Rilek1Corner

Tag: malay

  • Macpherson RC Photo Prove That Singaporeans Are Second Class Compared To The New Citizens

    Macpherson RC Photo Prove That Singaporeans Are Second Class Compared To The New Citizens

    Singaporeans are sick and tired of being made second class citizens in their own home.

    We thought we had made it clear in 2011 that we want the rampant immigration and the social problems it causes to be rolled back, but it seems that after the 2015 elections, the PAP are back to their old ways.

    When I first moved into my estate 20 years ago, I remember being greeted very often by my local Singaporean RC chairman and his members. They were always so helpful and anyone who talked with them felt at ease. National Days back then felt genuinely patriotic. We would gather and sing songs over food with neighbours from all the races, Malay, Indian, Eurasian you name it!

    But as the years go by, I saw my RC members less and less. Some retired, some moved out. New committee members replaced them. In recent years, I even see an increase in RC members of questionable nationalities joining.

    These days when I walk into my RC, I can no longer hear the graceful melodies of Teresa Teng being sung by our local aunties! The Karaoke Rooms are quiet, and the meeting rooms are quiet. RCs these days are more like places for people to ingratiate themselves with the PAP MP and their volunteers. Even these volunteers, many of them are unashamedly new citizens!

    Where has Singapore’s Gotong Royong spirit gone?

    I saw this picture and felt inspired to lament the passing on of Singapore’s golden generation. We are really living in desperate times.

    Source: All Singapore Stuff

     

  • Malaysia Sparks Anger After Banning Book Published In Singapore About Moderate Islam

    Malaysia Sparks Anger After Banning Book Published In Singapore About Moderate Islam

    Activists and authors in Muslim-majority Malaysia reacted with outrage Tuesday (Aug 2) after authorities banned a book aimed at promoting moderate Islam, as concerns mount about growing conservatism.

    The book, Breaking The Silence: Voices Of Moderation — Islam In A Constitutional Democracy, is a collection of essays whose publication was organised by a group of prominent Muslim Malaysians pushing a more tolerant form of Islam.

    The ban, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, said that printing or possessing the book was “likely to be prejudicial to public order” and “likely to alarm public opinion”.

    Anyone breaching the ban on the book — which was published in neighbouring Singapore — can be jailed for up to three years.

    Malaysia routinely bans books, movies and songs that may contain sensitive material regarding religion or sex, but critics say the government has been clamping down harder in recent times.

    The book was the brainchild of a group of high-ranking former civil servants and diplomats known as the “G25” — for the number of its founding members — which was formed to push back against intolerance, and some of the essays were written by its members.

    Mr Chandra Muzaffar, one of the authors featured in the collection, said the ban showed the government’s “authoritarian approach to Islam”.

    “It’s a collection of essays which is intended to show that extremists and bigoted thinking on matters pertaining to the practice of Islam in the country should be combated in an intellectual manner,” he told AFP.

    Ms Marina Mahathir, a rights activist and daughter of former long-serving premier Mahathir Mohamad, said the ban — signed last week — was aimed at silencing government critics.

    “It is about silencing anybody who has a different view,” she said.

    Critics say the government clampdown on anything deemed un-Islamic has accelerated in recent times as Prime Minister Najib Razak’s party seeks to appeal to its Muslim Malay base amid speculation elections could be called in the coming months.

    In July the hit song Despacito was banned on state TV and radio due to its racy lyrics after pressure from an Islamic political party.

    More than 60 per cent of Malaysia’s population of over 30 million are Muslim, but the country is also home to significant religious minorities.

     

    Source: http://www.todayonline.com/

  • Damanhuri Abas: Sempena Kita Melayu Dan Budaya Melayu Kita

    Damanhuri Abas: Sempena Kita Melayu Dan Budaya Melayu Kita

    Sempena Kita Melayu dan Budaya Melayu kita:-

    1. Kepelbagaian yang sempit tidak mencerminkan kematangan bangsa dan negara dan bercanggah dengan hakikat masyarakat berbilang kaum yang telah dan segar wujud di Singapura. Keindahan warna warni dalam bangsa melayu sendiri janganlah di kelirukan dengan kejumudan persepsi fikiran kita yg cuba membenarkan definasi melayu yang terbatas.

    2. Kenapa acapkali pandangan-pandangan yang bercanggah sering timbul dari Pemerintah. Dalam satu aspek seperti isu Presiden Melayu, kita disuruh bersikap inclusive menerima orang lain yang telah dimelayukan. Tapi dalam hal gaya hidup tidak pulak bersikap inclusive malahan sangat jumud and cetek pandangan.

    3. Bila lagi Pemerintah nak ubah sikap dan menerima setiap lapisan cerdik pandai tanpa pengkecualian dari kumpulan mahupun individu yang prihatin dan peka terhadap kepentingan bangsa melayu. Setelah 50 tahun menentukan kepimpinan melayu yang Pemerintah suka, apakah hasil yang boleh dibanggakan.

    4. Hari ini tidak ada kekuatan dan mercu tanda sosial yg seharusnya sudah pun wujud yang kita orang Melayu boleh banggakan. Orang India ada Little India, orang asing filipina ada Little Manila, kita tidak ada apa yang setanding padahal jumlah kita lebih ramai dibandingkan golongan minoriti tersebut. Di mana silapnya.

