Tag: hate

“Visit a mosque, ask a Muslim.”

In the media, you were told that Muslims are violent.
In the media, you were told that we are taught to degrade women and to be promiscuous and marry 4, force them into marriage, to beat them.
In the media, you were told that Islam is barbaric and bad things are implied about our prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
In the media, that is ruled by the people who hates Islam, because they cannot fathom the idea, that there is a way of life, growing exponentially and quickly, threatening to destroy the ideas of their corrupt worldly desires.

The hate for Islam and Muslims who are portrayed as blood thirsty, intolerant and extreme. However, the media fails to portray that that is the ideology of a small fraction of a fragmented outcast who only claim they are Muslims, using misinterpreted, incomplete Qur’anic scriptures to their political advantage. The media fails to report that the majority of us, 1.6 billion of us, do not subscribe to those disgusting ideologies. The rest of us, were taught from young that our prophet taught us to be loving; to love another human being, as how we love ourselves. We were taught that our prophet declares anyone who creates harm towards their neighbour as disbelievers. We were taught to treat plants and animals with care and compassion. We were taught in Islam to pray for peace upon whomever we meet, which becomes our daily greetings. Long before the Geneva Convention and such, almost 1400 years prior, our prophet has taught us that even in a time of war, we cannot kill children, women and elderly, no tree should be harmed, no animals to be killed unless for food, no place of worship to be destroyed, we should not play dirty, to uphold treaties, to be fair to our opponents, to treat our prisoners of war with respect and dignity, what food we eat is what they should have, to not harm an opponent who has surrendered. Islam teaches us to live and let live, and religion cannot be imposed upon unwilling hearts because matters of the heart is between the person and God. Islam teaches us to do good and be fair to everyone, even the very people who hurt us.

Islam is the religion which restricts us to marry of 4 maximum, at a time when a man can have unlimited wives. This is to increase the responsibility of the men towards women and their children. Islam teaches that if a man cannot be responsible for one wife, he shall not marry more than one. Islam brought women to a higher level, teaching us that wives are to be shareholding partners in a matrimony instead of being the lesser being to the men. Islam raised the rights of women to have rights in property and inheritance, in a time where women had no rights to them. Islam encourages women to have education. Islam protects women against the sexual objectification of women. Islam asks women to cover up and men, too, to lower their gaze; women are precious beings in Islam, a mother is mentioned thrice as the priority when one of the companions of the prophet asked him whom we must respect of all people in the world, before the father. Islam decrees that a women can object to marrying a man she does not want to marry, at a time when forced marriages were in most if not every culture in the world. In fact, in Islam, it is the bride’s custodian (father or brother), with her permission, who proposes to the groom during a marriage. The prophet himself treated his wives with respect, never did he mistreat them nor injure them. The prophet did the household chores, played with them, fed them, treat them with love and compassion at all times. The shariah law rules that if we injure our wives (no, we are not allowed to beat our wives in that manner unlike what you’ve heard) or even to go as close as to destroying their belongings, she has every right to ask for a divorce in court.

What if I tell you that the very people you are hating upon due to the misinformation, are the same people who are against terrorism as much as you? What if I tell you, in the main mosques around the world, messages of peace and love for all is always being emphasized? What if I tell you, that we pray to Allah, the One True God, who is the same One True God who Abraham, Moses and Jesus pray to, albeit when you call Him a different name?

Think. Learn.

Visit a mosque, ask a Muslim.

Credit: Syaheer

March 25, 2019
The Economist Got Reminded – Bigotry And Hate Speech Is Not Free Speech

High Commissioner to the UK Foo Chi Hsia has responded to an article by The Economist, saying it is not true teen blogger Amos Ye was prosecuted here for political dissent and not for making vicious statements about Christians and Muslims as implied in the report.

On Mar 30, The Economist published the article, titled An outspoken Singaporean blogger wins asylum in America, which talked about how a US immigration judge granted Yee asylum, and the reasons for doing so. The article cited the judge’s reasons, including that while the blogger was legally prosecuted under Singapore law, his prosecution served a “nefarious purpose – namely, to stifle political dissent”.

In a response published by the UK-based weekly on Apr 12, Ms Foo, referencing specific comments against Christians and Muslims made by Yee in 2015 and 2016, said The Economist may agree with the US judge that such bigotry is free speech, but Singapore “does not countenance hate speech” as it has “learnt from bitter experience how fragile racial and religious harmony is”.

She added that contrary to the suggestion in the article, Singapore’s laws on contempt do not prevent fair criticisms of court judgements.

