A screenshot of a Singaporean Muslim lady posting a twitter update saying a caucasian man pulled off her hijab at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station yesterday (August 26). To her horror, no eyewitnesses helped her. A police report has since been lodged.
Source: http://statestimesreview.com
In his Malay speech for the National Day Rally last Sunday (Aug 23), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the Government will provide more support to madrasahs in Singapore, especially in strengthening the teaching of secular subjects in these schools.
Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah principal Herman Cher Ma’in has welcomed the initiatives and said the funding provided will be used to improve teaching skills.
“We do not have the details about the initiative’s implementation. What we can do later is to sit together with MUIS and identify training courses in secular subjects – that will be one area in which we can work closely with MUIS,” he said. “There is also scope for us to explore customised training for our teachers to hand-hold them to teach better in secular subjects to make them more effective.”
He added: “Under the Joint Madrasah System, we are looking at how we can standardise the curriculum within the three madrasahs. But each madrasah is unique, so we need to value the uniqueness of each madrasah.
“For the Joint Madrasah System, work is in place to ensure the curriculum is meaningful for the children to ensure they are successful … In this sense, the curriculum needs to be looked at, and we can also look into how we can make the assessment more rigorous. And with the assistance of the Ministry of Education and MUIS, working in partnership, I believe we can do that.”
Since 2008, MUIS has spent more than S$3 million on teacher training programmes. This includes both the structured programmes organised in partnership with the National Institute of Education (NIE) and Edith Cowan University in Australia, workshops and seminars.
REACTIONS FROM FORMER STUDENTS
Currently, there are about 3,500 students enrolled in six madrasahs in Singapore.
Former madrasah student Hazimah Mohd Nordin said the additional support will help boost the standards of secular learning. The laboratory executive at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore said: “During my time, 10 years ago, they had mathematics and science, but it was not really up to standard yet as compared to now. Now, it’s really very good for the students.
“Mostly, I had to learn from outside, from my tutor and the tuition centre, which also had a science lab. We didn’t have a science lab last time in my school. But they did support me when I (told them) I’m studying outside (and that) after school, I have to rush to the tuition centre. They understood that they didn’t have the resources to support me.”
Her sentiments are shared by former madrasah student Nur Fathin, who is currently pursuing her Masters in Islamic Banking and Finance in Malaysia. She said that it is important to achieve a balance between religious and secular studies.
“For madrasah students, it’s really a necessity for them to equip themselves with secular subjects because living in Singapore, we are facing various challenges,” she said. “We are not just a single-religion community, we are multi-religious. With the secular subjects like maths, science and all that, we can still remain relevant, we can complement the knowledge and help the society.”
This was also highlighted by the Mufti of Singapore Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram on Sunday.
Dr Fatris said it is important to train madrasah teachers to be competent in both religious and secular subjects to guide the Muslim community forward.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
Masyarakat Melayu/Islam Singapura banyak meraih kemajuan dan kecemerlangan, hasil kerja keras dan kerjasama dengan pemerintah untuk mencapainya.
AP GRC Marine Parade, Profesor Madya Fatimah Lateef berkata demikian hari ini di sidang media yang diadakan untuk memperkenalkan secara rasmi barisan calon PAP bagi GRC Marine Parade dalam Pilihan Raya Umum akan datang.
Namun beliau turut menekankan bahawa “masih terdapat golongan yang memerlukan bantuan kita semua”.
“Jadi inilah golongan yang harus kita dekati dan bantu mereka, tetapi jangan lupa tentang golongan yang atas juga. Mereka juga perlu penglibatan kita. Dan kita akan selalu mendekati setiap golongan dan lapisan masyarakat,” tambah beliau.
MODEL ‘M’ UNTUK DEKATI RAKYAT DAN PENDUDUK
Profesor Madya Fatimah turut mendedahkan model ‘6M’ yang membawa kepada konsep berteraskan keluarga yang diterapkan dalam GRC Marine Parade.
M yang pertama, ujar beliau, ialah menukar minda.
“Kalau kita boleh mengubah minda kita, kita juga boleh mengubah cara kehidupan kita. Inilah yang saya terapkan dalam keluarga-keluarga yang saya dekati dan bantu,” jelas beliau.
M yang kedua pula ialah motivasi. Profesor Madya Fatimah berkata, keluarga-keluarga yang terjerat dalam lingkaran kemiskinan harus dibantu.
Mereka harus ada sikap yang ingin meningkatkan diri dan bertambah baik setiap tahun, bukan sahaja untuk diri sendiri, tetapi juga untuk keluarga mereka, katanya. Dan maka itu, motivasi adalah elemen yang begitu penting.
“Kita sebagai Anggota Parlimen memberi mereka motivasi itu, jalan bersama mereka, pegang tangan mereka dan pimpin mereka bersama,” kata beliau.
Menurut beliau lagi, masyarakat Melayu/Islam tempatan boleh menjadi global dan dikenali kerana diberikan wadah untuk terus maju di Singapura, dalam masyarakat majmuk.
Dengan sistem meritokrasi di Singapura, mereka dengan latar belakang yang susah dapat maju ke hadapan disebabkan oleh kegigihan dan ketekunan untuk meningkatkan diri, kata Profesor Madya Fatimah.
