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Tag: MUIS

  • When Must We Be Tolerant And When Are We Asking Too Much?

    When Must We Be Tolerant And When Are We Asking Too Much?

    My friend related a story to me over the weekend…

    His company employed a Muslim worker for the first time since the company started. The staff did well and got along well with the rest of the employees. Not long later, my friend employed another 3 more Muslim workers.

    This is when things gets a bit complicated. The Muslim workers started asking for a prayer room and also longer lunch break on Fridays for them to attend Mosque. Not wanting to appear discriminating against them, my friend agreed and informed the team leader to re-distribute the workload on Friday so that the Muslims could go for prayer. The rest of the team members were then asked to double up. This cause a bit of morale problem within the company as others are unhappy because all are paid the same salary. Over time, the productivity of the team was noted to have gone down due to longer absence from duty.

    The office also has a pantry where workers could use during their lunch break. This time, the Muslim workers asked if they could have their own fridge and microwave oven since the old one had been used for non-Halal food. Again, being religion sensitive, my friend agreed and bought new items for the pantry.

    A year later, my friend noticed that there is clearly a separation in the company. There are different utensils and also washing items for Muslims.

    At one point of time, the Muslims workers even asked if they could have a separate pantry which by now, my friend openly rejected the idea.

    The workers explained that they felt their religion was not respected by others as they were using the common table cloth to clean the table after eating pork and the taps were oily (presumably lard) when they were using it. They asked if the management could stop other workers from bringing in pork/lard into the pantry and they are okay with other non-Halal food.

    Now my friend is in a dilemma. While he respect the Muslim’s religious obligation, he does not want to impose other’s religious restriction and deprived other of their rights. He is wondering where should he stop?

    Gordon Tay

    *Article first appeared on https://www.facebook.com/gordon.tay.75/posts/972387889460449

     

    Editor’s Note: 

    Let’s refrain from making insulting comments on this issue. It is a real issue, which also applies to other religious customs and cultural customs too. Where do we draw the line between tolerance and over-demanding? It is important to be able to have open, logical discussions about such issues.

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com

  • Arnold’s Fried Chicken: Cutlery, Plates And Utensils Used By Filipino Was Disposed Of

    Arnold’s Fried Chicken: Cutlery, Plates And Utensils Used By Filipino Was Disposed Of

    It has come to our attention that a post has been circulating on social media which shows a customer having a meal together with something that is not on our menu. With regards to this incident, we would like to officially state that we do not condone such actions and that the manager on duty did actually do what was required to rectify the matter.

    On 25 April 2015, a customer brought in her own food into our premises without our knowledge despite signs stating that no outside food and drinks are allowed within the restaurant premise. The manager on duty who was informed of this then approached the customer in question to inform her that outside food and drinks are strictly not allowed in the restaurant. He then provided her with a paper bag to pack her food and told her that it is to be kept away. After which, the manager then monitored them from the counter.

    After the lady in the photo and her family was done with their meal we cleared the table and disposed of all the utensils, plates and cutlery used at that table as per protocol for such occurrences.

    Rest assured that we maintain a very stringent view towards having no outside food and drinks in our restaurant and our customers are generally very understanding, considerate and well informed on our restaurant etiquette.

    Moving forward, we will practice more vigilance to make sure that such things do not happen again. We offer our sincerest apologies to all our customers for the anxiety caused. We seek your kind understanding and grace towards this issue.

    Thank you.

     

    Source: Arnold’s Fried Chicken (S) Pte Ld

  • Masjid Al-Ansar Tersergam Indah Semula

    Masjid Al-Ansar Tersergam Indah Semula

    Penantian penduduk Bedok untuk menunaikan solat di dalam Masjid Al-Ansar baru berakhir hari ini dengan perasmian oleh Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.

    Setelah hampir tiga tahun, masjid itu akhirnya dibuka kepada orang ramai sempena solat Jumaat hari ini.

    Masjid gah yang terletak di tapak bangunan lama di simpang antara Bedok North Avenue 1 dengan Chai Chee Street itu menjalani kerja pembinaan semula sejak September 2012.

    Keseluruhan bangunan masjid lama kecuali menara dirobohkan agar masjid serba baru dapat dibangunkan.

    Masjid itu pada mulanya dijangka siap dalam suku keempat tahun lalu namun ditangguhkan ke awal tahun ini disebabkan kerja meluaskan ruang besmen masjid untuk memuatkan lebih banyak kenderaan.

    Kos pembinaan masjid juga bertambah daripada $12.3 juta yang dijangka kepada $15.92 juta.

    Antara peningkatan yang dijalankan ke atas Masjid Al-Ansar termasuk peluasan ruang solat. Ia kini boleh menampung sehingga 4,500 jemaah berbanding 3,500 jemaah sebelum ini.

    Masjid itu turut dilengkapi kemudahan buat warga emas dan golongan kurang upaya seperti lif dan tanjakan.

