Rilek1Corner

Tag: madrasah

  • The Hypocrisy Of Racism And Multiracialism In Singapore

    The Hypocrisy Of Racism And Multiracialism In Singapore

    *when an old man hurls racist insults at a Malay lady*

    ‘Oh, this is a one-off incident. This should be condemned, but it is not reflective of our society at all.’

    *when madrasah kids are labeled extremists*

    ‘Oh, that is just one sick dude’s comments. Ignore him.’

    *when building a fence is suggested to cordon off foreign workers*

    ‘You must understand the context of the post. She is not racist; in fact, she gets along with the foreign workers in her ward very well!’

    *when an influential person remarks that Malays and Indians cannot speak English well*

    ‘His comments were taken out of context. Let us not be so quick to judge others.’

    *when racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic comments are made (on Facebook) on the comments sections of ST articles*

    ‘Those are just keyboard warriors. Who hide behind anonymity. Most Singaporeans are not like that.’

    ———

    *when there is one incident of Malays at a wedding standing up for a Chinese funeral procession that was passing by*

    ‘This is what makes Singapore, Singapore. *tears a bit* I love this country. Multiracialism, at its best. Majulah Singapura!’

     

    Source: Walid J. Abdullah

  • Angry Abang: Malay Community Must Not Look Down On Members Who Speak Malay

    Angry Abang: Malay Community Must Not Look Down On Members Who Speak Malay

    So everyone is talking about this Coco girl who is faking her accent to claim that she is mix. And everyone is like slamming her for it. Some people are going to the extent of saying that she is forgetting her roots and that she is just some Malay minah.

    I would just like to then ask a question—How about the Malays who are being fucking put down for TRYING to speak MALAY, but now feel inferior, cos people keep saying that they have a funny accent?

    Bear with me…. I am trying to make my point.

    I am MALAY. I am fucking proud to be a MALAY, because I believe that the MELAYUS have a rich culture and tradition. However, I have a problem. I have a speech problem. It was hard for me to admit it back then, but thanks to the people around me, I am slowly gaining the confidence to speak the language.

    It all started with my life in primary school. Not to sound pompous, but somehow, I was among the few Malays who got into the A class. I was in primary 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A. My father was a very strict man (actually he still is). If I were to drop in my grades back then, I would have to answer to the buckle of the belt. So that explains my grades, and my overachieving nature in primary school. Being the few Malays in my class, and a painfully shy one, my close friends are therefore those in the same class as me; all of them are non-Malays. I did try to mix with the Malays from the other classes during the common Malay Language classes. However, the Malays in the other classes weren’t so open to making friends with me, cos they say “I eat ‘babi’ with the students in my class, and therefore I am haram”. So I spoke a lot more English and a bit of Mandarin in primary school. However, I did well in Malay writing classes—I even have a few of my writings published in the newspaper… My mum even had them laminated and stuck onto the fridge till today. But I couldn’t speak Malay fluently.

    In secondary school, I had to take Malay O level twice cos the first time I took it, I scored C5 for the first attempt… and having Malay teachers who literally slept in class wasn’t helping the situation. But I finally managed to get A2 in the end. The oral examiners weren’t so impressed with the way I spoke in Malay.

    In Madrasah, there is also the equivalent of PSLE. For the oral examination, you had to read a few pages of the Quran, which I did. In my head, I thought I did okay… that is until the Ustazah, who is the teacher, openly asked me if I had mixed parentage. I innocently told her that my father is Malay and my Mother is Javanese. I had no idea why she asked the question in the first place. She then asked her next question—Abeh kenapa awak baca Quran macam ada slang? (translation—Why are you reading the Quran with an accent?).

    Many years ago, I was also dropped out of a Malay production because apparently my accent couldn’t be improved within the rehearsal period.

    Then I also attended an audition for another Malay stage production. During the audition, I was asked to do a monologue in Malay. I did. At the end of the audition, the director, asked me in a condescending tone, “when you sleep, do you dream in Malay or English?” At this point the other panellists started laughing. I remembered walking out of the audition room feeling humiliated and hopeless. I remembered cursing the production and hoping that it would never fucking make it to stage… this is something that I am not proud of. Anyway, the production never did make it to stage. I also remembered wanting to give up speaking Malay or ever wanting to do any production in Malay.

    However…

    I persevered. I still kept on speaking the language even though I have to, most of the time, struggle a lot. And I am not afraid to claim out loud that I am Malay. And right now, I am using my company A.D.I Concept as a platform to front productions that explore Malay cultures, tradition and the different superstitious beliefs. I am still trying to improve on my Malay, even though the accent is still stuck there.

    The point I want to make out of this long post is… There are MALAYS who are fucking trying to be proud of the language and culture and tradition. WE ARE FUCKING TRYING. SO BEAR THAT IN MIND BEFORE YOU PUT US DOWN JUST COS WE HAVE AN ACCENT. WE ARE FUCKING TRYING.

    Terima kasih kerana sudi membaca. Thank you for reading.

