Rilek1Corner

Tag: pride

  • Reliving The Golden Age Of Malay films

    Reliving The Golden Age Of Malay films

    As a teenager, Mr Jumahat Abu Bakar would peer through the gates of the Malay film studios in Jalan Ampas, hoping to catch a glimpse of actors such as the famed P. Ramlee.

    In 2012, when he was offered a caretaker job at the studios, located off Balestier Road, he leapt at the chance, even at the age of 70.

    The first thing he did was spruce up the studios, which stopped operating in 1967. He put up photos of old artists and painted the walls with a nostalgic motif featuring bamboo shoots and sugar cane.

    On Sunday (Aug 13), Mr Jumahat, now 75, showed off his work as over 160 visitors went there to relive the golden era of the Singapore Malay film industry, from the 1950s to 1960s.

    The visit was part of the Jejak Warisan tour, an initiative by Woodlands grassroots volunteers to run heritage trips for the Malay community to promote the cultural legacy.

    Sunday’s tour, the third since the effort began in February, saw the largest number of participants. It was conducted by local lyricist and film researcher Yusnor Ef, 80, once a student of P. Ramlee, who was also a musician and film-maker.

    He said: “This place holds a lot of pride for the Malays. Great artists were nurtured here. They worked from the heart. I hope it can be kept as a reminder of our heritage.”

    Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Home Affairs Amrin Amin, who was at the event, said Malay films that showcase tradition and heritage remain relevant even in a modern world dominated by Hollywood blockbusters.

    He added that “Hollywood can’t touch the heart like they can” with “their simple everyday language”.

    He said he was certain such films could be made again. “We just need to have the cultural confidence.”

    Veteran actors Zaiton Abdullah, K. Fatimah and Zaini Sattar were there to answer questions during the tour.

    Mr Jumahat said it made him very happy to see the usually empty studios filled with people. He said: “This place holds so much meaning for me, and I hope more Singaporeans will know about it and visit it.”

     

    Source: http://www.tnp.sg/

  • Malaysian, Indonesian Muslim Groups Calls Starbucks Boycott Over LGBT Stance

    Malaysian, Indonesian Muslim Groups Calls Starbucks Boycott Over LGBT Stance

    A prominent Muslim group in Malaysia has joined calls by Islamic conservatives in Indonesia for a boycott of Starbucks to protest against the international coffee chain’s support of gay rights.

    Perkasa, a group with about 700,000 members that campaigns for the rights of ethnic Malay Muslims, said it agreed with calls this week by Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim group, for a boycott of Starbucks over its pro-LGBT stand.

    Perkasa also agreed with the Indonesian group’s call for Starbucks’ operating license to be revoked, it said.

    Amini Amir Abdullah, who heads Perkasa’s Islamic affairs bureau, said Starbucks’ position challenged Malaysia’s constitution, which recognized Islam as the country’s official religion.

    “Our objection is because they are promoting something that is against the human instinct, against human behavior and against religion. That’s why we are against it,” Amini told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

    Muhammadiyah’s call for a boycott has gained support from the Indonesian Ulema Council, its top clerical body.

    The religious groups’ opposition to Starbucks came after a video from 2013 circulated online of pro-LGBT comments made by the company’s chairman and former chief executive, Howard Schultz..

    PT Sari Coffee Indonesia, which holds the license to run the Starbucks chain in Indonesia, said in a statement it was not affiliated with any political or ideological groups.

    “We are grateful and proud to have been a part of local communities in Indonesia for 15 years, always maintaining the deepest respect for, and adherence to, Indonesia’s local laws, culture and beliefs,” said Fetty Kwartati, a director at PT MAP Boga Adiperkasa, the parent company of PT Sari Coffee Indonesia.

    Some Muslims in Indonesia, however, said the boycott call would not stop them from buying Starbucks coffee.

    “I love their products, not their CEO,” said Jakarta resident Kornelius Kamajaya.

    The boycott call got a similar response from some in Malaysia.

    “Don’t make it such an issue that we have to boycott a company because of one small statement,” said Muhammad Azril Maridzuan, an assistant bank manager in Kuala Lumpur.

    Muslim groups should not “be so extremist” even though gay rights was against their religious beliefs, he said.

     

     

    Source: http://www.reuters.com

  • You Can Support LGBT Friends But Wearing Hijab And Participating In Pink Dot Is Not Cool

    You Can Support LGBT Friends But Wearing Hijab And Participating In Pink Dot Is Not Cool

    So I recently chanced upon a photo of two hijab women at a Pinkdot event. People wanna be confrontational about things these days, that’s why they have PinkDot. Let me be confrontational about it too.

    Go to Pink Dot all you want. But with a hijab over your head, know that you have a religious+social+moral responsibility. Of course they will love it – who says outward Muslims can’t be supportive of LGBT right?

