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Tag: Non-Muslims

  • Singaporeans Uneasy, ‘Disheartened’ By Trump’s Immigration Policies

    Singaporeans Uneasy, ‘Disheartened’ By Trump’s Immigration Policies

    Field service engineer Syed Irsyaad, 26, is due to head for the United States — where his firm is based — to undergo training in April, but thinks it is better that non-Muslim engineers go in his place now.

    Mr Syed is among the Singaporean Muslims who have been watching the developments in the US closely, where President Donald Trump last Friday signed an executive order banning travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, Iraq and Syria, from entering the US for 90 days.

    While the ban does not affect travellers from Singapore, some Singaporeans who live in the US or travel there frequently are seeking assurance and proof of the purpose of their travel from their firms so they would not get held up unnecessarily at immigration, noting the uncertainty surrounding the execution of the order.

    Mr Syed said non-Muslim engineers could go in his place without such concerns, and he would forgo the trip “for peace of mind of the people at home”. “Everyone is in limbo for now (and) doesn’t have any idea what’s going on yet. It’s a good time to wait it out for a while,” he told TODAY.

    Ms Zakiyah Ibrahim, 27, a Singaporean social-work Master’s student in New York City, said she had been surprised by how quickly the ban kicked in, but was heartened to see how the New York community has reacted.

    Her university and student accommodation provider had sent “assuring” emails, voicing their disagreement with the ban and vowing to protect the needs of international students.

    But Mr Trump’s unpredictability has also created anxiety. Ms Zakiyah, who studies at Columbia University, has not personally experienced any negative sentiment because of her religion. But she feels that the ban has stirred up negative feelings against Muslims. “And we can’t say this (travel ban) will not extend to Muslims generally,” she added.

    Uncertainty hovers even for non-Muslim Singaporeans who hold a US green card — which grants permanent residency — and those with jobs there.

    Ms Cheow Xinyi, 33, who will graduate from her Columbia Master’s programme this month, returned for the Chinese New Year holidays last month. She is due to return to New York today to start her part-time job as a community organiser with a non-governmental organisation.

    She wrote to the NGO last week to request a letter confirming her job. “Theoretically, I don’t need it; it’s just to be safe … I really hope it wouldn’t come down to that.”

    Singaporean Serene Chew, 56, a green-card holder who has lived in Hawaii for nearly four decades, said she was caught in the middle. She is “disheartened” by the travel ban and has “some fear” because she is not American. “With Trump, you never know what he’s going to do,” she said, while acknowledging that some restrictions may have been “a long time coming”, citing the troubles faced by Germany over the influx of refugees.

    Responding to TODAY’s queries, Ms Camille Dawson, a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Singapore, said the US government was “committed to facilitating legitimate travel for international visitors while ensuring the security of US borders”.

    “The suspension provided for in the Executive Order does not include Singapore, and the US Embassy in Singapore continues to welcome and encourage Singaporeans’ travel and study in the United States,” she said.

    Meanwhile, Americans in Singapore who spoke to TODAY generally disagreed with the ban.

    Mr Glenn van Zutphen, owner of media consultancy VanMedia Group, said the move is not keeping with the spirit of what the US has always stood for.

    He said the Trump administration should slow down the pace at which changes are being introduced. “It’s clear he wants to show his constituency he can get things done, but the government needs to move a bit slower … to make sure things are done in proper sequence (and) with more forethought,” said Mr van Zutphen, who is in his 50s.

    A retired journalist, who wanted to be known only as Ms Jo, 69, said she has “never been so scared”. “The US is a country of immigrants and supposedly a safe haven in the world. I know of (friends in the US) who are thinking of other places to live,” she said.

     

    Source: Today

  • Terrorist Attack On Mosque – Canadian Prime Minister Courageous, Should Be Emulated By Other Leaders

    Terrorist Attack On Mosque – Canadian Prime Minister Courageous, Should Be Emulated By Other Leaders

    Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau, called the shootings on the Quebec mosque as a terrorist attack on Muslims. There have been many attacks on innocent and defenceless Muslims around the world but this is the first time that a PM of a country has actually publicly condemned the acts as acts of terror.

    It takes a lot of courage for a leader to do this because of the potential political backlash from the majority of their countries.

    But the Canadian PM was brave. What he has done is show that Muslims also suffer from terrorist attacks.

