berkeperluan khas pada 17 Oktober.

Menurut Peguam Negara Daerah Washington DeWayne Richardson, Winters-Johnson sudah dikenakan dakwaan mendera seorang yang lemah dan diarahkan menghadap mahkamah untuk dibicarakan.

SUPERINTENDAN “TIDAK BERTERUS TERANG TENTANG INSIDEN”

Sementara itu, lembaga sekolah itu dikatakan mengambil tindakan disiplin terhadap seorang lagi kakitangan, sementara Superintendan Sekolah-Sekolah Awam Greenville, Leeson Taylor II ,diarahkan mengambil cuti berbayar.

Menurut Associated Press, para pegawai lembaga sekolah itu berkata Taylor tidak berterus terang tentang betapa dahsyatnya insiden tersebut.

“Kami mendapat notis, namun lembaga tidak diberitahu tentang betapa teruknya insiden itu. Ini sehinggalah video itu tersebar di Facebook,” kata Presiden Lembaga, Loretta Shannon kepada AP.

Jabatan Pendidikan Mississippi kini dalam proses untuk melucutkan lesen guru Winters-Johnson, menurut Huffington Post.

Winters-Johnson belum ditangkap dan dijadualkan dihadapkan ke mahkamah pada 13 Disember.

Jika didapati bersalah mendera individu yang lemah, dia boleh dipenjara sehingga setahun dan didenda sehingga AS$1,000 (S$1,430).

Source: Berita MediaCorp

December 5, 2016
Amber Alert As Singapore Slips In Several World Rankings

For a country that prides itself on staying ahead of the competition, Singapore has slipped down several global rankings over the past year or so.

From competitiveness and ease of doing business to the ability to nuture and attract talent from around the world, the Republic’s competitors have caught up. Even though Singapore remains one of the top performers globally measured by various yardsticks, the competition is heating up.

Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say warned as much last month: “Imagine, if we ever allow our cheaper competitors to become better than us, one day, they will be cheaper and better than us. Likewise, if we ever allow our better competitors to become cheaper than us, one day, they will be better and cheaper,” he said at a productivity conference.

Deloitte’s 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, published in March, ranked the Republic at 10th place – dropping one spot from the previous edition three years ago, with Singapore projected to slip further by 2020.

Swiss business school IMD’s 2016 World Competitiveness Ranking released in May saw Singapore falling one position to fourth, increasing the distance to traditional rival Hong Kong which claimed pole position after moving up from second place previously.

In October, Singapore lost its coveted status as the world’s easiest place to do business, after an unbroken 10-year streak: Dragged down by factors such as cost and regulatory compliance – which observers had noted were important for security and anti-money laundering efforts – the Republic came in second behind New Zealand in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index.

Most recently, Singapore tumbled five places to 15th in the World Talent Report 2016 released by IMD earlier this week – largely due to lower scores in appeal to overseas talent, and investment and development of home grown talent.

While these rankings painted a sullen picture for Singapore, experts whom TODAY spoke to said there is no cause for panic or alarm. Still, it is worth looking at where Singapore needs to do better, at a time when its economy is at a crossroads.

ESSEC Asia Pacific dean Kevyn Yong noted that countries are catching up with Singapore, and it may not be the case that the Republic is losing competitiveness. He said: “Having said that, we should pay attention to these things and never take them for granted… we should always stay vigilant and prepared, to think ahead and think of how we can reinvent ourselves.”

‘CHEAPER COUNTRIES BECOMING BETTER’

Singapore’s rise from Third World to First within a generation has been well-documented. Along the way, it shot up international rankings and became known as one of the most competitive economies around the world, with its clean government, strong infrastructure, an educated workforce and a business-friendly environment.

But as the saying goes, it is more difficult to stay on top than to get there.

One reason behind Singapore’s loss of relative competitiveness is the higher labour cost after the Government tightened inflows of foreign manpower. That has resulted in higher business costs and is particularly harmful to the manufacturing sector which, according to the Deloitte study, sees cost competitiveness as the second most influential driver of overall competitiveness.

The manufacturing sector contributes close to 20 per cent of Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) and hires more than 500,000 people. In recent years, some big companies — such as Seagate, Broadcom and Coca-Cola — have relocated all or part of their operations to cheaper locations such as Malaysia, Thailand and even Ireland.

But experts noted that it is natural that some activities, especially lower-value added ones, exit the market as Singapore transitions into a higher-value added economy. Mr Richard Wong, vice president of Frost & Sullivan’s public sector and government practice, said: “Looking at the direction that the Government is gearing the economy towards, it is somewhat natural that some of these light manufacturing activities or production and assembly related activities that are not very high tech and those that take up a lot of space move out of Singapore. As the Singapore workforce is very educated, these jobs may not be that appealing also.”

Indeed, some of the companies that relocated part of their operations chose to retain the higher-value added functions in Singapore. Seagate, for instance, manufactures hard disk media at its Woodlands plant and last year expanded its research and development (R&D) presence here with a S$100 million centre.