Profesor Madya Fatimah berkata: “M selanjutnya ialah kita harus maju bersama-sama.”
“Yang kuat tolong yang lemah. Yang kaya tolong yang susah. Ini adalah satu model kolaborasi yang baik, dan itulah yang kita terapkan dalam GRC Marine Parade,” katanya.
Profesor Madya Fatimah merumuskan perincian tentang model ‘M’ dengan menjelaskan tentang membuat kemudahan atau memudahkan.
“Apa-apa yang susah difahami oleh masyarakat, kita ‘simplify’ atau membuatnya senang untuk difahami,” katanya.
Profesor Madya Fatimah, yang sudah berkhidmat di GRC Marine Parade sejak 2006, menekankan bahawa untuk menerapkan kesemua ‘6M’, para AP perlu terus mendekati masyarakat.
Beliau berusia 49 tahun dan bertugas sebagai seorang doktor dan konsultan di Hospital Besar Singapura. Beliau juga Timbalan Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Parlimen Pemerintah (GPC) bagi Kesihatan.
Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg
Multiculturalism, equality and unity were the key messages of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s speech in Malay for the National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 23).
Mr Lee opened his speech emphasising what Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew promised in 1965: That all Singaporeans will have equal chances to progress. He then shared an anecdote that involved Mr Lee and a Malay journalist when Singapore gained independence.
“Two days later, Mr Lee held a press conference with Malay journalists. Before asking his first question, a journalist addressed Mr Lee as ‘Tuan Perdana Menteri’. Mr Lee immediately replied: ‘Please do not address me as Tuan Perdana Menteri, but just as usual, Saudara Lee. It is not necessary. I am not a Syed like Syed Jaafar Albar. I am a common man, a small man.’
“Mr Lee’s remark set the tone for our society in Singapore; That we will be equal, egalitarian, That we will work side by side, That we will build Singapore together,” said PM Lee.
Mr Lee said that promise is achieved today, citing two Malay airforce pilots – Captain Muhammad Azlan and Captain Muhammad Iskandar Dzulfadhli Abdul Rahman – as examples of successful Malays.
The Prime Minister also spoke about how madrasahs play an important role in nurturing religious scholars and teachers, and that he is happy to see that madrasah standards have gone up especially with the Joint Madrasah System.
He added that the Government would like to help madrasahs improve further, especially in providing financial support to strengthen the teaching and learning of secular subjects.
“We will leave religious education to MUIS and the community, but the Government can help in secular subjects like Mathematics and Science. It is important for our religious scholars and leaders to have a good grounding in non-religious subjects. It prepares them to guide Singapore Muslims to live in a modern, technological society,” he said.
“We will work with MUIS to strengthen the teaching of secular subjects in madrasahs. We will provide financial support to upgrade teachers of secular subjects and fund awards for students who do well in secular subjects.”
In a statement, MUIS said it welcomes the move and that it would work with Government agencies on the details. Said MUIS senior director of madrasahs Razak Lazim: “Recent news reports of successful students in fields like medicine are also testament that our madrasahs produce students with a strong grounding in secular subjects, and who are ready to step forward to contribute to the modern economy.”
Mr Lee also said that the Malay-Muslim community is an integral part of Singapore, and it can be proud of its achievements, especially its contributions to building a more cohesive multiracial society.
“50 years on, I am touched and proud to see many Malays especially the young expressing heartfelt love for Singapore openly. They appreciate and uphold our multi-racial society.”
Moving forward, Mr Lee urged the community to continue strengthening those multi-racial ties for the betterment of Singapore.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
The Republic’s housing programme has helped more than 90 per cent of HDB dwellers own their flats, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted that a small group still live in rental units.
In his speech in Malay for the National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 23), Mr Lee said that within this group, the Malay community is over-represented and many are young families with marital and financial problems – including those who may have bought a flat before, but have since gotten divorced and now live in rental flats.
Elaborating on the issue in his English-language speech, Mr Lee said the Government cannot give these households another grant to buy another flat, as they had already received subsidies on their first flat.
“So they will find it difficult to afford another flat. I am very concerned about the future of this group. Without help, a flat of their own may be permanently out of reach. They will be trapped in poverty and their children will be affected. And you perpetuate the problem into the next generation,” Mr Lee said.
FRESH START HOUSING SCHEME: A new scheme that will aim to help second-timer rental households own a two-room flat. PM Lee Hsien Loong explains the details at #NDRsg. http://bit.ly/1Ed1XR7
Posted by Channel NewsAsia Singapore on Sunday, 23 August 2015
To help such second-timer households own a two-room flat, a Fresh Start Housing Scheme will be introduced. The flats will come with shorter leases and stricter conditions on resale so that they will be more affordable. Support in the form of counselling will also be provided to help the families solve their problems holistically.
But Mr Lee said the families will have to play their part, “show that they are putting their lives in order, determined to get back on their feet, committed to putting their children through school”. If they show that, the Government can justify providing the grant to help them pay for the flat.
It is a major initiative that will take time to work out, he said. Details of the scheme will be announced later.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com