Baru saya katakan dua hari lepas. Ini buktinya. Walaupun segelintir saja yg diambil masuk dalam angkatan bersenjata kita anak bangsa kita tetap dapat mencapai kecemerlangan.
Syabas!
Tapi kita harus sedar dan jangan lekas terpedaya dgn tipudaya PAP dan alat sebaran amnya.
Masih hanya SEGELINTIR!!
Seperti kata onputih “A swallow does not a summer make” (Seekor burung layang-layang bukan petanda musim panas dah tiba)
Source: Mohamed Jufrie Mahmood
On a flight home from the Janaza of Muhammad Ali (ra), and wanted to pen my emotions while they’re still raw.
It was an absolute whirlwind. When we arrived at the center, it seemed more like a sporting event than a funeral prayer. Everyone was excited to have their ticket and take pictures of the occasion. In many ways, it seemed offensive. This was a man that I grew up adoring, and It was like seeing a family member go. To be honest, I had a really hard time forcing a smile throughout the day. But I thought to myself, one of the things that made Muhammad Ali so special was that he would make everyone around him feel special no matter how swamped or busy he was.
His family walked in and sat down one by one. Layla, Hana, etc. People surrounded them as if they were some sort of display taking pictures of them sitting in their grief. At that point, for whatever reason, one of the organizers recognized me and a few other scholars/preachers, and pulled us to be in the very front row.
Then there his body was. I imagined him walking through shouting “the champ is here!” It’s amazing that he has a presence even in his death. I stood next to one of his sons that looks exactly like him as his coffin was rolled out. With all the selfies with his casket, snapchatting, etc. around me, I chose to focus my eyes on my dear brother Hamza Abdullah who was one of those standing next to his casket. I know the softness of the heart of Hamza and could see the emotion in his eyes and wanted to feel that rather than the “I was there” euphoria. So I focused my eyes on the coffin of the champ, and the eyes of my beloved brother. Surat Al Fajr was recited as his coffin was moved. “Oh soul at peace, return to your Lord pleased and pleasing. Enter thou amongst my servants, enter though my paradise.”
The center roared with shouts of Allahu Akbar and La Ilaha IlAllah. He evokes that raw emotion even in his death. As Imam Zaid moved forward to lead his janaza, I couldn’t help but think what the journey of his soul must be like. That he’s hearing the shouts and the footsteps of the people around him. I pray that the angels are comforting him, and assuring him of his place in paradise. If there is any indication by the way he’s loved around the world, I hope we will all bear witness for our champ.
The reciter than read from Al Fussilat, “those who say our Lord is Allah, and remain firm, the angels descend upon them saying “do not fear or grieve, and receive the glad tidings of the Paradise you’ve been promised.” It was at that point that I broke down. I love the champ, and I also envy him. Not in a way that’s negative but in a way that I can only wonder if the angels would descend upon me with mercy and words of comfort like I hope they have descended upon him.
To be honest with you all, I didn’t know how much it would hurt to hear of the death of Muhammad Ali or attend his Janaza. I was surprised by my own grief. We knew he was severely ill, aging, and barely able to communicate. It was only a matter of time so why did it hurt so much? I still don’t know that I fully understand as many people have expressed the same feelings. But what I do believe is that Allah put the love of Muhammad Ali in the hearts of so many people. This is a special connection. It can’t but be divine.
I can’t think of anyone more deserving than him to have Janaza prayed in absentia across the country and many parts of the world. I’m still immensely grateful to Allah for allowing to have actually prayed in the first row of the janaza of one of my heroes.
May Allah shower him in His mercy, raise him to levels in the hereafter even higher than the ones he reached in this world, and join us with him and the one he was named after in the highest level of Jannatul firdaws. Ameen
I always wanted to meet him in this life, but pray it will happen in the next.
Love you champ,
Omar
Source: Omar Suleiman
For the last 17 years…. PAP Malay MPs have blamed me for discussing how Malays are discriminated in Singapura.
I have been threatened, abused, attacked…
They said I should not raise these issues.
That we should compromise.
Give and take.
That I should encourage the community to support them so their party would see them as being relevant and they can do more.
That discrimination is isolated.
And now….we are starting to hear regular cases of discrimination.
These cases are becoming common not because society is becoming more racist.
But because the Malays used to accept being discriminated and kept quiet.
We did not have any avenue to raise it.
The media would not publish anything beyond government narrative.
The Malay MPs would reject, ignore and give platitudes when told of racism.
Malay organisations are powerless and (still) do not want to affect their standing.
But now with social media…we are beginning to see how Malays are actually treated.
And it is when we start to speak up, when we reject these discriminatory practices…
When we resist…
That we will finally be able to change the situation Insha Allah.
Racism has been ingrained in Singapuran society and institutions for years…
It finally is getting the attention it deserves.
Source: Zulfikar Shariff
I propose a challenge.
Go to town. Ion, 313, Orchard Central, Wisma, Takashimaya – any mall in town. I want you to count how many Malay/Indian men and women featured on the posters.
Ok now out of town. Wherever you go in Singapore now open your eyes to it and really count. On the bus. On the train. On the commercials before the movie starts. On the newspapers. On the magazines. On the tv commercials.
Are you cool with that?
Because it seems to me the ‘Singaporean Look’ is a skinny Chinese girl with long hair and a big smile! ☺️ Yay and her boyfrend smiling right behind chasing after her is a slim fit Chinese boy with straight hair and a big smile! Tee-hee!
Are you cool with that? Seems to me we are. Coz if this was the US we’d bring this up and talk about it. Really, talk about it and fix it. But Josh this is Asia! And this is the Asian look! Ah, see that’s the problem right there.