Still, Singapore is set to face stiff competition in higher-value added activities, including in electronics, biomedical and chemicals production, as neighbouring nations make their own way up the value chain. Malaysia’s Iskandar special economic zone, for instance, had declared that it intends to attract higher-value added industries, while rapid economic development in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam would also see them vie for a slice of the pie. With their quicker economic growth, large young workforce and bigger domestic markets, these countries would give Singapore a run for its money, experts have said.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong, a long-time rival to Singapore’s status as Asia’s business hub, is pulling ahead by capitalising on itsproximity and ties with China to attract investments.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s World Investment Report 2016 found that Hong Kong was the second highest recipient of foreign direction investments (FDI) globally last year with US$175 billion flowing into the economy. This far outpaced Singapore who received US$65 billion in the same year and placed seventh worldwide.

“China’s economy has a more significant impact on Hong Kong’s economy, relative to Singapore’s economy. With the speed of innovation and growing economy in China, it’s only natural for Hong Kong’s economy to be relatively more competitive,” said Prof Yong.

‘BETTER COUNTRIES BECOMING CHEAPER’

At the big boys’ table, countries such as South Korea and Japan – which dominate the higher-value added manufacturing space – are ahead of Singapore in terms of innovation. The 2016 Bloomberg Innovation Index placed South Korea on top of the global rankings, with clear daylight between the country and its closest Asian competitors Japan (4th) and Singapore (6th).

The South Koreans have consistently been among the highest spenders on R&D. Data by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed that South Korea spent around 4.3 per cent of its GDP on R&D in 2014. In comparison, Singapore’s expenditure in this area was 2.2 per cent of its GDP.

Observers have credited South Korea’s aggressive spending in R&D for helping the country transform from one of the poorest nations in the 1960s to a high-tech economy and home to leading innovative companies such as Samsung and LG.

Experts noted that regardless of which development stage Singapore’s rivals are at, the size of their labour force gives them an edge over the Republic. SIM University senior lecturer Walter Theseira said: “In larger countries, labour and talent shortages are less acute because of domestic migration and the larger scale of their labour force. The main way we have remained competitive is to be very open to foreign labour, but that is a policy that has considerable political costs.”

He added: “(There) is almost certainly a catch-up process from both the developing and developed world, and that is not something Singapore can do anything about. What will be crucial is (increasing) Singapore’s strengths and advantages in high value added sectors of the economy.”

Experts said the key for Singapore to stay competitive is innovation – a strategy which the Government has identified. Various schemes and assistance measures have been launched to nudge businesses to be more innovative, amid the constraints on land and labour.

PwC Singapore’s strategy leader Richard Skinner described innovation as the “magic bullet” to spur growth and competitiveness. “Innovation is a necessity if Singapore is to remain competitive,” he said. Prof Yong added that innovation can help businesses achieve scale more effectively, which will in turn result in greater cost-efficiency.

He pointed out that at the same time, Singapore should not abandon its strengths in resource-heavy activities such as water treatment innovations, in which Singapore is a global leader. There is also the need for new ideas to be created in the country, instead of simply adapting workable concepts into the domestic context, he added. “Singapore has always been very good at implementing innovations and we should keep that. But it is no longer sufficient to adopt a successful innovation from elsewhere, say Amazon, and create our own version of it. We need new ideas like Grab and MoolahSense,” he said.

He reiterated: “Singapore competitiveness may not be driven by being the cheapest option, but we can be competitive by creating the most value.”

In the manufacturing space, the Republic can utilise its hub status to anchor other Southeast Asian countries to compete globally as a regional bloc, said Ms Ng Jiak See, Deloitte Southeast Asia’s industrial products and services sector leader. “Aside from cultivating strong industrial competencies in R&D and a diverse and high quality supplier base, Singapore should also think about its ecosystem approach,” she said.

Should Singapore fail to restructure and loses competitiveness, “everything is at stake”, Mr Skinner warned. “If competitiveness declines, foreign inbound investment from small and medium enterprises to multinational corporations alike will decelerate, leading to decreased economic vibrancy and dynamism,” he said. “This will in turn have an adverse effect on innovation, job creation and trade, ultimately leading to a decline in competitiveness and attractiveness as an investment destination and the vicious circle will repeat itself.”

For local companies and the thousands of workers they employ, whether Singapore continues to stay ahead of the chasing pack could make a difference between boom and bust.

Mr Melvin Tan, managing director of engineering firm Cyclect, said the company has benefitted from foreign inbound investments as it clinched projects with the Formula 1 Grand Prix and Universal Studios Singapore. “These projects allowed us to offer jobs to Singaporeans. Without them and the income that they bring us, we won’t have a reason to hire,” he said.

Mr Lawrence Chong, chief executive of innovation and design consultancy Consulus, added: “Singapore is increasingly seen as a place where new policies, new ways of urban planning are experimented, and where ideas are being created. That’s our trump card when we compete internationally, so if Singapore fails to reinvent, that’s bad news for us.”

Source: TODAY Online

December 5, 2016