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Tag: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Commentary: Muslim Leaders, What Are You All Doing?

    Commentary: Muslim Leaders, What Are You All Doing?

    When Muhammad Al-Fatih conquered Constantinople, he ensured that his troops were spiritually primed and he as the Sultan was foremost in ensuring that they were of righteous conduct and his own character and spirituality were unsurpassed to lead them into battle.

    He mirrored the likes of his prestigious predecessors, Umar Al-Khattab and Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi who both conquered Jerusalem during their time.

    How many of the so-called Muslim leaders today, who cry so much about defending the legitimate rights of the Palestinians to their own free homeland and East Jerusalem as its capital, are clean of corruptions, not oppressors themselves, utterly silent towards other wrongs being committed before them and worst, even colludes with evil, to qualify as worthy of championing such a noble cause, let alone send their troops to fight?

     

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Damanhuri Abas: “Menipu Rakyat Untuk Kepentingan Kuasa Politik Parti”

    Damanhuri Abas: “Menipu Rakyat Untuk Kepentingan Kuasa Politik Parti”

    Dalam keghairahan beberapa pihak perihal isu perlantikan seorang Muslimah yg bertudung sebagai Presiden, ada yang sarankan utk melihat kebaikan yg mungkin berlaku. Ini adalah suratan takdir jadi kita harus redha sahaja. Sebenarnya kita harus balik kepada usul perkara.  Apakah niat di sebalik perkara ini. Niat perlantikan yang telah jelas berupa permainan licik politik PAP utk terus berkuasa dan menghalang sesiapa yg benar-benar bebas dari pengaruh politik PAP utk bertanding dan memenangi pemilihan dgn cara yg telus.

    Presiden sahaja yg berkuasa utk menyoal kedudukan simpanan negara dan juga perlantikan jawatan tertinggi negara. Itu tugas utama Presiden terpilih dan bukan hal-hal sampingan. Kenapa hal sampingan yg menjadi fokus kita. Itu kesilapan besar. Islam mengajar kita utk mendirikan yang maaruf dan mencegah yg mungkar. Perkara yg berlaku ini adalah kemungkaran. Menipu rakyat untuk kepentingan kuasa politik parti, i.e. PAP. Rasul s.a.w. memberi petunjuk, jika kita melihat suatu kemungkaran utk mencegah dgn tangan, jika tak berdaya dengan lisan dan jika itu pun tak sanggup supaya diam dan cemuh perbuatan tersebut dalam hati. Itulah selemah-lemah iman. Kita tidak boleh memberikan sokongan kepada kemungkaran.

    Bagi yg mengatakan ini takdir ketentuan Tuhan, itu silap kerana Allah izinkan ia berlaku bersebab utk kita faham berdasarkan maklumat yg ada dan bersandarkan nilai agama, kita bertindak sewajarnya. Persoalannya ialah kenapa kita memilih utk beralasankan takdir pada perkara yg batil padahal jika kita jujur kepada kefahaman takdir, kita sepatutnya lebih berani utk bersuara membela kebenaran dan mencegah kemungkaran. Adakah kita khuatir akan periuk nasi kita akan terjejas kalau bersuara kerana bercanggah dgn script majikan kita mahupun kuasa yg ada. Di mana pula letaknya keyakinan kita pada takdir Allah sbg penjamin rezeki dan bukan manusia?

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Damanhuri Abas: “The Reserved PE Has Divided The People Like Never Before”

    Damanhuri Abas: “The Reserved PE Has Divided The People Like Never Before”

    “The reserved PE has divided the people like never before” – What do you think?

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    A nation agonizes over 2 commendable aspiring candidates, from a tiny almost non-existent pool limited by imposed racial restriction, hoping to qualify over an excessively high financial bar that they clearly cannot meet, and a hollow sloganeering ex-government figure trying hard to abandon her recent past and parading her sudden new found neutrality, all over a supposedly noble Presidential campaign sadly undermined and tarnished even before it begin. The reserved PE has divided the people like never before. A cruel departure from its stately position as the unifying figurehead it was meant to be. It fly against all reason to execute an out of sync intervention on the PE for its declared reason to right some racial inequality in society. It is totally unnecessary and misplaced affirmative action for ulterior motives and will likely backfire.

