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Tag: navy

  • Osman Sulaiman: Government Must Work For, Not Against, Singaporeans To Foster Nation Building

    Osman Sulaiman: Government Must Work For, Not Against, Singaporeans To Foster Nation Building

    The coming presidential election reserved for Malay candidates has divided the nation with some polarised views.

    Often enough, the PAP gov has been quick to accuse the alternatives as playing racial politics. But the mother of all racist policies originated and created by this gov.

    Our pride from being a multi-racial society, living side by side, co-existing happily is all but a facade that this gov would want us to believe.

    Its brand of politics is never about empowering the people but rather to divide us against each other.

    How else would we explain this?

    1. The existence of SAP schools where those who are not able to speak mandarin are not eligible

    2. The subtle exclusion of the Malay/Muslim citizens in the Navy through its hollow reasoning of not being able to accommodate space for halal diet.

    3. Its perverse reasoning that the society is not ready for a minority Prime Minister.

    4. The appalling act of discrimination through its policy to deny job opportunities for those wearing the tudung.

    5. We are further divided in schools through elitism and streaming of students at a young age.

    The society will never be able to progress as a nation until our leaders act for us. Not against us.

     

    Source: Khan Osman Sulaiman

  • China’s Warship Liaoning Has 10 Cafeterias With 20 Ethnic Minorities On Board

    China’s Warship Liaoning Has 10 Cafeterias With 20 Ethnic Minorities On Board

    Last weekend, China is opened up its aircraft carrier Liaoning to the public for the first time. The ship arrived in Hong Kong on Friday (July 7), accompanied by two destroyers and a frigate. Only 2,000 tickets for the tour at the weekend were handed out, leaving many who had lined up for hours disappointed. But for the lucky few, the visit is a peek into a highly specialised community, one that works, eats and sleeps together in a maze of hallways and rooms, surrounded by some of the most sophisticated technology and weapons in the Chinese military.

    There are more than 3,800 rooms in the ship, including ones for sleeping, eating, exercise and laundry. There’s also the mess hall and even a store, where sailors can buy snacks and everyday items. For security reasons, every sailor carries a photo ID, which must be swiped to enter areas. Access is restricted according to a sailor’s assigned department. Men and women live apart, and fingerprint scanners restrict entry to the women’s quarters. Most sailors are given single beds about 1m wide and 2m long.

    With nearly 20 ethnic minorities on board, it’s varied. The ship’s crew eat in 10 cafeterias, including ones specially designed for Muslims. They are offered four appetisers, six main courses and two desserts, going through two to three tons of food per day. When the crew really need to stretch out, the flight deck is turned into a makeshift soccer pitch. There is also an annual basketball competition, with 15 teams competing.

     

    Editors note:

    The Chinese Navy can accept 20 ethnic minorities. The RSN cannot even accept one because its ships don’t have halal kitchens. Which one is more inclusive? Hendak seribu daya, tak nak seribu daleh kan. They won’t be ‘losing face’ so to say if they employ a handful of Malays on board because everyone knows that Malays are just a small group in Singapore. We are the minorities and that perhaps may not be changing anytime soon.

    What if food was not the issue here since there are halal combat ration already available in SAF. Are they still questioning our loyalty? Still having doubts in Malays in Singapore? Maliki Osman dan Yacoob Ibrahim diam ke tentang isu ini?

    What are your thoughts?

     

    Source: Todayonline

  • SAF Day – This Now 88 Years Old Malay Man Is Singapore Navy Pioneer

    SAF Day – This Now 88 Years Old Malay Man Is Singapore Navy Pioneer

    During his time in the navy, Osman Jaffar, now 88, carved out a reputation for being every inch as stern as one would imagine Singapore’s military pioneers to be.

    “When I was coxswain, I was in charge of a crew. If I had joked with them, they wouldn’t have taken my orders,” the retired first warrant officer told Channel NewsAsia with a warm, wide and single-toothed grin.

    “When I was a seamanship instructor, I was also very strict. They used to say: ‘Wah, Encik Osman coming, be careful!’”

    A reminder of his steely, mustachioed past hangs on the wall in Osman’s Woodlands flat. The sergeant major’s pace stick he brandished in the photo has since been replaced by a walking aid, the ramrod-straight posture bent by the scoliosis of aging, and a full head of jet-black hair dispersed into thinning wisps.

    Yet his eyes still flashed with the same duty-bound verve and vivacity as he traced his beginnings in the Singapore division of the Malayan Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, circa 1954.

    It all started on a rather mundane, if not vain, footing: 24-year-old Osman signed up because he was keen on wearing a uniform – not just any, but the navy’s dashing white.

    “Also we would be able to go on sea trips, to follow the (British) Royal Navy ships for training,” he laughed.

    “During the first few days, we really enjoyed being part of a gathering of all sorts of people who didn’t know each other. But when our instructors started teaching us, we were also very concentrated on learning.”