    The way Islam views LGBT is with respect, I feel. We see it as a test and recognise it as an inner struggle that God wills to give to some people. We are to respect people who disagree. We are to agree to disagree. But to paint a false picture of our principles and beliefs is wrong. We respectfully disagree with LGBT and we don’t need anybody going around conflicting it. We don’t need the impression and confusion that non-Muslims might get from seeing the photo. We don’t have a strong enough reason to drop by the event to show some love when clearly the motive of the campaign is to support LGBT.

    There is a reason why when we sin, our duty is to not reveal our sins. In fact it is God’s form of mercy when He does not reveal our sins – so why reveal it ourselves? It is another sin on top of another to reveal your sins to others. Thus what they did, if they were actually gay, is to reveal themselves. Similar concept with how wrong it is to openly eat in public during the fasting month.

    Now I wish people would respect my religion as much as we are to respect the existence of their campaign and all. Gay or not, I hope the sisters are given hidayah.

    Ps. I still love my gay friends but like I said, I am firm on agreeing to disagree.

     

    Source: Nasyiba Sahari

  • Singapore Lions Too Money-Minded, No Pride

    Singapore Lions Too Money-Minded, No Pride

    LET me regretfully recount this real-life grassroots incident:

    I was very much saddened last month when a school principal told me that he invited a “prominent Singapore player” to give away prizes for an Under-10 tournament. The player, who has been playing for the Lions for six years, asked for an “event-appearance fee”, just to be present to inspire the youngsters and gift the prizes!

    Please, my appeal to the footballing Lions: Stop being money-faced hypocrites.

    This comes after Kadir Yahaya, a rising football coach I used to admire, came out with his “pay-for-play” proposal on the eve of the Suzuki Cup tournament.

    Kadir Yahaya, a legend of the 1990s Malaysia Cup-winning Lions, told The New Paper tabloid newspaper: “We have to put perks in front of the national players”, as he noted that “there’s no motivation, pressure or challenge for players to want to be in the national team”.

    In a nutshell, his solution to the problem was very selfish Singaporean: Show them (the Lions) the money!

    That means, if I read him right, in Kadir’s books, probably monetise the fans to come and support the Lions. Maybe show the money for students to sing ‘Majullah Singapura’ before school starts. Possibly lure 18-year-olds with more dollar notes to learn military skills for National Service (NS) to defend the country. Why not even give the man-in-the-street the big bucks to go to church, mosque or temple?

    FOOTBALL MERCENARIES

    It’s simply laughable and ludicrous because it borders on sheer mercenaryship.

    In my opinion, Kadir must send a serious message to the Lions in Manila (after the ultra-defensive, unentertaining 0-0 draw to Philippines in the opening Suzuki Cup tournament): Wake up from your sloppy slumber and deliver.

    Or risk losing the respect of the die-hard fans, who support without singularly thinking of the dollars and cents.

    One thing that must never stop flowing must the “blood, sweat and tears” of the real Lions of the 1970s and 80s because they knew the meaning of the five-letter word: Pride. Not Kadir Yahaya’s five-letter word: Money.

     

    Source: Suresh Nair

  • Walid J. Abdullah: The Contextual Proud Singaporean

    Walid J. Abdullah: The Contextual Proud Singaporean

    *this post is partially inspired by people linking an act of human kindness which should be celebrated when Singaporeans lifted a lorry to save a man trapped underneath, to the sg50 spirit, whatever that means (so if the incident happened next year, Singaporeans would not lift the lorry????)*

    Whenever someone asks whether I am proud to be Singaporean, my response would be ‘what do you mean by that?’ More often than not, they would be stumped, as if it was inconceivable that someone did not know what being ‘Singaporean’ means. Then they would ask ‘I mean, would you die for this country?’ And again i would go, what do you mean by that?

    If you mean dying for this country in a war where we were unjustly invaded, i hope and i pray that I would have the temerity to participate. If you mean dying in a war that is fought at the whims and fancies of politicians to serve their own political agendas, then i do not wish to participate and die such a meaningless death.

    Being ‘proud to be Singaporean’, really has no innate meaning. For me, there are many things that Singapore and Singaporeans have done that i am proud of, and there are many others that i am not proud of.

    I am proud that we are extremely efficient in most cases. I am proud of the cleanliness levels in our streets. I am proud that we have not experienced racial and religious riots since independence. I am proud of our universities’ performance in any global ranking. I am proud of the fact that I am able to practise my faith relatively freely.

    I am not proud that over the past decade, there has not been any discernible improvement in our transportation system. I am not proud of the fact that many Singaporeans feel superior to other human beings – especially our Southeast Asian neighbours – because of our supposed material achievements. I am not proud that racial and religious discrimination still exists on so many levels in everyday life. I am not proud that many Singaporeans do not bother to read beyond official narratives. I am not proud of contraints imposed on some personal liberties in the name of ‘public order’.

    If someone wants to proclaim ‘I am proud to be Singaporean, no matter what happens!’, that is really his/her choice that no one should take issue with. What i do take issue with is the attitude of some Singaporeans, who in their quest for national pride, think of people from
    other nations as less intelligent, as less civilized, and even worse, as lesser human beings.

    So am i proud to be Singaporean? It depends on what you mean….

     

    Source: Walid J. Abdullah