    The smiley faces that front the prospective candidates paint a false media led facade of acceptance for this queer act by the Government. It belies their insincere and bad faith to address deep systemic discriminatory practises that it admits still exists today and may have had a hand in. Ironically, the very community that supposedly will benefit, in fact will have its collective integrity severely damaged for accepting to be used for it. The issue of race is about the intent of our nation to establish a truly multi-racial democratic society based on justice and equality. What we all pledged to daily, for a good 10 or more years of our lives. This single act by this Government tarnished those words we religiously uttered together, rendering them meaningless into years of futile parroting exercise by us and our children.

    Singaporeans should not allow ourselves to forget those lofty ideals that our founding fathers wrote and fought very hard for. This aberration is a sad chapter in our history that we must overcome together. Many of us still truly believe and live our lives daily to realise the multi-racial Singapore that we worked tirelessly to keep. The Government that once stood for all the good that this country has build, now, is sadly led by leaders who strangely abandons those core principles that has made us to be, a shining beacon of prosperity, justice and equality, that our founding fathers aspires for this nation. The achievements that we made surely are much more than the mesmerizing iconic skyline of our city. It is more preciously, the collective identity shaped by years of rigour, sacrifices and hearts of the multitude of people of all races living together in this island state we call our home. Each one cognizant of our unique diversity contributing to the colourful tapestry of our multi-racial society build overtime with honesty and mutual respect for one another. These are the sacred values that unfortunately we see eroding caused by the very people that are responsible for its upkeep.

    In this lose-lose scenario, the next elected President will unceremoniously inherit a divided country it ironically has caused. We in truth, also allowed ourselves to be divided, for all the wrong reasons. Led by leaders who chooses their vested interest for continued power, above the interest of our nation, our founding fathers and us, the people. May all of us who love this country and cherished all that it stands for as enshrined in the verses of our constitution, huddle on, wised up and collectively rise again from this dismal state we are in, to one day correct the mistakes we did, before its too late, for the sake of our children and our future generations. Heads up my fellow Singaporean and be counted when our country needs us the most. We may lose this battle but let us unite to win another day to regain back our country.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Damanhuri Abas: PAP No Champion Of Racial Equality, Malays Marginalised

    Damanhuri Abas: PAP No Champion Of Racial Equality, Malays Marginalised

    This is another ugly truth of how labels are conveniently thrown by them at persons to distract from the issue of contention.

    They are no champion of racial equality. For if they were, there would be no discriminatory practises of excluding the Malays from so-called sensitive positions in the SAF for the last 5 decades sowing the poison of distrust into the minds of Singaporeans towards the entire race, the Malay schools would not have closed down, the Madrasah would have stop ‘begging’ long time ago for a decent premise to educate our children while SAP schools are showered with endless tax-payers money, or would the Malays be systematically marginalised in so many other ways in society. Instead, race have been abused by the PAP to institutionalise deceptive mechanism such as the GRC to their political advantage. And now the EP.

    The fact that after more than 50 years of PAP led Malay leadership in government, the Malays are still behind in education, over represented in drug abused cases, prison inmates, delinquents, divorce, low income, etc., etc., are a damning indictment of the failures of the chosen PAP Malay leadership. The reserved EP is neither our community’s priority, need nor want for a show-puppet Malay President. Its a disgrace.

    We have seen few days ago what parliament has become when 1 party rules and now the last bastion of the people’s defence will simply become another tool of the PAP.

    Come on Singaporeans, lets take back our country from the current double tongue bunch of financially bloated elites that knows no shame oozing out their hypocrisy and taking the entire nation for their joy ride.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Damanhuri Abas: High Time Government Treats Madrasahs More Fairly

    Damanhuri Abas: High Time Government Treats Madrasahs More Fairly

    Four of my five children are in Madrasah. They spanned 3 out of the 6 remaining full-time Madrasah still providing valuable service to the Muslim community. The Madrasah is a vital educational institution serving both iconic and strategic value to the interest and identity of the local Muslim community. The recent adjustment to allow Madrasah students to get Students yearly per capita grants for extra-curricular programs are overdue but nonetheless welcomed and helpful.