    Unlike Donald Trump who has chosen the easiest and misguided ways to combat crime and terrorism simply by isolating the US and marginalising minority and migrant communities, Justin Trudeau has taken the enlightened, inclusive route.

    The rest of the world should learn this lesson from Trudeau.

     

    Amirul

    Reader Contribution

  • TransMalaya Ekspres: We Segregate Male And Female Passengers For Their Own Safety

    TransMalaya Ekspres: We Segregate Male And Female Passengers For Their Own Safety

    KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 ― Male and female passengers who board long-haul bus operator TransMalaya Ekspres will be expected to sit separately if they are not family or married, even when they are non-Muslims.

    Speaking to Malay Mail Online, the company said it made the decision to provide comfort and safety for female passengers, following concerns over sexual harassment against the group.

    “The point of this is to give an advantage to our female passengers because we have heard and read reports of how female travellers get molested by strangers, so we took this effort to give them a greater sense of security and comfort.

    “This is for both Muslim and non-Muslim. We simply want to avoid any untoward incidents,” said Noorlini Ramli, the owner and co-founder of KRZ Management Sdn Bhd that manages the TransMalaya fleet.

    Noorlini said the initiative was taken following her own negative experience as a lone traveller, and witnessing couples act in buses in ways she deemed inappropriate.

    “I used to travel alone when I was a student at UiTM Jengka, and at that that time, I had to witness some couples behaving inappropriately in the bus in full view of other passengers and I had to sit beside a foreigner who started acting funny with me.

    “These were the basis of our initiative today. Single female travellers are usually exposed to more danger. We put ourselves in our passengers’ shoes,” she added.

    Despite that, Noorlini said none of TransMalaya’s passengers had complained of harassment prior to the move.

    Noorlini said she and her husband Amir Khairul Amri Budiman Khairuddin, who is the chief executive officer and co-founder of the firm, came up with the idea and started implementing it from February last year.

    She also claimed that the move was well-received by customers from all racial and religious backgrounds.

    According to her, TransMalaya’s ticketing counter staff would first ask their female customers whether they are travelling alone, and subsequently offer them the appropriate seats.

    In their buses, women will sit on the right, while men on the left.

    “When our customers buy tickets from us, we would explain to them the seatings available. Some will say they are okay with having a male sitting beside them while most will opt for the female seats,” Noorlini said.

    Noorlini said Muslim couples who buy tickets together will be asked to produce their marriage certification.

    Despite that, she conceded that some customers do resist against their condition and demand to be seated together.

    “When that happens, we will usually give them the front seats. We will try advising them against it, but if they do not accept our advice, then we give them the front seats so we can keep an eye on them,” she added.

     

    Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

  • Malaysian Bar Council Chief: Non-Muslims Do Not Have To Hide When They Eat During Ramadan

    Malaysian Bar Council Chief: Non-Muslims Do Not Have To Hide When They Eat During Ramadan

    The Malaysian Bar Council has called on the education authorities to uphold and put in practice the principles of harmony and unity in schools when it came to issues like the rights of non-Muslim students during the fasting month.

    Malaysian Bar Council president Steven Thiru said the recent statement by deputy Education Minister Datuk Mary Yap Kain Ching to avoid avoid eating or drinking in front of Muslim students does not inspire mutual respect and understanding among Malaysians.

    He said it instead emboldens those who are misguided in their belief that only their rights matter and further result in resentment among those whose rights are ignored or marginalised. ​

    “​This is a recipe for disharmony and disunity that we can ill afford. The purpose of fasting is not to inconvenience others who are not fasting.​ ​

    “Indeed, to impose any such inconvenience would appear to be contrary to the spirit of the fasting month and devalue the qualities that it seeks to honour,” he said in a press statement.

    He said Yap’s statement was disturbing as it casts the everyday eating and drinking of those who are not fasting as acts of disrespect, and it encourages the curtailment of the rights of those who are not fasting. ​ ​

    “This is inimical to the principles of mutual respect and understanding that underline our constitution.”

    He said there were often attempts to compel or impose respect and understanding in schools in a divisive manner.

    “This serves to poison the minds of our children, and sows in them the seeds of prejudice, distrust and suspicion.

    “Our future as a nation will be in jeopardy if this worrying trend is not arrested and reversed.”

     

    Source: www.therakyatpost.com