Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools were established in 1979 with the aim of developing in students high competency in English and Chinese.
There are about 15 primary schools and 10 secondary schools under the programme.
The inherent nature of the two languages in focus precludes most non-Chinese from enrolling in these schools, resulting in a lack of diversity among the students.
Our common space is shaped by the friendships we develop in our early formative years.
Hence, I fear the perspective on interracial issues these students will bring into their working lives and when they assume leadership positions in various sectors.
Do they possess that keen awareness of interracial, interfaith sensitivity and respect that can be learnt only through personal friendship forged in their student years?
The aim of fostering higher competency in languages is now being fulfilled by the Higher Mother Tongue subject.
Thus, for the sake of enlarging our common space, let us do away with the SAP school system.
This letter written by Teo Tze Wei was published in ST Forum, on 25 Jan 2015
The above is what most Singaporeans woke up to on 20 Jan 2016 in this article here.
I am a Singaporean Muslim and my family have been in Singapore since the late 1800s. (Yes, Singapore was built from the ground up by Arabs, Malays, Europeans, Persians, Jews, etc. – not just the current majority Chinese) We helped build this country to what it was and still is – an outpost of rational modernity where people from all corners of the world can come to work on their business, freely practice their faith and build a home together that we could be proud of.
I would first like to address the headline of this Article. The TODAY Newspaper – with this one headline – has in my eyes reduced its integrity as a newspaper to that of a tabloid the likes of The New Paper. When its copies are given out for free it means its value is less than the paper its printed on. At the very least, The New Paper has to be bought.
Why do I say this? The writer SIAU MING EN who can be contacted here, has decided to sensationalise the speech. Now I know for a fact the Editor may also have a role to play in this so i reserve judgement on being solely the fault of the writer. This writer took it upon himself to write an article that effectively misrepresents the Minister’s words and alienate the local Muslim population at one go – how efficiently stupid.
When our country is facing a rising tide of intolerance from many faiths – the TODAY newspaper felt that selling more newspapers was more important that communicating as effectively and calmly as possible an issue that is inherently sensitive.
It in fact hid is the sub-header the following line
This tells me, as a graduate in Mass Communication, that the article was MEANT to inflame and outrage and therefore receive more attention – a tactic only used by the basest of journalists.
The TODAY newspaper, by allowing this article to be published, is effectively nothing more than a money chasing fear-mongerer.
Now I would like to pursue the text of what was ascribed to Minister Shanmugam. According to the article:
A sentiment among some younger Muslims that sending greetings to friends on other religious festivals or reciting the National Pledge and serving National Service are at odds with their faith.
I am supposing that the Minister Shanmugam has access to data that we are not exposed to but once again the writer has chosen not to furnish or pursue such details. This communicates that whatever the Minister said is true – something we as Muslims in Singapore recognise to be wrong. So I issue this challenge to both the Minister Shanmugam and Siau Ming En to furnish the data behind how much exactly of this rising tendency exists and what part of the Muslim population truly are at comfort with living together with peoples of other faiths.
The article also highlights portions of the speech –
…a developing trend is being watched with concern by the Government: A sentiment among some younger Muslims that sending greetings to friends on other religious festivals or reciting the National Pledge and serving National Service are at odds with their faith.
As religiosity sweeps the world, the Muslim population here is also growing “somewhat more distant” from the rest of the community, partly due to influences from the Middle East. Some people also feel that the democratic elected governance system here is “incompatible with Islam” and Singapore should be part of a caliphate, he added.
“These are worrying trends, and if these sentiments become widespread, the Muslim community that grows apart from the mainstream is not good for the Muslim community and not good for Singapore, with serious long-term implications,” said Mr Shanmugam.
As a Muslim, I see far more Muslims sending greetings to friends to other faiths than not. In fact – the majority of Muslims here laugh at those who insist on not sending greetings because of a misplaced ideal of religiosity. It is ridiculous because it isn’t who we are as a people. In fact we welcome the opportunity to engage with our non-Muslim neighbours as evident in the picture below:
The article on this actual overwhelmingly neighbourly behaviour of Singaporean Muslims can be found here.