    Yet decades on, the government is still only making baby steps towards acting as they should to provide equal share of aid to all educational institutions that serves the arduous task to the public of providing learning for our next generation. Just because it is a religious institution that is privately owned do not in any way justify an exclusion from its rightful entitlement for public aid when it is crystal clear that the Madrasah have no profit motives in doing their selfless work for the Muslim community.

    It was only like yesterday when the Muslim community had to rally behind these 6 full-time Madrasah when changes to the education act were made imposing compulsory secular education upon them. By the Grace of God, far from wrapping up, the Madrasah raised up their game and vigorously struggled and came up to speed in meeting the conditions imposed upon them. Backed by a very strong united collective community-driven action, they continued to move forward under severe duress straining and testing them tremendously along the way.

    It was never a level playing field for the 6 surviving full-time Madrasah. Some had to struggle under enormous circumstances to keep the listing institution alive and floating believing in their relevance and value to the community. Financially, the Madrasah were severely tested having to cope with burden of staff salary, operational cost from maintenance, upkeep, etc., to ensuring educationally robust infra-structure within severe spatial constraints to meet the ever changing challenging new educational needs for their students.

    It was nothing short of a miracle that with only the heavily subsidized fees paid by parents which barely covered not more than 30% of operational cost, the deluge of donations from the community became the vital lifeline for the Madrasah over the last few decades until today. But surely this is a great affront to justice, fairness and equality that the 6 Madrasah continue to be denied the equivalent financial support they should have been entitled to like other similar religiously based schools that runs in Singapore providing selfless services to their communities.

    Why does the Government choose to discriminate against the Madrasah by denying their full right to be fully funded as a legitimate educational institution in this country serving the public with no profit motives?

    We can see religious based schools among them the Buddhist based schools such as Manjusri and Maha Bodhi operating in spanking buildings paid for by taxpayers money. We have even huge buildings for Christian based schools from convent schools such as CHIJ to St Andrews, St Joseph and many more with some even sitting on prime sites in various parts of this Island. We then have the race based Chinese schools with its strong Confucious ethics and Chinese identity with the label of SAP schools endowed with even more glorious infra-structure. The only exceptions are our Hindu brethren as the second biggest minority without any religious or ethnic based school.

    The Government must answer for its refusal to give equal treatment like what is accorded to the other religious or ethnic based schools but not to the Madrasah. The past excuses are really unacceptable when we think of the severely imbalanced provision given to the examples of the list of religious and ethnic based schools mentioned above.

    Here the Muslim community had never asked for special provision, it is simply equal, fair and just treatment that we are asking from the Government. There is no justification for the Government not providing all the material support needed by the Madrasah like any other educational institutions that serves the people albeit a designated group in society, the Muslim families who chooses to school their children in the Madrasah.

    The selective arguments that Madrasah is a private school do not hold water. The Madrasah is a private school categorised as Islamic schools in the Ministry of Education apart from other private schools in general and directly under the purview of the Islamic Council of Singapore, MUIS.

    This demarcation shows the unique position of the Madrasah as an essentially Muslim community based school and not a strictly private school with profit motives. How can the Government choose to place the Madrasah on the same status as other profit-driven private schools knowing fully well that they never functioned today as a strictly private entity but exists only as first an Islamic educational service provider for the Muslim community and now fully running national curriculum too?

    The recent news of the merger of JCs leaving potentially unused infra-structure should be good news for the 6 full-time Madrasah as they should have first right of refusal to occupy the premise under subsidized or even rental free occupancy since they were not given any funding or privileges for decades before to build on any land provisioned with the luxury of space conducive and ideal for an educational institution comparable to other national ones or the religious/ethnic based ones mentioned earlier.

    It is overdue that the Government be just and fair to the 4% or less of Muslim students who chooses Madrasah as their choice of school so that the constitutional demands that each Singaporean child be given equal opportunity to access the best education in sufficiently provided space for full holistic learning of the mind and physique be met. This grotesque marginalization of Madrasah and the education it offers must end as it goes against the spirit of our beloved country’s constitution that guarantees equal rights and access to quality education regardless of race, language or religion.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas