Tag: Dr Yaacb Ibrahim

  • Jemaah Singapura Gembira Dapat Beribadah Dengan Lebih Selesa Di 3 Masjid Kampung

    Jemaah Singapura Gembira Dapat Beribadah Dengan Lebih Selesa Di 3 Masjid Kampung

    Bermula bulan ini, para jemaah yang berkunjung ke tiga masjid kampung dapat menikmati pengalaman beribadah yang lebih selesa.

    Ini setelah Masjid Tasek Utara, Jamek Queenstown dan Hussein Sulaiman selesai menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan.

    BERITAMediacorp menjengah ke tiga masjid tersebut dan mendapatkan pandangan para jemaah tentang kemudahan dan prasarana baru yang disediakan.

    Ruang solat yang diubah suai lengkap dengan penghawa dingin. Kawasan dalaman masjid yang lebih terang dengan tambahan lampu dan kipas angin, serta kawasan luar masjid yang lebih rapi, dan juga papan tanda nama masjid yang lebih besar.

    Itulah antara perubahan yang dilalui Masjid Tasek Utara, yang boleh menampung 200 jemaah, selepas enam bulan ia ditutup bagi menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan secara besar-besaran.

    Kali terakhir masjid yang berusia 110 tahun itu menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan adalah pada 2008 kepada kemudahan tandasnya.

    Seorang jemaah masjid, Ahmad Mokhtar Mohd Shafi, berkata: “Alhamdulillah saya cukup bangga, saya rasa mengalir air mata sebab saya tak dapat bandingkan waktu dahulu. Alhamdulillah, orang yang datang sini tidak dapat menyangka tengok masjid ini banyak perubahan.”

    Seorang lagi jemaah, Saifulbahri Rasno, berkata: “Tempat ruang solatnya begitu selesa sekali, begitu baik. Dan saya rasa sebagai seorang jemaah, Alhamdulillah dapat menunaikan solat Jumaat di sini dengan begitu selesa sekali.”

    Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam Dr Yaacob Ibrahim dan Mufti Dr Fatris Bakaram menyertai para jemaah untuk menunaikan solat Jumaat pertama selepas masjid tersebut dinaik taraf.

    Menulis dalam Facebook beliau Dr Yaacob berkata dengan kerja-kerja peningkatan selamat dijalankan, para penduduk dan pekerja di sekitar Farrer Park dan Serangoon dapat beribadah dengan lebih selesa.

    Dr Yaacob turut berkongsi rasa gembiranya bahawa dua lagi masjid lama dan kecil, Jamek Queenstown dan Hussein Sulaiman juga selesai menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan.

    Masjid Jamek Queenstown. (Gambar-gambar: Nity Farhana)

    Masjid Jamek Queenstown yang dibina pada 1964 menjalani kerja-kerja peningkatan pada tempat mengambil wudhu serta ruang solat utama yang dilengkapi dengan penghawa dingin.

    Manakala Masjid Hussein Sulaiman yang berusia 115 tahun pula melalui kerja-kerja peningkatan kepada ruang solat utama, rupa bentuk masjid juga bumbung masjid.

    Namun sepanjang ia dipertingkat, kedua-dua masjid kekal beroperasi seperti biasa.

    Kos keseluruhan kerja-kerja peningkatan kepada ketiga-tiga masjid melebihi S$977,000, sebahagian besarnya dibiaya Dana Pembinaan Masjid dan Mendaki (MBMF).

    Ketiga-tiga masjid itu merupakan antara sembilan masjid lama dan kecil yang terdapat di Singapura.

     

    Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

  • Yaacob Ibrahim: Give Elected Presidency A Chance To Develop

    Yaacob Ibrahim: Give Elected Presidency A Chance To Develop

    Give the elected presidency (EP) a chance to develop and allow it to evolve, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim yesterday urged the Malay community, in particular, its youth.

    He made the appeal in response to a question during a dialogue with tertiary students on whether the upcoming presidential election, which has been reserved for Malay candidates, is “mere tokenism”.

    “I think, let’s give it a chance and see how it works because no policy is cast in stone. One day, the Government might change its mind and decide that this reserved election doesn’t work. You never know,” he added.

    “You’ve to sort of recognise the fact that we must continue to evolve and learn from the experiences on the ground.”

    Dr Yaacob was speaking publicly on the EP for the first time since the Presidential Elections (Amendment) Bill was passed last week.

    The Bill provided details such as the election period and the size of the committees to assess whether candidates are eligible to contest. It follows broader constitutional changes passed last November that spell out how a presidential election will be reserved for a particular racial group if no one from that group has been president for five terms in a row.

    The upcoming election is reserved for the Malay community, which has not seen a Malay president for 46 years since Singapore’s first president Yusof Ishak, who died in office on Nov 23, 1970.

     

    In his reply, Dr Yaacob, who reiterated that he will not contest the election, said his preference “would have been clearly an open election, where a Malay could actually win the EP on his or her own merit”.

    “But I think we also have to ask ourselves whether or not we are able to achieve that if we take that risk,” he added.

    He said tribal tendencies “are still very strong” and “run deep”, not just among the miniorities, but even among the majorities.

    “So how you ensure that the imbalance doesn’t become a burden on the minority is something which the Government has to think about all the time,” he added.

    He said the Malay community is concerned “not just about the president, but also Malay permanent secretary, Malay general… because we want to see representation across the entire Singaporean life”.

    “But we believe it must come about because of meritocracy. Even for the elected president, you don’t just pick up somebody from Geylang Serai – the person must qualify, the person must earn the respect of all Singaporeans,” he added.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com