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Maarof Salleh: Perjuangan Untuk Mendapat Kelulusan Hijab Satu Amalan Hak Asasi Manusia

Ini ialah komen saya akan posting En Maidin Packer berhubung isu tudung. Komen saya itu panjang, lalu saya pisahkan sebagai posting tersendiri.

“Isu asas di sini bukanlah mahu mendesak pemerintah mewajibkan pemakaian tudung utk muslimat. Isu sebenarnya ialah meminta pemerintah tidak mengenakan larangan pemakaian tudung bagi muslimat di beberapa sektor pekerjaan, terutama sektor pekerjaan beruniform dan di setengah-setengah ‘front-counter’ pejabat/badan pemerintah. Dan itupun hanya mahukan pemerintah ‘membenarkan’ mereka yg mahu memakai tudung, bukan menyebabkan semua pekerja muslimat mesti memakai tudung.

Dalam isu inilah, tindakan pemerintah utk terus mengekalkan dasarnya sekarang salah.

Dan alasan yg terus dipegang pemerintah utk mengekalkan dasar itu jelas tidak dapat dipertahankan jika perkembangan di tempat-tempat lain diteliti. Malah ganjil utk diterima sebagai munasabah.

Bagaimanapun, cara sebhgn pejuang tudung di sini mengetengahkan tuntutan mereka juga banyak yg salah.

Ini termasuk cara mendesak yg kasar. Sebhgnya mengambil pendekatan mencela org lain yg tidak sealiran dg pemikiran mereka.

Pendekatan mereka lebih merupakan pendekatan sebagai penghukum, sedangkan muslim tidak semestinya berada dlm kedudukan sebagai penghukum pd semua masa.

Satu lagi pendekatan yg dipakai ialah menuduh sesiapa saja yg dianggap bukan golongan pejuang tudung sebagai melawan Islam. Pendekatan ini tanpa disedari mengasingkan mereka yg sepatutnya tidak wajar sengaja diasingkan dlm perjuangan ini.

Pendekatan begini juga salah.

Jadi, perjuangan menuntut pemerintah tidak meneruskan sekatan bertudung yg ternyata salah dan sukar dipertahankan kemunasabahannya, mesti memakai kaedah dan pendekatan yg bijak.

Selain beberapa hujah yg sudahpun dikemukakan sejauh ini, yg perlu dibangkitkan ialah hujah bahawa membenarkan muslimat memakai tudung, misalnya dalam industri kejururawatan, tidak akan mengurangkan atau menutup peluang pekerjaan mana-mana pihak dlm industri berkenaan.

Juga, perjuangan ini tidak seharusnya memakai alasan itu hak beragama semata. Malah sebaliknya, ia lebih merupakan satu amalan asasi kemanusiaan yg wajar dihormati. Misalnya, jika wanita mendedah aurat dg berseparuh telanjang, yg lebih mengundang musibah, tidak menimbulkan sebarang kegusaran, mengapa dg pilihan utk menutup aurat?

Diharap pandangan ini tidak disalah anggap. Sebagai muslim, sikap dan pendirian saya tetap istikamah kpd prinsip: perintah dan sokong yg baik (amar ma’ruf), banteras atau bantah yg buruk (nahi mungkar).

Dan perjuangan berprinsip ini menjadi tanggungjawab semua.

Semoga kita terus sedar!”

Source: Maarof Salleh

September 21, 2015
Woman Marries Man Who Raped Her Best Friend

A woman went on with her marriage, even after being told that her husband had raped her best friend.

Royal Army Medical Corps officer Daniel Howard, 29, was jailed last week for seven years for the attack which happened in February last year, reported the Mirror.

He was accused of raping his then fiancee’s best friend, who was sleeping in the spare bedroom of his Darlington house.

The prosecutor told the jury the victim was fully clothed in bed when Howard entered the room and forced himself upon her.

During the attack, he warned the victim not to tell his fiancee and when it was over, asked: “Have you had a good time?”

After his arrest, Howard denied going into the guest room and having sex with the woman.

The soldier claimed that the alleged victim had his semen inside her because she had used one of his sex toys.

His new wife, April, had refused to believe he had carried out the assault and went ahead with her wedding just three weeks before his trial.

However, he was convicted after a four-day trial in which he was accused of inventing a “ludicrous, cold-blooded and insulting” defence.

The judge told Howard:”What you did was calculated. You relied on the victim keeping what you had done a secret burden to herself.”

“You sought to degrade and humiliate her by concocting a wholly false and unwarranted allegation.”

The victim, 26, has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

She has since changed jobs and lives with the fear of being left alone, having anxiety attacks and taking pills to sleep.

“I was meant to be the bridesmaid at her wedding. We were meant to have children at similar times and raise them together,” she said in her statement.

“He loves April and April loves him so why this happened I will never know.”

Source: www.tnp.sg

September 19, 2015
F1 And SIA: A Match Made In Heaven?

Now into its second year of the sponsorship deal between Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the Formula One Grand Prix, the national carrier said it is reaping the returns in both commercial and intangible terms.

Industry observers added that financially, the deal is estimated to have more than paid off the investment. SIA said its involvement is not just about advertising its name, it is about bringing the sport to the community.

But being the national carrier, SIA also benefits from higher ticket sales as fans from the region fly into Singapore to enjoy the only night race on the F1 calendar.

According to observers, while sponsorships tend to be a more integral part of business in the West, the landscape is less developed in Asia. So as one of the early movers, some said SIA is likely to have higher returns on investment.

Details of the sponsorship are kept confidential, and there are no numbers from SIA on how the F1 tie-up helps its bottomline.

