The Singapore terminus for the upcoming high-speed rail (HSR) link to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, will be at the site of the current Jurong Country Club (JCC), the Government confirmed on Monday.
The Singapore Land Authority has gazetted the acquisition of the 67ha plot and the club will be expected to hand over the land by November 2016.
With the terminus expected to occupy only about 12 ha – or around 18 per cent – of the total area, the remaining land will be transformed into a mixed-use development comprising offices, hotels, retail and even residences.
This will work in line with plans to transform Jurong East into Singapore’s second Central Business District, with high-speed rail commuters being able to travel to and from KL in just 90 minutes.
While technical studies will be conducted to decide the exact location of the HSR terminus, it will be no further than 600m from the current Jurong East MRT station and connected by linkways, the Government said.
Two upcoming MRT lines, the Jurong Region Line and the Cross Island Line, which will be completed in 2025 and 2030 respectively, will also be within accessible distance of the new terminus.
On May 5, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed that the Singapore terminus for the HSR link to Kuala Lumpur will be in the Jurong Lake District in Jurong East. Details of the site however were not provided then.
While the HSR was initially targeted for completion in 2020, both Mr Lee and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak have said this timeline may need to be re-assessed, given the scale and complexity of the project.
I would like to address this letter to Farah AR and correct several misconceptions on the usage of pork/porcine apparel products.
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
To Farah AR who wrote about pig skin, she had shared about her experiences and her Islamic understanding in pork/porcine products. May Allah increase Farah’s knowledge and grant her insight to understand Islamic rulings.
I recall a long time ago when I emailed MUIS about the same query regarding usage of pork/porcine products such as handbags and shoes. This is fairly common among Muslims who may have accidentally purchased these products. unfortunately, many realized the truth only much later.
Responding to my query, MUIS stated the following:
The majority of scholars consider pig and all derivatives from it as heavy najis (filth), which entails the necessary purification of seven washings, one of them with a mixture of sand and water, for surfaces that come into contact with pig and its organs. However, the condition is that the surface contact is wet or moist.
If it is dry, then no purification is necessary.
Hence, wearing shoes or using things that are made from pig’s organs are not advisable since it runs into possibility of being wet or moist and hence necessitates purification. Without such purification, Prayer (salah) is not valid.
MUIS also recommended a good book titled ‘The Reliance of the Traveller by Nuh Ha Mim Keller’. This book can be easily purchased from online bookstores such as Amazon.
In my opinion, Muslims should strive hard to keep their bodies and clothes clean and pure; hence it is better for Muslims to wear leather that is originally permissible or derived from an animal that is lawful.
But, whatever it is – the most important is : CHECK IT OUT FIRST. It’s all about subjectivity, so you have to take the preventive steps to confirm whether it is pigskin or not. Some Gucci and Fendi might use pigskin, you’ll never know (actually Gucci did use pigskin for some of their ladies’ bags in previous seasons, which they did mention in the press).
In case of syubhah, don’t buy it. It’s up to you. But as a Muslim, I won’t be using anything pigskin.
To avoid future misconceptions, MUIS should make sure that Islamic advisories or fatwas are clear and easily accessible so that Muslims can easily refer to it whenever there is doubt. Also, MUIS should employ dedicated officers to manage public queries. Singapore Muslims should not have to wait 5-10 days for a simple reply that possibly require only 10 minutes to write.
We agree that Muslims need clarification from MUIS, and hope the Islamic organisation can be more forthcoming to address matters concerning the Muslim community.
When it comes to situation like this, clarity is key to avoid unnecessary misconception and anxiety.
Have you encountered a similar experience whereby you purchased a porcine product unknowingly?
Recently there has been some debate about whether Muslims can use pig skin leather porkducts. As many know, pork or products from pigs are commonly thought of as haram to the Muslims. While it is true that eating pork is haram (not permissible) for Muslims, the use of pig skin products is not haram.
According to religious authorities, various Ustaz and also MUIS, it is permissible for Muslims to touch or use pig skin products provided that the contact between the body part and the porkduct is dry. It is not najis (faeces) if the contact is dry. Yes, yes, no wet contact!
If either the body part or the leather porkduct is wet, then it is najis. Once you kena najis then the prayers you make to Allah will not be counted, no power already. To make the najis go away you must perform sertu which is Muslim cleansing with water and clay.
That is why my mother who carries a very expensive pig skin Gucci bag always carry a water proof shopping bag inside the Gucci. Whenever it rains, she will pull out the waterproof bag and put the Gucci inside. Pig skin is also common in brands such as Bottega and Kate Spade, so my dear fashionista Muslimahs take note.
