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Indonesia Ulema Council Issues Haram Fatwa Against Illegal Land Clearing

RELIGIOUS authorities in Indonesia have declared the burning of land forbidden among Muslims in a fatwa or edict aimed at curbing illegal land clearing.

According to Channel News Asia, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued the fatwa in its bid to influence social change as part of a moral movement.

“The act of burning forests and land, which can cause damage, environmental pollution, economic losses, affect health, and other negative impacts is haram (forbidden),” Professor Huzaemah Yanggo, chairperson for fatwa from the Indonesian Ulema Council, was quoted as saying.

Huzaeman, who was speaking at a media conference on Tuesday, said the council was confident that the ruling can help change attitudes towards the illegal burning of land.

SEE ALSO: Indonesia: Haze investigators held captive, threatened with death

The council denounced the traditional practice, saying it goes against Islamic teachings, and instructed clerics and religious teachers to spread the message.

Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Ministry had in January asked the council to explore the possibility of issuing the ruling on forest fires.

The request led the council to conduct research and assessments before issuing the edict this week.

Prior to the decision, the council consulted various stakeholders and referred to verses in the Koran to substantiate the fatwa.

“We understand that material punishment is not enough, what more with formal punishment. What is more important is moral (pressure),” Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said.

Last year’s fires were the worst since 1997, spreading across over 261,000 hectares (2,610 square kilometers).

SEE ALSO: Indonesia urges neighbors to stop complaining about haze

Haze largely caused by illegal slash-and-burn agricultural policies in Indonesia has affected the Southeast Asian region annually for decades.

Uncontrolled burning from fires in Riau, South Sumatra, and Kalimantan causes the smoke to spread hundreds of kilometers across the region to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, resulting in major deterioration in air quality levels, health problems, and economic losses.

However, the Indonesian government has been taking proactive steps to reduce the number of fires by 75 percent from last year as there were only 2,256 fires this year compared to 8,247 between Jan and Aug 2015.

Source: https://asiancorrespondent.com

September 14, 2016
Idham Ahmad: Sudah Masanya MUIS Dan AVA Timbangkan Ceburi Bidang Agrotech Untuk Tangani Masalah Penjejasan Sumber Bekal Daging Halal

Salam .Tadi saya terbaca laporan 121 ekor kambing mati dalam perjalanan dari Ireland ke Singapura. Ini bukanlah jumlah yang kecil seperti yang selalunya, Hal ini amat menyedihkan.

Soalan yang timbul di fikiran saya adalah KENAPA HARUS JKMS MENCARI SUMBER KAMBING YANG AMAT JAUH SEKALI HINGGA KE EROPAH ?

Saya difahamkan bahawa sepanjang tahun lalu , pegawai-pegawai JKMS telah dihantar ke Australia , Kanada dan Ireland untuk mencari sumber binatang yang akan diterbangkan ke Singapura. Jauhnya perjalanan dari Eropah ke Singapura dalam kandang amat membebankan dan memberi tekanan stress pada kambing-kambing itu. Maka , tidak menghairankan jika 121 ekor telah mati dalam perjalanan.
Ibadah korban adalah sesuatu yang amat sensitif di kalangan masyarakat Muslim di sini. Ianya suatu ibadah yang telah dijalankan dengan secara tradisional sejak turun-temurun. Tindakan Australia untuk mengenakan sistem piawaian Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) pada kesemua negara yang ingin mengekspot binatang dari negara tersebut telah menjejas sumber kambing-kambing di Nusantara. Mahu tidak mahu , negara-negara seperti Malaysia, Indonesia , Brunei dan Singapura terpaksa akur dengan sistem piawaian ini. Singapura juga terikat dengan perjanjian yang telah ditandatangani dengan OIE.

Diwaktu sebuah krisis ketandusan sumber kambing, Pak Abdul Hakeem Mohd Ismail dan saya telah mengusulkan sebuah saranan pada pihak MUIS . Mungkin sudah tiba masanya MUIS mengambil langkah proaktif mengatasi masalah ini dengan menceburi sendiri bidang agro-tech. Dengan sokongan individu yang pada ketika menceburi bidang agrofeed dan beberapa tenaga pakar Australia dan pihak AVA Singapura, kami mengusulkan agar pihak MUIS membina sebuah ladang ternakan lembu dan kambing di salah sebuah pulau di Kepulauan Riau Indonesia. Apatah lagi , pihak AVA sudahpun memberi kerjasama dalam membina sebuah ladang ternakan khinzir di Pulau Boelan , Indonesia. Dari survey yang telah kami jalanlan , pihak pemerintah Republik Indonesia juga amat berminat dalam proyek ini. Ianya dilihat sebagai sebuah sinergi yang bagus sekali. Indonesia mempunyai tanah dan Singapura pula mempunyai kepakaran untuk membina ladang ternakan taraf antarabangsa sesuai piawaian ESCAS dan OEI.

Ladang Ternakan tersebut juga akan dibangunkan sebuah abbatoir atau tempat penyembelihan halal . Selain dari menjadi sumber haiwan korban ke seluruh Nusantara , ladang ini juga akan berupaya untuk menambah supply daging fresh yang halallan thoyibban ke Singapura bahkan ke seluruh Nusantara.

AVA akan dapat sebuah tempat untuk melatih pelajar-pelajarnya secara praktikal. Singapore Poly, NTU dan NUS akan dapat tempat untuk melatih pelajar-pelajarnya. Indonesia akan dapat tenaga kepakaran dan menaik taraf ladang-ladang yang sedia ada di seluruh Indonesia. Singapura akan menjadi pengekport daging halalan thoyyiban unggul.