With regards to the Muslim population here being influenced by Middle Eastern influences – I must agree to this statement. Religion whether in the Middle East or any other part of the world – is still the same religion. The only difference is cultural influences. For example, there is a rising trend of believing what works in Saudi Arabia should work in Singapore. This idea is empirically false. The geo-politics, history and cultural nuances between the Middle East and South East Asia couldn’t be more apart from each other. On this respect – I find it amusing that Muslims in Singapore are increasingly seen to ditch their own culture, even their cultural dress in order to dress themselves like Middle Easterners so as to be more religious. The idea that your cultural dress influences your piety is a laughable construct. For this – the Muslims in Singapore are wrong.
The article, only after pointing out the Muslims as examples of growing intolerance, goes on to say that the current model for Muslims in Singapore is a successful one and that we should cherish it. In media, we understand what is referred to as attention span. The average reader doesn’t read beyond the fourth paragraph. In this respect anything positive about our Muslim population only appeared after 5th paragraph.
Why are the above points on how the article was written a great disservice to Singapore? The immediate impact was the Muslims taking a defensive posture, demanding data and statistics to back up the statements in the article. This puts the Minister who is in charge into a difficult position because it doesn’t clearly portray his stand on the issue. It also pits non-Muslims and Muslims at odds into a game of finger-pointing. It makes talking more difficult and accusing far easier.
Ultimately it points out the the Today newspaper is more interested in sensationalising news than taking into consideration what impacts how and what they publish might have on the social fabric of our country.
To Muslims I say this – stop being the victim. You are not. Stand up and be counted amongst those who value life and peace. To the non-Muslims I say this – before easily drawing the lines in the sand consider that there is more to be had without doing so.
Yesterday my friend ada share with me this thread in harwarezone forum. This person called kingtiger2014 start the thread “WHAT THE FARK IS WRONG WITH THE MOSQUE??”
The person complain and complain say the mosque near his house is very noisy. Said keep chanting non-stop and that he going to report police.
Worse, dier very arrogant. Ada orang reply cakap he will be reported for sedition, this joker can say it is better like dat because then he can complain to the police about the noise…Dier punya anggek tak bleh angkat.
Orang talk about racial harmony, tolerance and integration…semalam Obama pun pakai ni country racial integration.
Semua wayang ah tu…You look at this. Apa tolerance ada? Racial harmony apa? This babi cakap it is his right to voice out his unhappiness…what integration you tell me?
What is wrong with the prayer calls? What chanting?
Ni binatang living in his own bubble tak nak ambil tahu tak nak belajar…dia tahu complain complain complain.
Haritu makcik Melayu kena complaint sebab of cooking ni masjid punya turn pulak!
Mana government? Suruh orang tolerant, give and take…apa Melayu always giving pe?
One of the reasons why Singapore has been so successful is because “it has been able to bring together people who may look different, but they all think of themselves as part of Singapore”, said US President Barack Obama yesterday (June 1).
“That has to be a strength, not a weakness, but that requires leadership and government being true to those principles,” said Mr Obama, who was speaking to 75 emerging leaders from countries in the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN). The group, aged 18-35, was the first to visit the United States as part of the Young South-east Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Fellowships announced by Mr Obama in November last year.
Mr Obama, answering a question from an attendee, was calling for an end to the discrimination against the Rohingya in Myanmar, when he noted that one of the reasons for Singapore’s success has been the Republic’s ability to integrate the different races.
“The one thing I know is that countries that divide themselves on racial or religious lines, they do not succeed,” he stressed. “Each country is different, but there are some rules if you look at development patterns around the world that are pretty consistent, and those are two pretty good rules. Don’t divide yourself on religious and ethnic lines and racial lines, and don’t discriminate against women. If you do those two things, you are not guaranteed success but at least you’re not guaranteed failure.”