So if you want to be a good Muslim and use pig skin stuff, you should be discipline enough to ensure that the contact is dry and pure. If you kena wet contact, you should perform sertu as soon as possible. If one feels that this is too much, then just don’t use pig porkducts, but do not criticize others who choose to use or touch it.
And no, touching of pig skin merchandise in a shopping mall is not haram, so stop acting like the khalwat police when you see fellow Muslim friends touching porcine goods.
Oh, I forget, there’s this issue of sweat or human perspiration in our weather…so Muslim boys out there with a pig skin wallet in your tight-ass skinny sweaty jeans take note!
All in, Muslims should educate themselves holistically on the teachings of Quran and Hadiths with guidance from learned ustaz, and not take an alarmist stance just because you hear pig or pork being mentioned.
Ms Nur Najwa Abdullah and the $279 pair of shoes she bought last year. She said she wore them for six months before finding out – by chance – that the lining was made of pig skin. — ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG
A Muslim woman who bought a pair of $279 shoes was incensed to find out, after wearing them for six months, that the shoes were lined with pig skin.
Administrative assistant Nur Najwa Abdullah, 43, is demanding a full refund from foot care chain Happy Walker, claiming that the sales staff had told her the shoes were made of calf skin.
Ustaz Firdaus Yahya, manager of the Darul Huffaz Learning Centre which promotes understanding of the Quran, said: “In Islam, anything related to pork, such as the meat or skin, is considered unclean.”
Islamic experts say while the use of pig-skin products is not considered a sin, a Muslim should go through a cleansing ritual if he or she has used the product.
Ms Najwa bought the pair of brown shoes from a Happy Walker outlet at Velocity mall in Novena last December. She wore them almost every day for half a year, even on a trip to Kuala Lumpur.
“I was very happy with the shoes. I have flat feet and it’s difficult to find shoes with a broad cutting that fit me,” she said.
But she was at Buona Vista’s Star Vista mall shopping for new shoes for Hari Raya earlier this month when she saw a store selling the same style of shoes she had on – accompanied by a sign stating that they had pig skin lining. “It was the shock of my life. How could this happen?” she said.
She complained to the Happy Walker outlet and told the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) about it. Muis advised her to discard the shoes and wash her feet with water and clay, a ritual cleansing.
Ms Najwa said she approached The Straits Times because she wanted to raise awareness about the issue.
Velocity’s Happy Walker outlet’s branch manager Teo Shu Tong, 57, confirmed he received her feedback. “The outside (of the shoes) is made of cow skin, only the lining inside is made of pig skin. We didn’t know about it,” he said.
“As she has worn the shoes for six months, we proposed to refund her half of the cost.”
He added that in Happy Walker’s seven years here, there has been no such complaints. The retailer, which has five outlets, no longer stocks the range of shoes Ms Najwa bought because the “workmanship is not so good”, said Mr Teo.
“Our new brands (of shoes) will not be made of pig skin lining,” he added.
Ms Najwa wants a full refund, and is considering going to the Small Claims Tribunal.
Such cases are rare. Muis said this is the first time it has had such feedback; the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) has not received such complaints before.
Shoe retailers Bata and Isetan said they usually have signs or tags labelling shoes that are lined with pig skin. Staff are told that they should point them out to Muslim customers.
Ustaz Firdaus said: “To a majority of Muslims in this part of the world, anything that’s got to do with pigs is something that is to be avoided. Even if you call someone a pig, it’s considered a great insult.”
Muis said the onus is on the Muslim consumer to verify what material a product is made of. Case executive director Seah Seng Choon said Ms Najwa’s story could be a case of false claims.
CONMAN ALERT IN JB PETROL STATION !!! PLEASE SHARE WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS !!!
This guy always at JB Petrol station.
He will be telling you his is Singaporean lost passport and need you back to Singapore to inform his daughter to bring his birth-certificate to JB for him to go KL to make another passport to back to Singapore.
Once u agreed to help him then he wants to loan S$50 for him to go to KL.
He will be given to you his daughter Ronita mobile (94360061) & his IC number (S7452512I) but all are BULLSHIT!
Please share this with your friends who frequent visit JB. Good Luck.
Thank you Vincent Chou for sharing this information. Please be informed that the NRIC given by this Mamat lurking around in JB is INVALID. He is a deserter from Singapore, currently residing in JB. A reader also revealed that his name is ‘Mamin’. To those who regularly top up petrol in JB, keep a look out and avoid such con artists.
