Tag: dialogue

  • Nabilah Shihab: Encountering A Racist On The MRT

    Nabilah Shihab: Encountering A Racist On The MRT

    The peak hour train at Jurong East was crowded as usual. I stood in front of a well-dressed lady in her 40s sitting at the priority seat. Upon seeing me, she promptly crossed her legs and kicked her shoes against my legs. On a normal day, I would speak up and educate such an individual on the virtues of courtesy. Lucky for her, I had just made a vow before bed yesterday to become a more tolerant person. I just smiled and thought to myself, maybe it was an accident.

    The lady began talking on her mobile phone and I let my mind wander. Before long, my thoughts were interrupted by the lady’s rant.

    “A lot of Chinese girls so stupid marry Malay men.”

    It was strangely refreshing to hear a racist rant in person in Singapore. In the past I had only seen them in the comments section on Facebook. As a final year Sociology undergraduate, I was keen on hearing her perspective on the issues of race and inter-racial marriages. Also, being the child of a Malay-Chinese mother and an Arab father, miscegenation was of personal relevance.

    In between rants of how her Chinese friends were the CEO of Singapore Airlines and secretary to the Prime Minister’s office, she complained about how poor Malay men were trying to prey on her and other Chinese girls.

    At that moment it occurred to me: she was the infamous Catherine Tan known on social media for her videos where she aggressively expressed her dissatisfaction with Malays and Muslims. It also occured to me that there was probably no one on the other end of the line. She was believed to be mentally unsound. As soon as she began directing her racist rants at me, I realized that I was no longer a mere observer.

    “Look at this Muslim girl in front of me, trying to get in my face. Trying to harass me. Ya look at her she’s wearing blue jeans, black shirt, red scarf and black shoes,” she said, glaring angrily at me.

    As she was giving her Outfit-Of-The-Day commentary, I almost corrected her: Oh I’m not wearing jeans! These are trousers I bought on sale. I wear them when I feel fatter than usual because being able to fit in them is assuring. Do you like them?`

    I stopped myself when I realized that she was obviously not trying to be friendly. She was trying to direct her hatred for Malays and Muslims at me. As she continued to passive-aggressively taunt me, I half expected her to say something more vicious. However, she did nothing of the sort. I have to say that for a racist person, she was quite nice.

 As the train reached Clementi, I prepared to alight.

    “She’s alighting now,” she said as if to make sure I knew she was talking about me.

    I smiled and walked on. I continued to wonder if her views were a reflection of common sentiments buried deep within the Singaporean psyche. We do not normally hear racist views in Singapore where racial and religious harmony is celebrated as a state policy. Violent racial riots in the 1960s have made us more careful about what we say about people from other races and religions, at least in public. However, laws such as Section 298 of the Penal Code which criminalises the “wounding of religious feelings” and other limits on the freedom of speech do not actually eliminate racial tensions. Instead, they drive these racist sentiments further underground. Once in a while, a mentally unsound person would express the racial tensions in our society that we do not feel free to speak about openly.

    Within my racially diverse circle of friends, race is not a sensitive topic. It is discussed openly and respectfully in our casual conversations and also at university. We share the same belief that creating platforms for open dialogue about race and religion would facilitate tolerance and better understanding. Indeed, as Singaporeans, our relationship with one another should not be so fragile that it could be threatened by the words of some people. For us, what one wears on one’s head or the colour of one’s skin should not be of any concern. (Unless the colour of your skin is gangrene. In such a case we would be very concerned and would urge you to seek medical attention).

     

    Source: http://kentridgecommon.com

  • Visit By The Pope To Turkey Puts UMNO To Shame

    Visit By The Pope To Turkey Puts UMNO To Shame

    KUCHING: The just-concluded Umno General Assembly was marked by racist slurs, religious intolerance and bigotry, observed Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, while Christians and Muslims elsewhere in the civilised world are reaching out to each other in peace and tolerance.

    Anwar pointed out that Pope Francis, currently on a visit to Turkey, had been invited by Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran of Turkey to pray at the famous Blue Mosque which was once a Cathedral when the country was part of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire.

    “The gesture by the Grand Mufti is unthinkable in Malaysia under Umno,” said Anwar who was on a visit to Kuching. “Umno leaders are taking backward steps in their relations with non-Muslims.”

    Anwar noted that the media had described the Pope’s visit to Turkey as demonstrating “a powerful vision of Christian-Muslim understanding at a time when neighbouring countries are experiencing violent Islamic assaults on Christians and religious minorities”.