But one industry watcher estimates that it is likely to have paid off financially.

Mr Jochen Wirtz, Professor of Marketing at NUS Business School, said: “Just from a financial point of view, a breakeven would be somewhere between 10,000 to 20,000 tickets. And if you look at the numbers, there are about 85,000 visitors to F1, of which about 40,000 fly in from other countries.

“That means for SIA to break even, they have to capture about 25 to 50 per cent of this incremental travel, and I think that is not an unreasonable number. So just on short-term financials, I think there is a good possibility for Singapore Airlines to break even.”

Mr Wirtz said this does not include the intangible benefits to SIA, such as marketing exposure and greater brand recognition globally.

SIA itself recognises that the partnership helps to enhance its brand image and international exposure.

Said Mr Sheldon Hee, vice president of marketing communications and development at Singapore Airlines: “The global economy goes through its cycles. And for us, building on a platform like the Formula One, the Singapore race is an opportunity for us to position Singapore and Singapore Airlines in the minds of consumers, be it now or be it in a couple of years when they can travel again.

“There will be opportunities for us to capture some of this interest, and hopefully bring them via Singapore or into Singapore on Singapore Airlines.”

SIA recently announced that it would extend its sponsorship of the Grand Prix event until 2017.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

September 19, 2015
Man Loses Hand And Legs To Infection

A GARDENER has had his two legs and left hand amputated after suffering from bacteria infection, which caused his limbs to turn black and put his life in danger if they were not quickly removed.

The 66-year-old man, who wants to be identified only by his surname Chew, has also been told by doctors that he would lose the fingertips of his right hand, which have turned black, Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported yesterday.

Mr Chew’s case began some two months before the widely reported one of technician Tan Whee Boon, whose hands and legs were cut off last month, after they turned gangrenous due to medical complications.

Three types of bacteria were found in Mr Tan’s body, and one was Group B Streptococcus (GBS), which may cause infections of the skin, joints, heart and brain.

Mr Tan, 50, had eaten raw fish just before his limbs turned black, and the Ministry of Health said there was a possible link between raw fish consumption and GBS infection.

Mr Chew told Wanbao that he has been hospitalised since mid-June when he suddenly experienced great pain in his stomach, a bout of vomiting and weakness in the limbs.

He was at home and had just eaten a packet of rice, which he had bought.

“The distress came after 9pm, and my limbs began to swell. Six hours later, I was lying unconscious in an intensive care ward,” Mr Chew said.

He was told by doctors the following day that he was infected by bacteria and his left leg had to be amputated immediately. His right leg was amputated two days later.

The last amputation, which removed his left hand, took place early this month.

Mr Chew’s case differs from Mr Tan’s in that he had not eaten raw fish before he suffered the same symptoms, reported Wanbao.

Doctors had also not explained to Mr Chew the exact cause of his complications, much to his chagrin, said the newspaper.

A family clinic doctor, Mark Low, told Wanbao that Mr Chew could also have been infected by GBS, as the bacteria is found not only in raw fish but practically anywhere.

So far it has not been determined why the bacteria infection has been rampant, said Dr Low, adding that he does not rule out mutation.

GBS could block blood flow and cause limbs to turn black, even in people who are not in the more vulnerable group, which includes diabetic patients and smokers, said the doctor.

Source: http://mypaper.sg

September 19, 2015
Debt Collector Who Harassed Debtors To Be Fined, Jailed And Caned

A debt collector who was also a loanshark runner was sentenced to four years and three months in jail and ordered to be given 15 strokes of the cane on Friday (Sept 18) for offences under the Moneylenders Act (MLA) and others.

Weng Jiajun, who was working for debt-collection company Double Ace Associates at the time of the offences,was also fined the maximum $5,000 for using threatening words and behaviour to harass the wife of a Korean restaurant owner and patrons at the restaurant.

He had gone there with two others on March 8 last year to ask for payment of an alleged debt from the owner of the restaurant and to harass the staff if his request was refused.

The 32-year-old repeat offender, who faced 19 charges, had pleaded guilty to eight charges with the rest taken into consideration in sentencing.

The court heard that Weng, who owed $2,000 to a loanshark called Lucas, began working for Lucas in late December last year by harassing debtors. Lucas promised to deduct $150 from Weng’s debt for each debtor he harassed. Lucas also threatened to burn hell notes at Weng’s parents’ house if he did not agree to help.

For about a month before his arrest on Jan 29 this year, Weng went around HDB estates locking the grill gates of debtors’ units with bicycle locks, splashing paint, writing graffiti on walls and leaving notes behind.

While working for Double Ace, he and his colleague trespassed into a flat in Pandan Gardens in June last year to threaten a debtor’s 66-year-old mother.

They had gone there to collect an alleged debt of about $28,000 on behalf of Lee’s Motor Trading.

One of Double Ace’s debt recovery tactics involved literally forcing debtors to pay.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Caleb Tan argued that a stiff sentence was warranted in this case. He said Weng and his colleagues from Double Ace operated in groups and caused public disquiet through their tactics which included shouting at debtors, putting up banners, chasing persons nearby away and resorting to physical violence at times.

“It must be highlighted that the accused is a persistent and habitual offender who has committed a total of 29 offences under the MLA in his lifetime, that these offences are ones which must be discouraged due to the pressing public concerns of safety and security, and the fact that multiple victims (both borrowers and innocent parties) were plunged into a state of fear due to the accused’s actions,” he said.

The maximum punishment for an enhanced moneylending harassment charge is nine years’ jail, a $60,000 fine and 10 strokes of the cane.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

September 19, 2015