     

    Source: Adi Jamaludin

  • Mohd Khair: Madrasah Wak Tanjong Perlukan Dana $12 Juta, Pertimbangan Diperlukan

    Mohd Khair: Madrasah Wak Tanjong Perlukan Dana $12 Juta, Pertimbangan Diperlukan

    Madrasah Wak Tanjong memerlukan SGD12juta

    Amat menyentuh hati sekali apabila ramai yang mahu membantu pihak Madrasah Wak Tanjong mengumpul dana SGD12juta itu.

    Namun, walau apapun cara untuk mengumpul dana, beberapa perkara asas mungkin perlu diberikan pertimbangan:

    1. Persaingan (Competition): Terdapat beberapa projek lain dalam masyarakat yang juga memerlukan dana dalam pelbagai saiz. Ada yang memerlukan lebih dari SGD12juta bagi satu projek.

    2. Andaian (Assumption): Periksa pemahaman kita terhadap pasaran. Nilai semula andaian-andaian yang boleh jadi blindspot sehingga usaha mengumpul dana mengalami lebih friction dan kurang traction.

    3. Perkara Hati (Matters of the Heart): Kerja-kerja mengumpul dana memerlukan lebih usaha untuk menyentuh hati dan bukan setakat menarik perhatian akal. Pendekatan lebih bersifat affective diperlukan, dan bukan setakat cognitive.

    4. Kenapa ini dan bukan itu? (Why this and not that?): Mahu tidak mahu, sesiapapun yang kumpul dana, perlu tangani persoalan ini – “kenapa mesti saya derma di sini dan bukan di sana?” Apakah “compelling story” yang boleh disajikan kepada pasaran penderma?

    5. Kreativiti & Tenaga (Creativity & Sustainability): Apakah LAGI yang perlu dilakukan untuk terus kekal relevan di sepanjang tempoh pengumpulan dana agar pasaran penderma tidak berasa jemu? Perlu kreatif untuk sentiasa segar dan dapat terus bertahan dalam pasaran.

    (kalau projek ini ada kabel kuat, pendekatannya berlainan sedikit)

     

    Source: Mohd Khair

  • Madrasah Student Attacks: Descendant Of Arab-Muslim Aljunied Family Pays For Lawyer To Represent Accused

    Madrasah Student Attacks: Descendant Of Arab-Muslim Aljunied Family Pays For Lawyer To Represent Accused

    A member of one of Singapore’s oldest Arab-Muslim families has stepped forward to pay for a lawyer for the security officer accused of attacking three madrasah students.

    The entrepreneur, who wants to be anonymous, is in his 40s and comes from the Aljunied family – descendants of Singapore’s first Arab settler Syed Omar Ali Aljunied, who built Singapore’s first mosque, and his family.

    He told The Sunday Times that he is stumping up the money “purely out of love and compassion”.

    Security officer Koh Weng Onn, 48, was charged earlier this month with kicking a 16-year-old girl in the thigh in what court papers called a “racially aggravated” act.

    He was also accused of swinging a plastic bag containing a filled 1.5-litre water bottle at two 14-year-old girls in separate attacks, hitting them in the face.

    The donor said he made his decision after hearing of Koh’s arrest and got in touch with lawyer Sunil Sudheesan, who will be representing Koh.

    He has not met the accused’s family. He said he was inspired by his forefathers, who had built madra- sahs, mosques and churches in Singapore. “I’m sure my forefathers would have done the same (for Koh),” he said.

    The father of two children aged 13 and 11 added: “I want to inspire (in) them that ignorance and anger can only be neutralised with acts of compassion and love and mercy.”

    In the aftermath of the attacks, government and community leaders of all races have stressed that racially motivated acts of violence will not be condoned, urging communities to stand united against such acts.

    The accused’s older brother, Mr Mohammad Johan Koh, said: “I was very surprised to hear this – that a kind person wanted to help.”

    He did not expect to find out that the anonymous person was from the Arab-Muslim community.

    The 49-year-old relief security guard added that his family hope to send their appreciation to the man, and to thank him in person.

    “We know our financial condition; even if we decided to get a lawyer, we might not have been able to pay the legal fees,” he said.

    Mr Sudheesan, of law firm Quahe Woo and Palmer, said it is quite rare for an anonymous benefactor to offer to pay for an accused’s full legal representation. He added: “It’s humbling that someone thought well enough of me to recommend me to the benefactor.”

    Koh has been remanded for psychiatric observation. The case is scheduled to be mentioned tomorrow.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Madrasah Students Are More Than Just Future Religious Teachers

    Madrasah Students Are More Than Just Future Religious Teachers

    It’s funny when you hear people saying that madrasah students will eventually become religious teachers or even become jobless. The reality is somewhat different. Most madrasah graduates today are professionals in so many different fields. Many are graduates of top universities locally and globally, specializing in fields within the sciences and humanities. Their parents are in high positions in diverse sectors of the Singaporean economy (just for the record: my two daughters are in two different madrasahs).

    So the next time you encounter a madrasah student, do ask the kid in tudung or songkok what he/she wants to be someday. You will be surprised that their dreams are no different from any ordinary student in secular schools. Let’s keep our minds open and our biases closed.

     

    Source: Khairudin Aljunied