    “There is a need to appreciate this move. It has relevance in terms of our attitude and the Umno General Assembly’s on relations with non-Muslims in this country,” Anwar said. “Pope Francis’ visit is a gesture that would go a long way towards blazing a trail for a new chapter on Christian-Muslim relations and mending the strained relations of the past.”

    “Once we get past theological polemics, which more often than not puts a strain on inter-religious relations, the matters that bind these two great faiths could be reason enough for cultivating tolerance and respect.”

    Pope Francis was radical, pointed out Anwar, as he preferred to relate rather than pontificate.

    “That has made all the difference. He goes to Turkey not to preach but to reach out, very much in the tradition of Christ, with humility and peace to the Muslim world,” said Anwar.

    Pope Francis’ genuine desire for understanding must be received warmly and reciprocated by leaders of the Muslim world, he added, but ruled out Umno taking a positive attitude on the Pope’s visit to Turkey.

     

    Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com

  • Empathising Through Elitist Attitude:  A Demonstration By S-League CEO Lim Chin

    Empathising Through Elitist Attitude: A Demonstration By S-League CEO Lim Chin

    The chief executive officer of the S-League, Singapore’s domestic football league, has come under criticism for what he said to players of the Tanjong Pagar United football club recently.

    It was announced that the club would not be participating in the 2015 competition “due to money”, as reported by the Straits Times last week.

    “We were unable to find a sponsor for this year after Field Catering, who came in with a $100,000 sponsorship last season, pulled out before this season,” club chairman Edward Liu said then.

    It will be the second time that the jaguars, as the club is also known, will sit out the competition. It had also done so after the 2004 campaign, similarly citing financial reasons for the withdrawal then.

    The S-League has also been shrunk from 12 teams to 10, with Woodlands Wellington and Hougang United merging into one team.

    Tanjong Pagar United’s withdrawal this year from the professional league competition has caused anxiety among its players and staff, who are unsure what to do next.

    Some took to the online space to voice their unhappiness, questioning the leadership of Mr Liu and the league’s CEO, Lim Chin.

    In response, the two men held a meeting with the players and staff last week.

    A 85-minute recording of the meeting was later leaked online, and led to further criticism of Mr Lim’s response, particularly for the tone and the words he used at the meeting.

    Mr Lim was apparently defending Mr Liu when the latter came under fire from the players at the meeting.

    Mr Lim blasted the players:

    “The chairman of the club and the management committee (are) above all of you. You are players, nobody is bigger than the club. The chairman heads the club.

    “The management committee is not for you to judge… So I think you all need to know where you stand as a player, as a staff, as a coach.

    “Do not ever question the chairman on his role and responsibility.”

    He is also reported to have said:

    “Some of the reasons you may not accept well and good, I cannot force you to accept every answer that we give you, but we are giving you the truth. If you cannot accept the truth then we cannot help you in any way.”

    Mr Lim’s outburst was criticised by some for being insensitive to the players who had suddenly found themselves with an uncertain future with the club after the withdrawal from the S League was announced.

    The changes to the league and the withdrawal of Tanjong Pagar was announced a mere three months before the start of the next season.

    A posting on the My S-League Story Facebook page said that while there is merit to the S-League’s plans for consolidation, it was the sudden manner in which this was decided which has caused unhappiness.

    “It is the abrupt and arbitrary manner by which the reform has been conducted that irks me the most,” the posting said. “Players should have been given at least a season’s heads up. What should have been done in my opinion is for next season to continue with 12 teams but to have relegation, where the bottom 2 teams will sit out from 2016 onwards. This would make the league more exciting and give the players and playing staff enough time to make plans for the future.”

    Another posting on the “Ass League” blog also questioned the decision to reduce the size of the league next season.

    “[One] needs to remember that these people are football players with short careers and very wobbly rice bowls due to lack of job security. They are men with families to feed, and they are merely seeking clarification on the actions and decisions undertaken by the ones who may have a profound effect on their ability to feed their families. Mr. Lim claims to want to make the League stronger, but are these decisions doing the League any good when all it will do is serve to further convince Singaporeans that football is far from being a viable career in Singapore?”

    Warriors FC’s Hassan Sunny also expressed similar sentiments last week.

    “Players and coaches who lose their jobs as a result cannot be left alone just like that,” said Hassan, who was named the Player of the Year at an award ceremony last week.

    “Something must be done for them, as they have served the league well. The FAS can provide them with some subsidies to prepare for life after football, such as provide them some compensation to equip themselves with relevant skills to find jobs in the footballing industry and even outside of it,” he said.