    5. Sikap curiga pemerintah terhadap golongan yang di luar jangkawan kuasa mereka harus dihapuskan. Ia bertentangan langsung dengan budaya melayu yang meraikan kepelbagaian, mementingkan gotong royong dan kesatuan tak kira siapa yang ingin menyumbang.

    6. Kita mempunyai hak istimewa dalam perlembagaan negara yang menjamin status melayu sebagai pribumi. Adakah status ini setelah 50 tahun merdeka menguntungkan atau sebaliknya. Sudah tiba masanya untuk kita mengkaji dan membincang secara terbuka dan jujur demi mendapat jawapan yg tepat supaya bangsa ini boleh benar-benar berdikari dan mustahil bangsa ini tidak mampu menandingi pencapaian bangsa-bangsa lain jika diberi peluang yang sama.

    7. Banyak isu yg lebih penting yg kita ketepikan dalam menyemarakkan sejarah kebudayaan bangsa melayu di bumi Temasek ini. Janganlah kita mempersendakan kemampuan bangsa kita sendiri dengan kejumudan minda kecil kepimpinan mereka dalam merumitkan sesuatu yang sudah menjadi perkara lumrah.

    8. Kita bertanggungjawab bersama untuk menyemaikan sifat kebanggaan kepada bangsa melayu kita dalam jiwa setiap anak muda kita. Sebenarnya terlalu lama anak-anak muda kita dikecewakan daripada merasai naluri murni yg terpendam dalam jiwa mereka. Mereka rindukan jatidiri melayu Singapura yang boleh dibanggakan. Menjadi kesilapan besar jika orang melayu yang bangga dengan sejarah dan budaya bangsa mereka dianggap tidak setia kepada negara. Ini bukanlah keindahan kepelbagaian bangsa yang termaktub dalam perlembagaan negara.

     

    Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

  • Academic: Calls To Make Malay Official ASEAN Language Futile

    Academic: Calls To Make Malay Official ASEAN Language Futile

    The proposal to adopt the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu) as ASEAN’s “main and official language” is a non-starter, and even futile. This call, made by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur on 26 July 2017, comes after a similar suggestion by his Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak in 2015 when Malaysia held the rotating ASEAN chairmanship. He made the case that Malaysia “need to show that the Malay language is a relevant and dynamic language that can act as the ASEAN language.”

    These calls will fall on deaf ears outside of selected audiences in Malaysia. In the first instance, ASEAN has adopted English as the working language since its establishment in 1967. This practice was later institutionalised in the ASEAN Charter in 2007, Article 34 of which unequivocally states that “the working language of ASEAN shall be English.” Revising this provision requires the unanimous support from Malaysia’s fellow ASEAN member states, most of whom may find it onerous to support a seemingly nationalistic cause to promote the cultural and linguistic heritage of only one particular member state.

    It is interesting to note that the ASEAN Leaders, in approving the Charter, opted for the term “working language” instead of “official language,” which can be interpreted as a sign of respect for the plethora of member states’ national languages. The adoption of any part of a specific Southeast Asian language as the official language would stir political backlash from other ASEAN communities, which may interpret the move as a form of political and cultural dominance. Arguably, the English language might be a non-native language of a former colonial power in the region, but this “neutral” attribute serves to unite ASEAN’s diverse socio-cultural make-up, providing a level political playing field for all member states.

    The fact that English is lingua franca has facilitated ASEAN’s interactions with its Dialogue Partners and the wider global community.  ASEAN can play a more effective role in bring the “regional story” beyond Southeast Asia and reaching out to other regions using a global language. In multilateral organisations throughout the world like the United Nations and World Trade Organisation, English is the working language. Thus, attempts to replace English as the working language with any other languages would rollback ASEAN’s gains in positioning the regional organisation as a global entity, and hamper future efforts to connect with the wider global community.

    At face value, Prime Minister Najib’s proposal is an attempt to bolster his political credentials by championing the Malay language ahead of the general elections due by May 2018. However, his actions cannot be summarily dismissed as a domestic matter because as an ASEAN Leader, he has the recourse to push this cause at ASEAN Summits. If he follows through with this unrealistic proposal at the regional level, he might force his fellow ASEAN leaders into the conundrum of having to defend the primacy of their respective languages and promote their language as ASEAN’s main and official language as well.

    Instead of focusing on the trivial, ASEAN should attend to more urgent and pressing matters of community-building. Playing up the divisive nature of language politics might fray ASEAN unity.

    The writer, Dr Tang Siew Mun, is Head of the ASEAN Studies Centre, ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute.

     

    Source: https://iseas.edu.sg

     

  • Singaporean Malays Should Endorse Dr Tan Cheng Bock As Malay So He Can Contest EP

    Singaporean Malays Should Endorse Dr Tan Cheng Bock As Malay So He Can Contest EP

    Halimah Yacob is considered a Malay by the Malay community. Therefore, we should not fetter about trying to say Halimah Yacob is or is not Malay.

    Instead, start by going to your local Malay community, neighbours, void decks, and convince your Malay friends/co-workers to consider Tan Cheng Bock as a Malay by the Malay community. (He does not need to be Muslim. Malay!= Muslim).

    Being part of the Malay community does not mean you have to be Malay by race, many Indians, Sarawakan, Peranakan, Javanese, Arabs can be considered Malay even though they are distantly related by race.

    As long as The Bock is legitimized as a member of the Malay Community, he would be eligible to run as President.

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com