Answering an attendee’s question about economic development in Myanmar, Mr Obama also pointed to Singapore. He noted that businesses know they can find a very skilled workforce here and the rules are “international standard rules, in terms of operations”.
Mr Obama noted that in the age of the Internet, when companies can be located anywhere, “the most important thing is to find some place where there’s security so there’s no conflict, where there’s rule of law and the people are highly skilled. And if you have those those things, then people will invest”.
The session lasted for more than an hour, where Mr Obama spoke on topics including America’s relationship with South-east Asia and Anwar Ibrahim’s imprisonment. He also spoke about his “special attachment” to the region.
“As a boy I lived in Jakarta; my mother spent years working in villages to help women improve their life. So South-east Asia helped to shape who I am and how I see the world,” he said.
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim has said Muslim youths in Singapore are contributing constructively to society and that the two self-radicalised individuals are isolated cases.
Dr Yaacob was responding to reporters on Saturday (May 30) on what can be done to further reach out to Muslim youths following the latest detention of a self-radicalised Singaporean teenager. Another has been arrested for further investigations.
Dr Yaacob joined 180 Muslim students along the Wakaf Heritage Trail, which is located around the Kampong Glam area. The trail was held by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, or MUIS.
Wakaf in Singapore is an Islamic charitable endowment, typically in the form of property, which is dedicated by a philanthropist for religious or charitable purposes.
The trail is aimed at getting students to appreciate the contributions of Muslim philanthropists and the significant assets they have left behind.
Wakaf Heritage Markers will be developed and mounted on the various wakaf properties to educate the public on these sites.
MUIS will also be working with National Heritage Board to share information online on the Wakaf Heritage Trail to allow the broader public to understand the heritage behind these places as well.
A group photo of the participants in the Wakaf Heritage Trail before flag-off. (Photo: CNA/Chan Luo Er)
CONTRIBUTING TO CONSTRUCTIVE ACTIVITIES
Dr Yaacob said the trail is an important exercise to remind youths of the origin and purpose of Islam. He said: “While we celebrate our heritage, while we celebrate our assets and our legacy, the message is this is what you can do as a Muslim to continue that legacy here in Singapore because at the end of the day, that is what Islam is all about.”
“A lot of Muslim groups are actually contributing to constructive activities, helping the poor, helping our flood victims in Malaysia, bringing food to the poor and the needy. By and large, the Malay Muslim youths are on the right track but you have these isolated individuals that we need to try to bring them to the mainstream.”
Dr Yaacob added that the community should continue to lead their lives while remaining vigilant. “If supposing there are some changes in your child, you must understand why those changes are taking place. I think that is normal,” he said.
“If tomorrow your child shows some rebellious behaviour you would want to know what is happening. If tomorrow he becomes slightly more religious, you would want to know what is going on. So I think that sense of vigilance is needed by parents, by friends, by school administrators.”
PLATFORM FOR YOUTHS
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of The Salvation Army’s Family Hub, Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob said that youths need a platform where they feel comfortable asking questions over content they have accessed over the internet, especially with ISIS being active on the internet.
“They (ISIS) have been putting up on the internet a lot of content, which are very very persuasive, very seductive and so we need to have a counter-narrative that these ideologies are wrong and that our young should be aware that they are being targeted,” she said.
Second Minister for Home Affairs S Iswaran, who was at the 14th International Tamil Internet Conference at SIM University, said that recent experience reinforces the point that the terror threat is everywhere due to the prevalence of the internet and that self-radicalisation is a challenge that Singapore has to face as a nation.
“The actions are of particular individuals who are susceptible to wrong teachings and wrong ideals but the consequences of those actions which are wrongful will have adverse effects on all of us as a society, regardless of the communities we belong to, regardless of our religious background,” said Mr Iswaran.
“We should not think of this as in some way stereotyping some community; it is a general challenge that we all face.”
Mr Iswaran added that the nature of the threat requires everyone in the community to be vigilant and step forward to take appropriate action when they see something that is of concern.