    Mr Lim, who also attended the event, was booed when he appeared.

    A former colonel in the Army who had also served as Chief of Artillery, Mr Lim later told the press that on hindsight he “could have been more sympathetic” towards the players.

    “My tone was a bit loud but, certainly, I think we empathised with the players who were affected,” he said.

    Mr Lim explained that he was upset by the players’ criticism of Mr Liu.

    “It just hurt me to find that the players, in such a big forum and in front of everyone, were questioning Edward’s role and what he has done for the club,” Mr Lim said.

    “So, at that moment, I felt that I couldn’t sit down and let this continue.”

    The S-League has suffered from declining interest, including from sponsors, and the standard of Singapore football has seen a drop in FIFA’s world’s ranking.

    Singapore is now placed 161st in the world, a slump of 12 places from last year.

    President of the Football Association of Singapore, Zainuddin Nordin, believes however that the changes and consolidation of the league will bring more interests for the clubs.

    “Research commissioned by us has shown that the present local environment cannot support a 12-club S.League,” he said last week. “The consolidation of the S-League into a 10-club league next season would make the league stronger, more competitive and a more exciting product that will help to draw more fans to the stadiums, and attract potential sponsors.”

    Mr Zainuddin, who is also a Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, has served three 2-year terms as FAS chief, but will be stepping down next year.

     

    Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

  • Isu Tudung: Teruskan Perjalanan Dengan Niat Murni

    Teman-teman,

    Assalamualaikum.

    Tiga hari sudah sejak pertemuan dengan Perdana Menteri Sabtu lalu. Pelbagai reaksi juga telah diluahkan terhadap hasil pertemuan tersebut, juga terhadap ulasan-ulasan pandangan orang-orang yang menghadirinya. Termasuk saya.

    Terimakasih kepada semua. Kepada yang bersetuju dengan pendirian saya, terimakasih saya ucapkan di atas keyakinan dan kepercayaannya. Kepadayang membantah dan memarahi saya, juga saya ucapkan setulus terimakasih, kerana memberi kesedaran yang berterusan kepada saya bahawa kita adalah insan yang penuh dengan kelemahan. Bahawa keagungan dan kekuasaan hanya milik mutlaq Dia, sementara kita akan senantiasa bernafas dengan kekerdilan dan kekurangan. Di sebalik semua reaksi yang telah dan akan diluahkan, menjadi kewajipan saya untuk melafazkan “Alhamdulillah”.

    Teman,
    apabila dalam setiap rakaat solat kita diwajibkan membaca “ihdinassiratalmustaqim” (tunjukilah kami jalan yang lurus), ia bukan hanya menjadi doa yang dipinta, tetapi juga merupakan didikan yang diatur Allah untuk kita senantiasa mengingatkan diri betapa kehidupan ini adalah satu perjalanan. Siapa sahaja yang bergelar manusia, selagi usia masih diizin Tuhan, selagi itu ia tetap dalam sebuah perjalanan. Namun, nikmat besar yang dirasakan insan yang beriman, ialah perjalanannya ini punya matlamat tujuan yang amat jelas, iaitu Allah.

    Dalam perjalanan utama hidupnya itu menuju Allah, insan beriman juga menyedari bahawa ada perjalanan-perjalanan kecil atau singkat yang perlu dilalui, dengan matlamat-matlamat tertentu yang perlu dicapai. Langkah kita bersama untuk mengusahakan agar permintaan untuk muslimat kita berhijab diberikan keizinan, adalah salah satu perjalanan yang saya sebutkan tadi. Kelihatannya, selesai satu lagi putaran roda, namun kita belum sampai lagi di destinasinya.

    Di sini, saya ingin mangajak teman-teman semua yang amat saya kasihi, tidak kira sama ada yang meminati saya atau yang membenci, untuk kita meneruskan langkah dalam perjalanan suci ini. Ayuh bersama-sama saya, dengan berbekalkan kemurnian niat di hati, dengan keindahan bicara dan budi, dengan kejernihan berfikir, dan pergantungan tawakkal serta doa kepada Yang Maha Tinggi, kita gerakkan putaran roda yang berikutnya. Insan beriman tidak kenal putus asa, bukan? Kekecewaan dan kehampaan tidak wujud dalam kamus perjalanan hidup insan beriman, bukan?