    Bangunan sementara Masjid Al-Ansar, yang terletak di 161A Bedok North Avenue 1, mungkin dirobohkan bulan depan.

     

    Source: http://beritaharian.sg

  • Holistic Approach Needed To Fight Religious Extremism

    Holistic Approach Needed To Fight Religious Extremism

    Identifying weak religious grounding as a common trait among radicalised individuals here, national leaders yesterday reiterated the need for a holistic approach to counter the threat of terrorism.

    Speaking at the East Asia Summit Symposium on Religious Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said: “One common characteristic that has been observed among radicalised individuals that we have investigated in Singapore is that they possess weak religious grounding.”

    He added that this made the individuals “more susceptible to believing wholesale the radical exhortations that distort religious concepts to give their message of violence an aura of divine sanction”.

    Since the first arrest of alleged Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members here, religious scholars and teachers have embarked on a counselling programme to debunk radical ideas, said Mr Teo, who is also Home Affairs Minister.

    Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said that a holistic approach cannot only involve “kinetic power or arresting people”.

    Stressing the importance of showing radicalised individuals “the right approach to religion”, Mr Shanmugam said: “When you radicalise a person you are creating a human bomb … you can arrest and put him in prison, you can also try to de-radicalise by getting him to see the real aspects of religion.”

    While religious leaders here have been reviewing the curriculum and enhancing training of Islamic teachers, challenges abound, said Singapore’s mufti, Dr Fatris Bakaram.

    For instance, some preachers and leaders are reluctant to correct popular misconceptions “because they have this worry of being unpopular”, he said. He added: “Preachers and teachers have to stand up, have to develop their self-confidence, that they are part of the whole responsibility to guide youths.”

    Dr Fatris said that the young today exhibit an increased sense of “restlessness to fight injustices”. They should be given the right platforms to further their desire for social justice, he said. “The younger generation has the energy and drive to change the world, and that has to be acknowledged.”

    For instance, Islamic studies graduates have been employed as youth development officers in local mosques to assure young Muslims here that they have important and active roles to play in the religious community, he said. “When (the youths) feel they are appreciated, that they are given the trust and confidence to contribute, I think that will provide effective safeguarding them from being deceived by the extremists.”

    Dr Fatris added that while terrorism cannot be isolated as a “Muslim problem”, Muslims must not shy away from it. “We have to acknowledge that this is the issue of the day affecting global communities … extremist groups have been using, or abusing, the name of Islam … It is not to say that Islam itself is the source of the problem, but the misunderstanding of Muslims and their religion is the thing we have to address,” he said.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Yaacob Ibrahim Appointed Minister In-Charge Of Cyber Security, Cyber Security Agency Formed

    Yaacob Ibrahim Appointed Minister In-Charge Of Cyber Security, Cyber Security Agency Formed

    A dedicated agency for national cyber security will be set up from Apr 1, 2015.

    The Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore will come under the Prime Minister’s Office and will provide dedicated and centralised oversight of national cyber security functions.

    The agency will take over the functions of the Singapore Infocomm Technology Security Authority (SITSA) and some roles of IDA. Minister for Communications and Information Dr Yaacob Ibrahim will be appointed as the Minister-in-charge of Cyber Security.

    The CSA will consolidate and build upon the government’s cyber security capabilities. These include strategy and policy development, cyber security operations, industry development and outreach. CSA will also work closely with the private sector to develop Singapore’s cyber security eco-system.

    “If you look back 15-20 years, many sectors in Singapore were not cyber-enable,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean on Tuesday (Jan 27). “But today, if you look at any sector in Singapore, be it healthcare, transportation, power systems, water supply – they all are cyber enabled in one way or another.

    “And so, the cyber world permeates many sectors in Singapore and have become increasingly interconnected. And so, it is important to protect each of these sectors but also to have an overview to make sure the interconnectivities between all of these sectors, the vulnerabilities there are also covered.”

    Some of the immediate priorities of CSA are ensuring a smooth transition of SITSA and IDA functions, as well as recruiting and developing manpower talent. The high demand for cyber security professionals has resulted in a talent crunch.

    The agency plans to work with institutes of higher learning to build a robust and sustainable pool of cyber security experts, as well as improve the relationship between the Government and the private sector.

    Said Dr Yaacob: “So at the end of the day, the data that we collect – because we are transiting into a Smart Nation – is protected and safeguarded and in that way build trust within the system. The agency will initially start up with 60 staff, and will move some 40 staff from existing organisations over.

    “So this is a very important function of the Government to ensure, not only within the Government, but within the private sector that we are all connected. And we can level ourselves up to that capability where we can withstand the threat.”

    One key driver for setting up CSA was to respond to new and sophisticated threats, such as when personal data is compromised.

    Mr David Koh, Deputy Secretary (Technology) at the Ministry of Defence has been appointed as Chief Executive (Designate) of the CSA on Jan 1, 2015 and as Chief Executive, CSA from Apr 1, 2015.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com