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Tag: Chinese Muslim

  • How Can Indian-Muslim Halimah Yacob Run For EP Reserved For Malay Community?

    How Can Indian-Muslim Halimah Yacob Run For EP Reserved For Malay Community?

    Yesterday (1 Jun), ST published a news report stating that PAP MP and Speaker of Parliament, Halimah Yacob, is widely considered a front runner for the forthcoming Presidential Election.

    It will be the first election reserved for candidates from the Malay community, following a recent review of the constitution.

    According to the amended Singapore Constituion Section 19B, the Presidential Election will be reserved for a community if none of its members has held office of President for 5 or more consecutive terms.

    “19B (1) An election for the office of President is reserved for a community if no person belonging to that community has held the office of President for any of the 5 most recent terms of office of the President.”

    Sub-Section (6) defines a community:

    “(6) In this Article, “community” means —
    (a) the Chinese community;
    (b) the Malay community; or
    (c) the Indian or other minority communities;

    ‘person belonging to the Chinese community’ means any person who considers himself to be a member of the Chinese community and who is generally accepted as a member of the Chinese community by that community;
    ‘person belonging to the Malay community’ means any person, whether of the Malay race or otherwise, who considers himself to be a member of the Malay community and who is generally accepted as a member of the Malay community by that community;
    ‘person belonging to the Indian or other minority communities’ means any person of Indian origin who considers himself to be a member of the Indian community and who is generally accepted as a member of the Indian community by that community, or any person who belongs to any minority community other than the Malay or Indian community;”

    Now, notice that in the case of Malay community, there is an addition clause added – “whether of the Malay race or otherwise”.

    In other words, you don’t have to be a person of Malay race to be considered part of the Malay community. Persons of other race can also be considered part of the Malay community, presumably as long as he or she is a Muslim.

    Halimah is an Indian Muslim

    Take Mdm Halimah for example, she is actually not a Malay as her father is of Indian origin.

    This was disclosed in an ST article in 2013 when Halimah was selected to be the new Speaker of Parliament after the former one, Michael Palmer, resigned from politics due to his marital affair with a PA woman.
    ST did a write-up to feature Halimah (‘A strong advocate for workers, women and minorities‘, Jan 2013):

    In the article, it mentioned: “Her (Halimah’s) Indian-Muslim father was a watchman who died when she was eight years old.”

    In fact, news of Halimah becoming Singapore’s first woman speaker also made its way to India. The Hindu described her as an “Indian-origin politician” (‘Indian-origin politician to be Singapore’s first woman speaker‘):

    So, what all this means is that in the coming Presidential Election which is reserved for the Malay community, a non-Malay person who is a Muslim can also contest.

    If Halimah, an Indian Muslim qualifies as part of the Malay community, then a Chinese Muslim, for example, can qualify too.

    —
    Source: Facebook

     

    Source: www.theindependent.sg

  • Ethnic Chinese Embrace Islam, But Keep Names To Resist ‘Becoming Malay’

    Ethnic Chinese Embrace Islam, But Keep Names To Resist ‘Becoming Malay’

    Chinese Muslims converts are baulking at taking Malay or Arabic names upon embracing Islam, claiming the discriminatory practice forces them to abandon their culture and traditions.

    Several Chinese Muslims in Malaysia are fighting for the right to keep their original names, in defiance of the convention of replacing their surname with ‘Abdullah’, in a bid to keep their culture alive.

    “I will not change my ethnicity. I was born Chinese and I will die Chinese, I will not become Malay.

    “I did not want to change my name to show that Islam is a universal religion for all nations, not just for the Arabs or Malays only,” the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association (MACMA) Malacca president Lim Jooi Soon told the BBC in a recent interview.

    Like Lim, several other Chinese Muslims view changing their names to include Arabic or Malay names to be unnecessary as they were adopting a new faith, not a new race.

    “My name may change but my face remains the same. Here, Malaysians say that if someone converts to Islam it means they’re becoming Malay. If I did not change my name, then I remain Chinese,” Ting Swee Keong said, also having kept his Chinese name after converting to Islam.

    Even the practice of celebrating Chinese festivals are at risk, Muslim convert Nur Caren Chung Yock Lin said, despite celebrations like Chinese New Year or Mooncake Festival not being rooted in faith.

    “This cultural celebration does not go against Islamic law; the Mooncake Festival, the Dumpling Festival, the Chinese New Year celebrations, these are more cultural than religious.

    “Judging from history when Ibn Waqas preached in China, he easily accepted the culture since Islam did not kill the culture; the faith changed, not the culture,” she said.

    Although the convention of changing an individual’s name when converting into Islam is not in Malaysian legislature, it is commonly practised by all Islamic authorities, the BBC reports.

    Lim was the first Chinese Muslim in Malaysia allowed to keep his original name, a right he earned after battling Islamic authorities for five years.

    “Five years to talk, debate and discussion, as well as showing strong evidence in favour of me keeping my Chinese name. After that, it made it easy for many people to embrace Islam,” he said.

    “If he gets rid of his surname, it’s as if there is no contact with his family. My second name indicates which generation I belong to and my last name, which is my own, means headed for greatness,” he explained.

    Although MACMA president Muhamad Thaufiq Loi Fui Liang opted to change his name upon entering Islam, he urged Islamic authorities to do away with this practice so that those choosing to embrace Islam can still keep their cultural identity.

    “I have also asked the parties related to the registration of the religion that this practice be changed so that the ethnic Chinese are still able to maintain their personal name and their surname if they convert to Islam,” he said.

     

    Source: TheMalayMailOnline

  • Singapore Chinese Muslim Stunned By Halal Dietary Question In Job Application

    Singapore Chinese Muslim Stunned By Halal Dietary Question In Job Application

    “You don’t eat pork, right?”

    Singapore Chinese Muslim Heidi Heng was shocked when she was asked the question when she tried to find out more about an opening for an administration position.

    At first, she said, she was mistaken for being a non-Chinese because she was seen wearing a headscarf. Then, she was told that her Halal diet would be an inconvenience to other employees especially when it comes to company events.

    Heng was responding to job application queries sent via Whatsapp messages on her phone when she was confronted by questions that involved her race, religion and dietary option. She was corresponding with someone who appeared to be the human resource staff of an unnamed company.

    A screen grab of the conversation was posted on Facebook on Tuesday, and has since garnered more than 1,000 shares and nearly 100 comments.

    Facebook screen grab of racist conversation. 

    The conversation had taken place over Whatsapp when Heng was asking for the appropriate email address to send her resume to. Heng seemed disappointed at how the conversation had panned out, even labeling the comments that the staff member made as “racist”.

    “Work is work, food is food. I can eat Halal food, (you) can eat (your) non-Halal food. Just (wanted) a simple admin job, end up get a racist comment… Admin job got event every month meh (sic)?” she said.

    Most of the commenters on Facebook have shown support for Heng while criticising the company.

    “I don’t see why one’s dietary preference will hinder the productivity of the admin job… what if the candidate is a Chinese vegetarian?” said a Bob M Fauzi.

    One commenter even offered Heng a job and is awaiting her reply.

    Yahoo Singapore has contacted the Ministry of Manpower for a comment.

     

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com