“Singapore’s court judgments, including on Mr Yee’s case, are reasoned and published, and can stand scrutiny by anyone, including The Economist.”

This is not the first time Ms Foo has responded to an article by The Economist. In March this year, she took issue with an article alleging restrictions on free speech in Singapore, saying that no country gives an absolute right to free speech.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

April 13, 2017
Raising Children To Not Hate

Growing up in Kluang in the 90s, I never had much chance to go to the movies. I made up for my lack of cinema experience with VHS rentals; I would pass my father a list of sci-fi films and Japanese tokusatsu series to rent during school holidays.

Internet and film reviews were not as accessible as they are now, so determining age ratings and whether they were suitable for kids were mostly left to luck and the fast-forward button. Up until now, I still have not watched Lawnmower Man, Johnny Mnemonic, and Demolition Man.

But that was then. Nowadays, you can at least find out the age ratings of films through show lists in the papers. Those with access to the Internet can even find out exactly which scenes may not be appropriate for their children. As it is, film trailers already reveal much of the plot, sometimes too much.

Therefore, it is baffling why Malaysian censors still resort to the archaic practice of censorship, even after giving age ratings. What is the point of giving the highest rating of 18, when the film still ends up cut anyway?

The act itself reeks of masturbatory possessiveness: now that the censors have seen something they felt salacious, no way they would ever the let the public see it.

Alas, the public will — through pirated VCDs and torrent files, or even legal streaming services — still see what they want to see. In the age of Internet, censorship is moot save for satisfying your self-righteous ego.

It is as if they do not trust Malaysian parents to review which films are suitable for their children, and to have a family chat later explaining what puzzling things their kids may have seen. Because that is what responsible parents would do.

The problem, however, lies with many parents who have little to no care for their own children, outsourcing the responsibility instead to the nanny State. Which is how we ended up with the Beauty and the Beast fiasco.

There is nothing right with the Censorship Board’s decision to cut the so-called “gay moments”, even after slapping an age rating of 13 on the film. It is wrong not so much because it is not their job, it is wrong because it is blatant homophobia.

Let me put this in context: the “gay moment” was nothing obscene. Nobody had sex, nobody even kissed. According to the Board’s chairman Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid, it involved a song with Josh Gad’s character Le Fou, identified by the makers as a gay man.

“The way he dances is… gay and the dialogue and the lyrics of the song are too. In the same scene he also lifts up his shirt and shows a love bite on his tummy.

“Even I wanted to bring my grandchildren to watch it. But there are rules. We don’t support LGBT,” Abdul Halim told news agency AFP, proudly declaring his homophobia, as he made up this rule about Malaysia not supporting LGBT.

While Disney should be praised for its tough stance, I am not under the illusion it did so because of a pro-LGBT agenda.

It is first and foremost a company, and it puts its money where the market is. And the market nowadays yearns for diversity and inclusivity, which is why there was a black man in the 2015 Cinderella remake. And now a gay man.

But that is besides the point. Children should see gay characters in their films. They must be taught that gays exist, they are no different from heterosexuals, and should be treated the same.

The world is changing. The next generation is no longer chained to obsolete ideas still held by old men who would force their beliefs on others. And us parents must take up this challenge to keep up.

It warmed my heart to see a 15-year-old girl join the KL Women’s March last week. To be aware of feminism and women’s rights at such a young age, her parents did good. At 15 all I cared about were music and comics — the Kosovo War just flew right over my head.

There was a photo of her holding a placard saying she cannot become a prime minister, because all people care about is her lack of tudung, or headscarf. The irony was, she was then attacked online by both men and women who have stood so long in the shadow of patriarchy for not wearing tudung. For bothering with feminism. For even daring to dream to be a prime minister.

And that is the sad and terrifying state of our country right now, where women are being denied their rights, and when they speak up they just get kicked down again. As a parent and father, this is why I stand in solidarity with our fighting women, and why you should too.

Because what we are up against is decades of indoctrination by a patriarchal society that banks on religion to legitimise their dominance. And of course, religion itself is lending them more credence than they deserve.

Recently I participated in a forum organised by the MCA on the Bill to allow Shariah courts to impose harsher punishments. There, I had reminded the public of how our religious enforcers are oppressing our Muslim transgender citizens; just by stepping out of their doors, they are effectively committing a Shariah offence. Where is the dignity in that?

I got labelled an “LGBT supporter” instead, as if that was a bad thing.

But that is just because they are not aware, not bothering to understand that our understanding of gender and sex has advanced with science — that they are not binary between male and female, but rather a spectrum. It is much easier to let kids understand this.