    Ada sebahagian teman meminta saya sarankan strategi selanjutnya. Teman, perjalanan ini adalah perjalanan kita bersama. Bukan perjalanan saya seorang diri. Pastinya pencerahan bersama pemikiran ramai adalah jauh lebih unggul daripada pemikiran saya seorang. Untuk itu, dengan ikhlas saya meminta, runtuhkanlah tembok pemisah yang menjarakkan antara kita. Hanya dengan itu kita akan mampu bergerak ke hadapan, tidak tersungkur ke belakang.

    Oleh yang demikian juga, dengan penuh rasa rendah hati, saya merayu kepada teman-teman yang sepanjang tiga hari ini bersemangat menyusun bicara menyuarakan sokongan terhadap saya, memadailah sekadar ini sumbangan kebaikan kalian untuk saya. Saya hargai curahan kebaikan itu. Allah sahaja yang mampu membalasnya dengan limpahan rahmatNya. Namun, isu yang sebenarnya bukan isu saya. Bukan isu Mufti. Saya rasa bersalah sangat apabila masa dan pemikiran ramai teman-teman saya banyak berkisar pada saya, ulasan saya, pandangan saya. Cukuplah tiga hari ini kita meniup lafaz menyalakan bara untuk berbicara mengenai “Mufti” dan pandangannya. Jadikanlah satu putaran roda yang baru selesai ini kesempatan untuk menDEWASAkan diri, bukan medan untuk menDEWAkan sesiapa.

    Ada juga yang bertanya saya, kenapa saya hanya bercakap tentang adab? Bukankah isu utama ialah pemakaian hijab yang masih dilarang dalam sektor-sektor yang tertentu? Tidakkah sibuk berkata tentang adab hanya mengalihkan perhatian daripada isu sebenar? Terimakasih kepada yang sudi mengajukan pertanyaan itu kepada saya.

    Teman,
    mengusahakan perubahan kepada keadaan yang sedia ada dalam kehidupan bukanlah sesuatu yang mudah dan ringkas. Kita disuruh berusaha, dan kita dijanjikan balasan yang besar di atas usaha yang dilakukan. Namun insan beriman juga memiliki sepenuh keyakinan bahawa dalam perjalanan menuju Tuhan, keputusan mutlaq sama ada sesuatu usahanya berjaya atau tidak adalah terletak di dalam genggaman kekuasaan Tuhan. Maka begitulah juga dalam isu hijab ini. PM dan pemerintah telah menyatakan bahawa mereka faham betapa hijab adalah sesuatu yang amat penting bagi masyarakat Islam. Mereka juga samasekali tidak mempertikaikan pendirian masyarakat kita bahawa hijab adalah satu kewajipan yang ditetapkan agama. Namun pemerintah masih sangat berhati-hati dengan berbagai faktor yang mereka pertimbangkan, dan untuk itu belum bersedia memberikan kelonggaran yang kita harapkan. Akhirnya, siapakah yang sebenarnya berkuasa mengubah fikiran mereka yang membuat polisi berkenaan? Siapakah yang sebenarnya berkuasa menghilangkan keraguan dan meredakan kekhuatiran di dada mereka untuk memberikan persetujuan? Dan kalaulah memang kebimbangan mereka itu terbit daripada kerisauan sebahagian masyarakat bukan Islam terhadap tuntutan-tuntutan kita untuk beragama dalam ruang-ruang bersama, siapakah akhirnya yang berkuasa menghapuskan kebimbangan itu dan digantikan dengan rasa selesa mereka untuk memahami dan menghargai kewajipan agama kita?

    Bagi insan beriman, jawapannya jelas sekali. Allah. Maka dengan itu, dalam keadaan seperti ini, insan beriman semakin teguh pegangannya dengan Allah. Tidak sesaat terlepas dari ingatannya bahawa matlamatnya semata-mata adalah Allah. Dengan demikian, perjalannya akan diteruskan dengan berpandukan sinaran nur yang dipancarkan Allah. Insan beriman tidak akan sesekali mengejar impian dengan melakukan perkara yang dibenci Allah, merobek ikatan yang diperintah Allah.