Malangnya usulan itu tidak kesampaian atas sebab-sebab yang kurang disenangi,

Mungkin pihak pemerintah Singapura dan yang berwenang di MUIS boleh menimbangkan kembali usulan kami itu .

Saya senantiasa menanti lamaran berunding walaupun dah beberapa kali terhantuk di pintu Islamic Hub …

Source: Idham Ahmad

September 14, 2016
WP: Paralympians Should Receive Same Prize Awards As Able-Bodied Counterparts

The Workers’ Party would like to congratulate our paralympians Yip Pin Xiu and Theresa Goh for clinching Singapore’s first gold medal and a bronze medal at the Rio Paralympic Games. Ms. Yip broke her own world record by more than two seconds.

Our paralympians deserve the same respect and value as our able-bodied athletes. To compete at the pinnacle of one’s sport demands dedication, sacrifice, discipline, and an indomitable fighting spirit. Our paralympians embody these values and are an inspiration to all Singaporeans.

Our paralympians demonstrate what we can achieve as an inclusive sporting nation. The smaller pool of competitors at the Games should not be reason to deny our paralympians the recognition and compensation that is due to them. It is only right that they should receive equal treatment as any Singaporean athlete who competes at the highest international levels.

For their equally important and inspiring achievements, the Workers’ Party calls for our national para-swimmers to receive the same prize awards from the Singapore National Olympics Council as their able-bodied counterparts.

Daniel Goh
Chair, Media Team
13 September 2016

Source: The Worker’s Party

September 14, 2016
Workers Turning 65 Before Next July Worried

Aircraft technician Sumoo Subbiramaniam turns 65 on Saturday, but his birthday will be soured by what he sees as inevitable: SIA Engineering, his only employer for 44 years, may ask him to go.

The timing of his birth prevents him from working for another two years, because the law that raises the re-employment age ceiling from 65 to 67 kicks in only on July 1 next year.

SIA Engineering, when contacted, said it has been offering re-employment to 65-year-olds but “on a case-by-case basis and subject to eligibility criteria”. It declined to elaborate or say what proportion of its staff received the offer.

More companies, however, are offering their staff re-employment after the age of 65, said the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) last month.

The proportion has gone up from 42 per cent of unionised companies last year to 73 per cent this year.

Official figures also show that the percentage of people aged 65 to 69 still working here has jumped in 10 years, from just 24 per cent in 2006 to more than 40 per cent last year.

Mr Subbiramaniam, who repairs aircraft engines, said he wants to work till he is 67 years old because his two sons, aged 18 and 24, have yet to finish their tertiary education.

Looking somewhat forlorn, he added: “I spent my whole life with this company. I’d feel so proud when I see its planes in the air. It brought me this far. Now without it, I feel lost.”

He has sought help from the Singapore Airlines Staff Union, which has appealed to his company.

Others in the same boat are also turning to their unions. Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union general treasurer Philip Lee said, in the last few months, he has met three or four worried workers who will turn 65 before next July.

There could be more but they may prefer to stay silent, he added.

MPs and human resource experts are worried that some companies are ill prepared for the new re-employment law.

NTUC deputy secretary-general Heng Chee How criticised employers who are exploiting the 10 months before the new law kicks in, to retire healthy 65-year-olds.

Such an attitude”will only dampen their own capability and demoralise their other employees”, said Mr Heng, who is also an MP for Jalan Besar GRC. “That would not be smart for business.”

Mr David Ang, director of corporate services at Human Capital Singapore, said the economic slowdown, especially the oil crisis, is putting a strain on companies.

“When it comes to restructuring, older workers, who need a higher level of medical coverage, are the first to go,” he added.

Most vulnerable are blue-collar workers because of the physically demanding work they do, said Singapore Human Resources Institute president Erman Tan.

Source: The Straits Times

September 13, 2016
End Of WP Treasurer Tenure In Accordance With Terms Of My Appointment: Chen Show Mao

The Workers’ Party’s (WP) Chen Show Mao has clarified that the end of his tenure as treasurer of the party was “in accordance with the terms of my appointment”.

The Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament was responding to comments on his Facebook page on his stepping down from the post, amid questions over his future in the party.

In a comment on a Facebook post on Sunday (Sept 11), Mr Chen, who entered politics in 2011, assured that his “focus remains Paya Lebar and Parliament, and the party too”, although in a “different way” now that his term as treasurer has ended.

“I did not quit or resign, but have stepped down from the post in accordance with the terms of my appointment. At the time of my appointment three months ago, it was agreed with the CEC, which appointed me, that my term as WP Treasurer would end in three months’ time, which is now upon us,” he said.

Mr Chen, considered a “star” catch for the WP in the 2011 General Election, caused a splash in June when he fronted a challenge to the leadership of party chief Low Thia Khiang at the party’s biennial Central Executive Council (CEC) elections.

Making a bid for the secretary-general post, Mr Chen had gathered 45 votes to Mr Low’s 61 votes. The contest was said to have been triggered by members who wanted to see changes in the way the party is run, with some members expressing discontentment over Mr Low’s ruling style.

Mr Chen remains a member of the CEC. Mr Dennis Tan, a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament for the party who made his political debut in the General Election last year, replaced Mr Chen as treasurer. He was previously deputy treasurer.

Source: TODAY Online

September 13, 2016