As parents, we can try to rid the world of bigotry. And that starts by teaching our kids not to hate. And to respect, and accept everybody for who they are.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist, Zurairi AR.

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

March 20, 2017
10 Things To Love And Hate About A Government Job

Author’s Note

My interviewee once joined a government agency straight out from university, excited at the prospects of being able to help shape the future of Singapore. He left the organisation a couple of years later, feeling jaded but also thankful for the things he has learnt and contributed to. Following that, he swung to the other extreme to do sales in a fast-paced private MNC environment. Having been on both sides now, he’d like to share his candid thoughts about working in the government.

Note that his experience may differ from others in the public sector, and the culture differs between various government bodies too. This article hence seeks not meant to be a factual generalisation but rather a personal observation based on his limited time there. For ease of reading, it will henceforth be written in the first-person.

“Not for me now; maybe at retirement”

“Will you consider work in the government sector?”

This is the question I posed to 3 fellow Singaporeans recently, all of whom replied with a similar answer, “Not now, but perhaps later when I want a slower pace of life, or if I’m about to retire”. For manySingaporeans, a government job seems to have a strong stereotype of being slow-paced and bureaucratic. But a government position is typically well respected in most countries worldwide; you’d think that this will hold true especially in Singapore which has, undeniably, one of the most efficient government organisation in the world. Why then are so many locals dissing at the suggestion of a government job? Being there, I do agree that there’s some parts that can be better, but to be fair, it’s not all bad.

To set the record straight, allow me to share the 10 things I love and hate about a government job.

5 things I hate about a government job

1. Budget papers and long procurement processes

We have to start the list with the dreaded budget paper of course! To carry out any projects that require spending anywhere above $3000, you will have to write an official budget paper to justify the expenditure to get it approved. A moderate budget requires at least 2 to 3 levels of approval, and the process is dragged if one of the signatories is away. It’s common to have budget papers thrown back for better justification or re-wording (sometimes it’s down to grammatical errors!). It sometimes makes you feel like you’re submitting your communications 101 homework.

Once budget is approved, you’ll still need to launch a public invitation-to-quote on Gebiz*, and evaluate which vendor is the best. The entire whole process takes anywhere between 3 weeks to 3 months, which is a long time (it could take longer with tender processes if much bigger budgets are needed). The entire process is painfully slow and frustrating, and you’d constantly wonder why you’re wasting so much time and effort on the procurement process rather than implementing the project.

*Gebiz is Singapore’s government electronic procurement system.

2. Endless meetings (and minutes to write)

There’s a huge number of meetings that government officers are pulled into; there will always be multiple agendas related to your organisation’s industry that requires an inter-departmental or whole-of-government approach, but there’s only so few officers. Within my first few months in the job, I was already ‘arrowed’ to participate in various task force and inter-governmental discussions. Many a times, I was questioning why I’m part of the discussion, and it’s common to see some officers typing away on their emails instead of participating in discussions.

Then there’s minutes. Most meetings, both internal and external, require someone to document minutes or notes. There is typically a standard template to adhere to, and you may need to have to have your minutes vetted or approved. Writing minutes in this way, in my personal opinion, is a chore and a waste of time. While it’s important to note down key discussion points and next steps, a more efficient way is to send everyone a simple summary email with follow-up items.

3. Hierarchical… and some bosses still expect to be served

While the hierarchical structures are slowly giving way to modern, open-office concept, it may take another full generation to fully change this. There’re many stories of officers being told not to skip the chain of command, or being blamed for approaching another department head directly. I personally had been stopped by the Personal Assistant of my director when I wanted to knock on his door for a quick chat. I didn’t expect to have to schedule a time through the Personal Assistant to meet my own boss..

4. Urgency please?

The most common stereotype of working in government seems to be that things move slowly. It takes forever to start something (remember the budget papers and internal approval processes?), and it takes even longer to get everyone on board to implement a project quickly. Everyone has their own projects on priority, and your project seems to always be on the backburner. It takes numerous discussions for all stakeholders to agree on something, which would already have taken weeks if not months. If you’re a young officer eager to make your mark and shape the future of Singapore, I’m afraid you’ll have to be extremely patient as your enthusiasm is most likely to wear off before any actual work gets done due to the many layers of approvals required.

A side note to this is the way remuneration works in the government: one is sometimes “punished” for doing fast and effective work by receiving more work. On the other hand, if you do what’s expected well enough, you will enjoy a long stable career. Nothing fanciful, but it works. Maybe that explains the lack of urgency. To be fair, this is a common problem in many organisations, but in the government it’s especially prevalent, since hires and fires don’t happen as rapidly, and profits aren’t the only bottom line.