As a young kid growing up in Singapore, I’d never see someone of my skin color rocking ads and headlines unless it’s Singapore Idol Season. I couldn’t entertain my first ambition of being an actor coz every role (although said open to all races) would go to the man with the Singaporean Look.
I do music, I do radio. I’m behind a microphone. If I had a dollar for every person that has come up to me saying “OMG I didn’t know you’re Indian!” I’d be able to afford a down payment for an HDB flat.In the industry, I’ve had peers get turned down gigs because they were too “ethic looking”. I don’t watch Channel 8 or Vasantham but… off the top of my head I can name you 10 Chinese local celebrities (includes Rui En). Is it just me?
Maybe there isn’t enough talented Indian and Malay celebrities. Or maybe we’re not given a chance to see them.
Who’s stopping them? Who’s saying no to these people? Who’s decided what the Singapore Look is?
I’m not celebrating Racial Harmony in Singapore till I get my answers and see some change. It’s 2016. Do not get complacent. I represent the next generation that isn’t gonna just keep quiet and nod my head and say it’s all okay.
Racial Harmony isn’t just about us getting along. It’s equal opportunities. Equal chances to shine. I wanna see diversity.
I can smell the smoke and tell that something ain’t right. Now I wanna see people move. Share that spotlight.
Source: Joshua Simon
So this past Monday, 2 days ago, I went for a job interview at a well-known halal bakery for the position of a cake decorator. As some of you may know, I’ve been baking for the past couple of years, doing wedding cakes and deserts. I thought that this interview was a really great opportunity for me to continue pursuing what I love.
The interview with HR went well. We had a great chat, talked about the baking industry, and discussed the role that was being offered so on and so forth. After looking at my portfolio she was keen to move things forward, and so was I. She shuffled up and down the office, making phone calls to coordinate a last minute meeting with the head of the baking department, who was 5 floors above the HR office. I waited for about 15 minutes for the head of the department, and at that point was really looking forward to meeting him. The HR rep then sat me down in a another meeting room next to the waiting room. These two rooms were separated by a glass panel, so you could clearly see what was going on outside.
So the head of the department arrived with one of his colleagues. I introduced myself to the both of them and we sat down to talk.
He looked through my portfolio, flipping through the pages very haphazardly. After a few moments, he proceeded to asked me, “Can you coat a cake?”, to which I answered “Yes I can.”.
Silence… Then he then said we could go up to the bakery so that I could do a demonstration. We stood to got up to proceed upstairs, but then he turned to me, gesturing his hands at me from head to toe and said,
“From what I see, and the way you look, and not trying to be racist ah, but you Malay, I think you cannot la”
I was stunned and I just froze. I felt my ears getting a little hot, but I didn’t want to lose my cool. I was taken aback and didn’t quite know how to respond anyway. I just kept quiet because I was shocked. He continued,
“You know ah, Malays ah they over promise, promise I can do this I can do that, in the end, cannot make it, after 2 days disappear.”
I answered him,
“Sir, I haven’t promised you anything. I think you should give me a chance”
By this point, I was extremely disgusted, angry and in total disbelief. He laughed again and said,
“Ya ok ok, we will head upstairs and proceed, then we see where we can go from there? Anyways you speak Chinese not? Cos mostly all my worker speak Chinese”
I answered that I didn’t speak the language but I could understand bits and pieces.
‘What the heck,’ I told myself. I had already come this far, I might as well finish this off and do this well for myself. We proceeded to the baking room where I was handed a bowl of frosting, a pallet knife, frosting bag, 4 layers of cake, and a scraper.
The department head left and sent in another colleague to watch me. He couldn’t speak English well, so we had a hard time communicating.
I asked him how he wanted the cake to be coated, to try to get a better sense of the technique required, to which he answered “Yes you coat, you coat”.
So I coated the cake, clean with standard edges and finish. He motioned for me to scrape the edges with a zig zag scraper, so I did. It turned out fine, the edges were clean and I did the best that I could. Not a single crumb in sight, neatly combed.
The department head returned, walking into the room, laughed while saying, “Aiyo cannot Llah”
He started talking to his colleague in mandarin, thinking I would not understand him. From what he said I understood that I was actually supposed to be shown a sample cake that I was meant to recreate. “Ni mei you gei da kan sample ah?” Nope, he did not let me see a sample.
At this point, I grabbed my bag, thanked them both for their time, took back the copies of my portfolio, and left.
I have no intention of naming or shaming this organisation and its people, but I would like to highlight that racial discrimination in the job market is more real than we think. I’m making a stand and sharing my story because I believe in equal rights and equal opportunity for everyone. How can anyone judge another based on general racial stereotypes? In Singapore, of all places, a supposedly racially harmonious and fair country? Particularly in my case, what I thought was ironic as hell, was that this company actually prides itself on catering to the Muslim community.
Are we going to start making this right or are we going to sweep it under the rug and just suck it up as “the way things are?”
The point I’m trying to make is that nobody wants to be generalised or defined by racial stereotypes. Racial profiling is unfair and unjust. We are more than our skin. We are actions. We are people. We are human beings with original thought and different experiences that have shaped us to become unique individuals with so much potential to offer society and the world. And yet I find myself, for the first time, discriminated against and not given a real chance for something I’m confident at, for something that I know sets me apart. Nobody should ever be told that they can’t do something based on the colour of their skin, but the sad reality is that this is real, and this is really happening.
Needless to say , I probably will never buy flour, cakes, pastes or anything from these people ever again. But I do wish them the best of luck maintaining their halal certification, and I do wonder how they will maintain their minimum Muslim employment quota.
Source: Sarah Carmariah