    Teman,
    mungkin bagi sebahagian orang ini perkara kecil, atau bukan isu pokok bila kita berbincang mengenai hijab. Namun bagi saya, ini halangan pertama yang perlu kita atasi bersama. Pagarilah langkah kita dengan naungan keridhaan Allah. Pasti sepanjang jalan malaikat mengiringi kita dengan doa kemuliaan. Kalau ditaqdirkan sampai ke matlamat sempat merasakan kemanisan kejayaan, maka itu adalah kelebihan anugerah pemberian Allah. Tetapi kalau perjalanan diteruskan tanpa sedikitpun kesudian untuk mengumpamakan perintah dan adab yang digariskan Allah, ditakuti malaikat mengiringi kita dengan doa kehancuran. Bila berjaya, hati tidak semakin lembut mensyukuri kemurahan Allah. Bila gagal pula menabur cemuhan seolah-olah tidak wujud Yang Maha Mendengar, Yang Maha Melihat, Yang Maha Menentukan, Yang Maha Adil Dalam Memberi Pembalasan.

    Ada sesuatu yang saya pendamkan selama ini. Semoga Allah mengampunkan saya jika meluahkannya hari ini menjadi satu kesalahan dalam pandanganNya. Bahawa saya akan tersungkur malu di hamparan kemuliaan Allah sekiranya kemarin para muslimat kita diizinkan berhijab bukan kerana anugerah Allah, tetapi kerana jengkelnya hati orang-orang berkenaan mendengar desakan kita yang diisi cacian, makian dan penghinaan. Seandainya itu berlaku, maka sesungguhnya saat itu adalah saat kemenangan nafsu serakah kita, bukan kejayaan iman yang murni kepada Sang Pencipta.

    Mufti Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram

    Sumber: http://on.fb.me/1mVF1Hn

  • Constructive Dialogue and Constructing Legitimacy

    The government’s continued policy to ban the hijab should not come as a surprise.

    Yaacob Ibrahim said in his note that he wants us to continue constructive dialogue with him. According to Yaacob, he and the Malay MPs will then raise it with PM and the Cabinet.

    Constructive dialogue is a nebulous term. The best definition is an event where two or more parties speak and listen to each other to help everyone improve. A dialogue requires speaking and listening. The parties should have relatively equal power.

    But that is not how it works with the Singapore government.

    There are several key components to constructive dialogue Singapore style:

    1. Citizens provide feedback to the government.

    2. This feedback should be held in proper respect and decorum.

    3. Government representative listens to the feedback.

    4. Representative explain their position.

    5. Representative assures citizens their views will be taken under advicement.

    This is not a dialogue. It is a claim for legitimacy.

    But let us assume there is a constructive element to dialogue. Is being constructive evenly applied? Or is there greater expectation on one party than another?

    If the engagement is based on citizen disagreement with government policies, then the constructive nature applies to how the citizen engages the government.How does the engagement take place? What are their relative powers?

    The power differential is large. The government is the sole decision maker. Because it is held under the banner of being constructive, the manner, not just the message is important.

    Criticism would be considered negative. Instead, feedback should be given with proper deference.But what is also important is not the actual meeting. Both parties know how the other would react. Take yesterday’s meeting between the government and Muslim leaders for example. What was the meeting about?

    The optimists had hoped the government would make concessions. They attended the meeting with the belief that a decision had been made and the government would shift their policy. In this scenario, they expected the government to accede to their request prior to the meeting. The meeting itself was not to construct a new position. It was to listen to an announcement. That cannot be seen as being constructive.

    The pessimists (who were proven right this time), had expected the government to announce the policy would remain as is. Once again, there is nothing constructive. The only constructive argument made is that feedback is given so that the government may modify the policy in future. But this is not a new issue.

    There had been numerous discussions over 41 years. Where is the constructive agenda in the process?The pessimist’ assessment is however flawed on one significant point. They believed that the government met with Muslim leaders to inform them of the rejection prior to announcing it to the public.

    It is supposed to break the news a little easier. The argument follows that since the government took time to meet and announce it to them, it shows that the government takes the issue seriously.

    But that is not why they were invited to meet. Because what followed was more important than what was said during the meeting.

    When the government announced their rejection, they referred to the meeting to claim the decision’s legitimacy. Various media reports referred to the government’s meeting with Muslim leaders. They further indicated that the leaders understood the government’s decision.

    Halimah Yacob posted her FB page saying:

    “We had a very good discussion with representatives of PERGAS and the Malay Muslim organizations at Mendaki just now on the hijab issue. The leaders appreciated that the Malay Muslim MPs were doing our best on this issue…”

    The meeting was not simply to inform Muslim leaders of the decision. It was to grant moral authority to the rejection of the hijab. The government claimed that Muslim leaders understood the ban. That should mollify the community. If our leaders accept and appreciate the decision, then so should we.

    Constructive dialogue then was not a mere exercise to find a better process. It has always been a process to grant legitimacy to unpopular decisions.

    Zulfikar M Shariff