Maybe another explanation for the lack of urgency, is…

5. Strategy overdo

Strategy is a big word thrown out often too many times in the government, though the frequency varies among various organisations. While the job of the government is to develop strategic policies, it becomes frustrating when projects are always stuck at the strategy phase, or when long-term strategies change, ironically, every year. I’ve seen how strategic plans are revised multiple times a year to the point where employees roll their eyes when they hear the big word. It is especially frustrating when your personal performance indicators and projects are part of an approved strategy and is now on hold because management is re-looking into the strategy. With this in place, any form of urgency gets squelched for practicality: let’s go slow and see if they change their mind, again.

5 things I love about a government job

Its not all gloom and doom though, and here are the 5 things I loved about my time in the government.

6. Strategic thinking skills

Ironically, getting involved in strategy work also means that you get to develop your strategic thinking skills. Since any projects or policies you implement will involve taxpayers’ money, you have to make sure that it’s sustainable, fits into the bigger Singapore growth roadmap and pays off in the long run. While it can be frustrating at times, it did force me to think strategically all the time, and over time, it developed me to be more strategic, and think in a big-picture manner. Even the dreaded exercise of writing budget papers trained me to be focused in my thoughts, giving them clarity.

7. Leaving a legacy and making an impact on society

The impact you make in a government body benefits the society you live in. You’d feel good knowing that you’ve contributed back to society in a big way, having satisfied the inner desire to make a difference to the community. You’re not just working towards the bottomline of a company, but sacrificing your time and efforts for the greater good. There’s not many other workplaces where you can say the same thing, and it is deeply fulfilling and meaningful.

If you are in the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), you will be opening industries and attracting MNCs that will employ thousands of people. If you are part of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), you will be helping to build a futuristic smart nation. If you are in the National Environment Agency (NEA), you will be creating a sustainable environment for us and our children. And these are just three of the many agencies around. I once established a strategic partnership (during my days in the government sector) that brought revenue contribution to local businesses, and I felt proud knowing that it had contributed to the economy of the country, akin to leaving an important legacy behind.

8. Involved in latest events and community news

Being the champion of an industry (eg. Tourism Board for tourism) also means that you get the first chance to experience new stuff. If you like to be seen as the hipster who’s been to the River Safari first or launch of the National Gallery, then being part of the government is for you.

9. Family-oriented, good benefits, and lunch culture

The public sector is a family oriented environment in general, with generous benefits and family-oriented policies. Leave entitlements in particular trump many private sector companies, which is why it is the pro-baby workplace as most people know it as. It is also not uncommon for employees to take no-pay-leave for sabbaticals, or exam leaves for studies. And on the compensation side, there’s always the sweet 13th month bonus every year and the occasional mid year bonuses.

There’s typically a strong local (food) culture as well (you can trust Singaporeans to love their food!). I always look forward to lunching together in groups, sometimes even travelling out far for the best food. There’s typically no strict lunch hours, and there’ll always be celebratory meals for new joiners or birthday colleagues.

10. Gain global outlook and CEO exposure

Depending on your role and employer, public officers do enjoy quite a bit of opportunities to travel overseas for work. These could be market study trips, meetings or representing Singapore in overseas conferences and seminars. You’ll be exposed to international best practices, different cultures and they all help you develop a global outlook.

As a young, inexperienced employee in many other companies, you may not get a chance to interface with senior leaders in other organisations. However, because you represent the government of Singapore, senior business leaders are willing to meet you for various reasons such as gaining tax concessions for locating regional HQs here or to obtain government grants for their businesses. With the government’s trust in the abilities of its young officers, you could use the experience to develop into a well-rounded professional. For example, EDB is especially known for exposing young officers to senior management leaders of MNCs.

Concluding thoughts

When people ask me what’s the difference between my previous government role and the current private sector role, I have lots of mixed feelings. When I was in my prior role, I was feeling worn-out (and sometimes cynical) by the long drawn processes. I wanted to go faster and do more, but I felt hampered by bureaucracy. But it wasn’t all bad. In retrospect, I realised that the training and exposure I had helped me develop very useful skills that will carry me far. And I do sometimes miss the noble mission that every government officer is set on – the mission to create a better home for us all.

Every sector has it’s good and bad side. I sure have grumbles about working in the government sector, as with many others I believe. But I do admit too that it can be a great place for professionals to develop into an all-rounder and do meaningful work for their country at the same time.

Look beyond the stereotypes associated with a government job, and you may perhaps find your dream job in this sector.

*Article first appeared on www.17wakinghours.com

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

November 18, 2014