Rilek1Corner

Tag: Chinese

  • Chinese Teacher Helps Adopted Muslim Kids Practice Their Faith

    Chinese Teacher Helps Adopted Muslim Kids Practice Their Faith

    A Chinese woman from Kota Kinabalu adopted five Muslim children in the past 20 years, reported Sin Chew Daily.

    Kindergarten teacher Connie Wong, fondly known as Cikgu Wong, is a Buddhist but she makes sure the children, aged between 11 and 20, practise their faith.

    She now has two children staying with her – Jefri, 13, and Ridzuan, 11.

    They attend religious classes in school and go for Friday prayers.

    Wong, 59, prepares halal food for them daily. During the holy month of Ramadan, she makes sure they observe fasting.

    The two oldest children have started working while the third, Aiza, is in a learning centre.

    Recalling her first adoption, Wong said a woman brought a two-day-old baby to her family and begged them to look after it temporarily.

    A week later, the woman said she did not want the baby anymore.

    Two years later, Wong adopted a baby boy after her sister’s neighbour wanted to put him up for adoption.

    Wong adopted the third baby, also a boy, not long after that as his father had died and his mother could not afford to look after him.

    Her fourth son was brought to her by a woman who said her tenant had left the baby and disappeared.

    Her youngest adopted son was found by her family at a rubbish site near her family’s grocery store.

    “It is not easy to raise the children but I am happy,” Wong said, adding that she would not give them up.

    She supplements her income by collecting recyclable items and selling fruits at the market during weekends.

     

    Source: www.thestar.com.my

  • Chinsese Couple Helped Malay Woman And Husband Who Suffered Heart Attack At A Wedding

    Chinsese Couple Helped Malay Woman And Husband Who Suffered Heart Attack At A Wedding

    Stomper Maimunah will always be grateful to the nurse and the couple who stepped forward to help her husband when he collapsed at a colleague’s wedding.

    In a phone interview with Stomp, Maimunah recounted her story:

    “I was at a wedding with my husband and grandson when my spouse suddenly collapsed.

    “There were so many people at the event and but many of them were too shocked to come forward.

    “Some of the people there even pronounced my husband dead. I was crying hysterically as I couldn’t believe it.

    “Then a woman came forward and declared that she was a qualified nurse. She conducted CPR on my husband.

    “She did all she could to save my husband.

    “My grandson and I were both crying hysterically, during this tough time a couple approached us.

    “During this tough time a couple approached us. The wife hugged me, prayed for me reassured me that everything will be fine.

    “They provided me some emotional support that helped me regained my sanity.

    “The CPR was successful and they managed to revive my husband but he failed consciousness.”

    Maimunah added that her husband was rushed into the ambulance as soon as the paramedics came.

    However, strict policies meant that only one person could travel in the ambulance with her husband.

    At this point, the couple who had offered support to Maimunah told the distraught woman that they’d bring her grandson to the hospital.

    Fortunately, Maimunah was able to convince the paramedics to allow her to bring her grandson in the vehicle.

    At the hospital, Maimunah’s husband was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and was put on life support.

    While she was waiting for her husband to recover, she noticed that the caring couple from the wedding had made their way to the hospital.

    Maimunah said:

    “I don’t them but they were there to offer support.

    “There were so many people at the wedding but this couple rushed down to see how my husband was doing.

    “I was very touched by their caring act.

    “They have become like family to me.

    “They bought food for my family and even made sure that it was halal. They kept praying for me even though we’re not of the same religion.

    “They were supportive.”

    Maimunah added that her husband has since made a speedy recovery but still has breathing difficulties.

    She also mentioned how the couple had come to the hospital a few days later to visit her husband and the family.

    Maimunah told told Stomp:

    “I am really very thankful to them. I don’t even know how to say ‘Thank you’.

    “I feel so touched.

    “I just want to extend my gratitude to the couple and the nurse for helping me in my time of need.

    “It is very rare to see people like these nowadays.”

     

    Source: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg

  • Lee Hsien Loong: Racial Harmony Here An Unusual And Unnatural State Of Affairs, Need To Be Worked On Continuously

    Lee Hsien Loong: Racial Harmony Here An Unusual And Unnatural State Of Affairs, Need To Be Worked On Continuously

    Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singaporeans of all races and religions are able to live peacefully side by side despite the fact that the country’s racial and religious harmony is an “unusual and unnatural state of affairs”.

    Mr Lee spoke at a Harmony Dinner at the Singapore Expo on Wednesday evening (Apr 15), an event organised by the Taoist Federation to celebrate its Silver Jubilee.

    “There are studies of different societies and there was one study called a report on ‘Global Religious Diversity’ looking at how mixed different societies were – and in fact they ranked Singapore as the most religious diverse society out of 232 countries in the world, and we were the most religiously diverse,” said Mr Lee.

    “The most different religions, the most intermingled, all the world’s major faiths are present in Singapore and many smaller faiths too. And yet we enjoy racial and religious harmony, and we live peacefully and happily side by side every day,” added the Prime Minister. It is something that should be continually worked on to be preserved, he said.

    Mr Lee said building a multi-racial and multi-religious society is a key ideal that Singapore was founded upon.

    Quoting the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the Prime Minister said Singapore does not belong to any single community, but to everyone. Mr Lee said the Taoist Federation worked hard to foster good relations between the different religious groups in Singapore.

    All 10 constituent religions of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) were also present at the Harmony Dinner, and Mr Lee called on the religious leaders to lead by example.

    Said Mr Lee: “Your communities look to you as role models. How you counsel and lead your congregations, your flocks, will shape religious relations in Singapore. So I am very happy that so many of our religious leaders are committed to building trust and friendships with other communities.”

    “We also of course need to keep our society open and inclusive. We can be any race, any religion, but we are also – at the same time – all Singaporeans together. And we have learnt to trust and respect our different races and religions, and to live peacefully with one another,” he said.

    The IRO said racial and religious harmony is also enhanced by having more dialogues between people of various faiths.

    “It is educating everyone as to what another religion has and if you have better understanding of another religion besides your own, that’s when you have a better understanding and that’s where you will have peace and harmony,” said IRO President Gurmit Singh.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Ho Kwon Ping: CMIO Categorisation A Hindrance To Cohesion

    Ho Kwon Ping: CMIO Categorisation A Hindrance To Cohesion

    The traditional Chinese-Malay-Indian-Others (CMIO) categorisation should be dropped, so as to maintain cohesiveness in diversity, which is a challenge the Republic has to overcome in order to achieve its dreams in the next 50 years, said prominent businessman Ho Kwon Ping.

    Such rigid categorisation hampers Singapore’s ability to deal with an increasingly vocal and diverse society, where there are multiple identities and more complex sub-ethnicities, he said, citing same-sex couples and intra-ethnic differences between immigrants and locals as examples.

    “Race and class and a consensus on social issues are becoming increasingly complex and intertwined in Singapore,” said Mr Ho, who is executive chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings. He was addressing about 560 people including students, young working professionals and civil servants at his fifth and last lecture as S R Nathan Fellow, organised by the Institute of Policy Studies.

    “The CMIO model … has helped to create common ground among those of different tongues and dialects, but it also has had the effect of oversimplifying the diversity that is our social mix,” he said. “How we define people often shapes how they behave, so the less we pigeonhole people, the more chances we have for a cohesive diversity.”

    Mr Ho cited the example of New York City, where there is no fixed preconception of people. Despite their diversity, all New Yorkers love the city, he noted.

    Similarly, Singaporeans must learn to embrace one another as individuals and not as categories, he said. “Without stereotypical expectations, we can accept and appreciate each person as different, but from whom we can learn new things.”

    Mr Ho identified improving social mobility as another challenge.

    Though a meritocratic system based on academic grades has served Singapore well in the past 50 years, the Republic is “in danger of being a static meritocracy that sieves people based only on a narrow measure of capability within single snapshots of time and, from there-on, creates a self-perpetuating elite class”.

    Citing statistics on the backgrounds of those in prestigious schools and Public Service Commission scholarship recipients, and showing that the majority came from privileged families, Mr Ho said: “Ironically, the original social leveller and purest form of Singapore-style meritocracy — our educational system — may perpetuate intergenerational class stratification, rather than level the playing field.”

    Affirmative action for disadvantaged groups is not a solution, because that would bring about “the start of an unending process of affirmative actions that will only demean and discredit our meritocracy in the long run”, he added.

    While non-graduates can now take on jobs previously open only to graduates, Mr Ho said the Civil Service could do more to take the lead on social levelling.

    For instance, the Administrative Service — the elite among public servants — should change its recruitment criteria, replacing academic pedigree with psychometric and other aptitude tests.

    The third challenge for Singapore to overcome is in building a collaborative, and not paternalistic, governance style, said Mr Ho.

    “However, such a government culture of participatory democracy can work only if the institutions of civil society can be actively engaged in decision-making,” he said, in calling for better access to information for civil society activists.

    During the dialogue after his speech, questions on race and diversity dominated the proceedings. Members of the audience asked whether Singapore would go the way of New York City in becoming a cultural melting pot and whether the Republic was ready for a non-Chinese Prime Minister.

    Mr Ho expressed confidence that a more cohesive diversity would solidify in the coming years.

    Citing the United States as an example, he said questions had also been raised on whether the country was ready for a black president, yet Mr Barack Obama was elected in 2008.

    Meanwhile, Mr Bilahari Kausikan, Ambassador-at Large in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been appointed as Mr Ho’s successor as S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • 9 Misconceptions Of A Chinese Muslimah Convert In Singapore

    9 Misconceptions Of A Chinese Muslimah Convert In Singapore

    1. We automatically changed our race when we became Muslim.

    “So you can speak Malay too?”

    “OMG, you can speak Chinese???”

    “I don’t get it… so you’re half-Malay and half-Chinese?”

    “Are you going to change your name to Siti bte…?”

    I’m Chinese, my parents are Chinese, my grandparents are Chinese, and my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents are Chinese. Becoming a muslim did not suddenly transform one of my ancestors to Malay and neither did it give me a sudden gift to speak Malay out of the blue (although I do wish I had such a gift for languages).

    2. We’re no longer Chinese because we can’t eat pork.

    Yes I get it that most of our Chinese dishes have pork in them. But linking the fact that we no longer eat pork to losing our ‘chinese-ness’ is akin to saying that our ‘chinese DNA’ is somehow located in a pig. Thanks but no thanks.

    By the way, chicken bak kut teh is just as nice. So is deng deng (the chicken version of bakkwa).

    3. We definitely converted because of our muslim partner/fiance/husband.

    Well I don’t blame you if you think that way, because it is quite a common case where we were introduced to Islam through them. BUT it does not mean we lack a brain and the ability to think for ourselves, because after all, we were not forced to convert. Contrary to popular belief, many of us actually do go to read up on Islam before we actually took the step to convert. Please do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT start preaching to us as if we did not consider all the ‘repercussions’ of our conversion. We do appreciate the concern, but at the same time we do not wish for you to look… uninformed.

    I also apologize beforehand if you meet me and make such an assumption- It is inevitable that I might roll my eyes uncontrollably. It’s not directed at you, just at the fact that it has happened virtually EVERY SINGLE TIME I tell someone I am muslim.

    4. We are okay with polygamy since our husbands are allowed to marry up to 4 wives.

    I get this a LOT. Frankly I’m really tired of this question, because I’m getting attacked front left right and back with it. Islam is the ONLY religion to dictate that the men should marry just one, if he cannot see himself to be just to more than one wife. Plus what our husbands choose to do will not affect you in any way. It’s between them and us.

    Having said this, won’t you ask yourself why we have chosen to subjugate ourselves to Islam despite such obligations? Doesn’t it say so much more about the authenticity of the message of Islam?

    5. Women are oppressed in Islam! We’ll have to stay in the kitchen and serve tea forever.

    How about, men are oppressed in Islam because they have to slog and earn money to provide for their wives while their wives get to earn their keep? Just because men and women have different roles does not mean one is superior over the other. And we women definitely do not feel at all oppressed one little bit, so stop harping over it. We are not brainwashed, nor have we been possessed to become meek, subservient wives.

    6. Once you’re in, you can’t get out. They’ll punish you. That’s why there’re so few people converting out of Islam.

    No, you’ll just get yourself a lengthy counseling session. Because this is Singapore, not ISIS.

    Many times though, there is still a social stigma linked to converting (as do all other religions), especially prevalent amongst the older, more traditional generation. But for us converts whose parents and relatives mostly do not share our joy in us becoming muslim, converting out of it is easy-peasy, as we’d be seen as going back to ‘normal’. But- Nauzubillah- I am shivering at the thought that I was this close to continue being non-muslim, and the thought of ever converting out of Islam. I pray I die a Muslim, insha’Allah!!

    7. We believe non-muslims go to hell.

    Actually, we’d be the ones to go to hell for ever assuming that about you. Go read thispost, it’ll give you a better picture.

    8. We might become terrorists one day.

    Yeah, the probability is as high as you becoming one, too. It’s the same thing when the word ‘expat’ is given only to you if you’re caucasian, and ‘immigrant’ if you’re Asian, or African, or Indian etc. A crazy christian terrorist, therefore, will be called a ‘crazy man’, whereas the word ‘terrorist’ will only be reserved for muslims. Stop following mainstream media and open your eyes to the rest of the terrorist attacks by other non-muslim groups that these propogandic media conveniently leaves out.

    9. We all lost our minds.

    Yeah, like suddenly, we became dumb and unable to make rational decisions, because of the fact that we did not consider all the points, especially those mentioned earlier. We get people telling us we’re stupid, looking at us piteously because we can no longer show off our hair and have to wear short dresses and skirts. We get people trying to advise us based on the misconceptions mentioned above (seriously I don’t mind well-meaning advice, debates, and intense talks on religion, but do not try to convert me by telling me that Muslim women are not allowed to drive, or something along that line). As much as I believe in your ability to think, so should you respect mine as well.

    So please, the next time you ever do see a Chinese Muslim in Singapore, please do know that we are as Chinese as the (Singaporean) Chinese can be, and as much as we appreciate your concern, we’d rather you see that we’ve chosen Islam for the beauty of the Faith rather than for the unfortunate, screwed-up misconceptions which you hold of it.

    Waleikumsalam (And peace be with you).

     

    Source: https://betweenfaith.wordpress.com