    It was a good thing he paid attention – in 1966, Osman was mobilised for Confrontation, a drawn-out conflict arising from Indonesian opposition to the formation of Malaysia. He took charge of four radar stations surrounding Singapore’s waters – Bedok, St John’s Island, Raffles Lighthouse and Pulau Sakra – and described his task as “protecting Singapore from the enemy”.

    “We had to look after our waters. The enemy had so many ways to come in, so we had to be alert.”

    ‘WE JUST THOUGHT ABOUT WORK, NO OTHER THING ’

    When Confrontation ended, Osman was appointed coxswain – in charge of navigation and steering – on, at different times, the RSS Panglima and RSS Bedok.

    “We just thought about work and no other thing. Because as you know, during those times, we could not relax. We had to defend Singapore. We didn’t want the enemy to come – they were very near,” Osman reiterated.

    He admitted however that the toughest part was having to see his family – wife and five small kids – for only two days at a time before leaving for long spells on board ships.

    Of greater difficulty was having to “shoulder the burden of protecting our homeland and safeguarding Singapore’s territorial waters” after separation from Malaysia, said Osman in a transcript of a 1988 interview for the naval archives.

    The mantle rested with just two seaworthy ships, 12 officers and 40 enlistees at the time.

    Said Osman: “To achieve this, a few things the individual soldier must have had – faith, courage, bravery, respect and honour at all times.”

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Quora Users Justify Unfair Discrimination Of Muslims In Armed Forces

    Quora Users Justify Unfair Discrimination Of Muslims In Armed Forces

    Responding to a question, ‘Why are there no Muslims in some sectors of Singapore Army and Navy?’, several Quora users have supported the Singapore Armed Forces’ perceived bias against Malays and Muslims.

    The following are excerpts from some of the most upvoted answers.

    “There are no muslims on the RSN’s ships or submarine. Actually there are no personnel that have strict dietary requirements on board. So if you have nut allergies, gluten allergies or very strict diet, you will not be posted to a ship.

    Why? Imagine the ship is deployed far from home. Say it heads to an Australian port to replenish resources. How easy is to obtain all halal ingredients? Not easy. And if you are very strict, once the kitchen is used for non-halal ingredient, it cannot produce halal food anymore.

    You may say it’s possible. But only during peacetime. If you are in combat, you can’t go pick and choose what food you want.” – Rhys Cheng

    “…while I don’t agree, I do understand the logic behind the practice. National defense is perhaps the most serious matter a government must handle, and there is a tradeoff between security and freedom. I can understand the government not wanting to take chances, especially since it’s very hard to tell who can be trusted and who cannot.” – Daniel Tan

    “Having Malay/Muslims in the sensitive sectors of the SAF will compromise our ability to defend Singapore. Here, many people think that we do not trust our Malays/Muslims, while the others are not given the same level of scrutiny. Many will also think we are implying Malay/Muslims are be prone to radicalisation, which is plain discriminatory. There is at least a grain truth in the assertions, and they are sufficient for SAF to justify the policy. Once again, this is for the sake of defending Singapore.” – Anonymous

    “We need to stop the smuggling of arms and other ingredients of terror attacks from entering our borders. Nor can we afford to allow hostile personnel to reach our shores. Homegrown terrorism is another issue altogether, and it cannot be denied that Muslims, and therefore Malays in Singapore, are the key targets of radicalisation efforts. As such, the same reason Malays (and Muslims today) are excluded from sensitive vocations remains valid.” – Anonymous

    In April last year, Dr Ng Eng Hen, the Defence Minister said that the “Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) operational concerns must come first and individual needs sometimes must (be) subsumed under that.”

    Dr Ng was responding to a parliamentary question from an opposition MP, Faisal Manap, who had asked on the lack of halal food onboard ships in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). Mr Faisal suggested that this deprived Muslim men from serving in RSN ships.

    Reacting to the exchange in Parliament , lawyer and former Director of the Association of Muslim Professionals, Mr Nizam Ismail said:

    “It gets tenuous when the justification for what is essentially a discriminatory practice is on the non availability of a halal kitchen.

    Please, there are many ways to resolve this. It’s not rocket science.

    If the issue is still one of distrust of a Malay Singaporean son in defending his country, then say it as it is.

    The fact remains that there is an under-representation of Malay NSmen in several “sensitive” positions of the SAF, RSAF and RSN.

    And an over-representation of Malay NSmen in the SCDF and SPF.

    And a significant portion of Madrasah boys are not called up for NS.

    Or space for halal kitchen.

    This has nothing to do with food.

    It’s tragic that we are still debating this after 50 years of independence.

    If you truly believe in multiculturalism, there must be no space for discrimination.

    If you truly believe in multiculturalism, there must be inclusivity and equal opportunity. For all.

    When will there be a level playing field?”

     

    Source: www.theindependent.sg

  • A Malay In History – Malays Served In The Navy Under The British

    A Malay In History – Malays Served In The Navy Under The British

    Admin

    If you can, pl share with other readers. My friend shared this link with me.

    Halal food in the navy wasn’t an issue in the past, under the British. Why is it an issue now?

    Navy 1 Navy 2 Navy 3 Navy 4 Navy 5

     

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