Rilek1Corner

Tag: religion

  • Family Remebers Othman Wok As Humble, Kind And Loving

    Family Remebers Othman Wok As Humble, Kind And Loving

    Pioneer Cabinet Minster Mr Othman had been warded at SGH since April 6 for a chest infection and stomach complications.

    Madam Lily, 60, said she usually does the night duty in caring for him.

    “I will read some prayers for him and pat him to sleep before I go off,” she recounted his final hours to The Straits Times on Monday (April 17), after Mr Othman died just after noon. He was 92.

    “We hope that he will always be remembered as part of the Singapore Old Guard and a contributor to the harmony of Singapore,” she added.

    “We tried our best to take care of him to the best of our ability, but I think God knows better, and you know we are quite happy to let him go. He passed away…peacefully, so we are happy with that,” Madam Lily told reporters during the wake for Mr Othman outside the family home in Kew Avenue in Bedok.

    Madam Lily, a housewife, described him as a kind and loving father who was also devoted to his work when he was MP for Pasir Panjang constituency from 1963 to 1981.

    “We know that we are more or less like his second family compared to his political work. We totally got it and we appreciated that as well,” she said with a laugh.

    But he always made time for the family, especially when he returned from his overseas trips as Singapore’s first Minister for Social Affairs, a post he held from 1963 to 1977.

    “Whenever he (came) back from his travels, he (spent) at least one night with us, sharing his overseas stories, souvenirs,” she said.

    One lesson he often drummed into them was the importance of racial harmony as he lived through the 1964 race riots. He also emphasised humility, she said. “You could be the president’s daughter or the king’s daughter, but humility should be your middle name,” she recalled him saying.

    Mr Othman had been in and out of hospital since last November, and his last message to his children was to live peacefully with each other and maintain good relationships with one another, she said.

     

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Yusof Ishak Mosque Is Key For Muslim Community

    Yusof Ishak Mosque Is Key For Muslim Community

    The Yusof Ishak Mosque is a key institution for the Muslim community and also the wider Singapore family, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday at the opening ceremony of the new mosque named after Singapore’s first president.

    Through its interactions with the community, the mosque will play an important part in promoting the ethos of multiculturalism and multiracialism, he added, noting that these were values Mr Yusof embodied as head of state.

    Dr Yaacob was speaking to reporters yesterday after Mr Yusof’s widow, Puan Noor Aishah, 84, opened the mosque in a ceremony witnessed by 100 guests, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

    Mr Yusof’s three children, Madam Orchid Kamariah, 68; Dr Imran Yusof, 67; and Datin Zuriana Yusof, 64, and other family members and friends were also present.

    Mr Yusof served as Yang di-Pertuan Negara (head of state) after Singapore gained self-government in 1959, and as presideont in 1965. He died in office in 1970.

    Yesterday was the first time the mosque – located in Woodlands and built at a cost of $18 million – opened its doors to worshippers after the prayer hall was consecrated by Mufti Mohamed Fatris Bakaram, Singapore’s highest Islamic authority. More than 5,000 people turned up for the prayer session.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Teacher Calls Out Student For Racist Comments, Class Learns Meaning Of Majority Privilege

    Teacher Calls Out Student For Racist Comments, Class Learns Meaning Of Majority Privilege

    There are a few things I don’t abide in my classes.

    One of them is racism. Today in class I pulled a boy out of class because he called one of his classmates “死黒人” (it literally translates to “die black person” but colloquially it’s more accurately translated to “stupid black person”, and is typically used on people who have dark and tanned skin, not necessarily just African Americans).

    This kid was from a majority race in Singapore, and I called him out on it. I told him people of his race were literally being abused and faced racism daily overseas, and that he was taking advantage of the safe environment here where he’s one of the majority. I told him that saying sorry to his friend was not enough, that he shouldn’t do it again.

    Don’t we all know that’s not going to happen.

    So I addressed the class on this. Acknowledged that I have said racist things before years ago, and that I have also been the target of racism right here in sunny Singapore. And that if you can’t even respect your friends and peers (because that’s what it boils down to), then how can you expect others to respect you.

    Pretty sure most of it fell on deaf ears, given that they are a class that has trouble respecting themselves, and with very probable self-esteem issues.

    It is so, so painful to see the world the way it is. To see kids behaving that way because we as adults tell them (through our behavior and the words we say) that it is okay. That it is normal to have pre-conceived (negative) notions of what different cultures or races or ethnicities are, or do, or have. It is tiring and exhausting trying to re-educate these kids into thinking that everyone deserves respect.

    The very fact that we NEED to RE-EDUCATE them about that is, in itself, appalling.

    And no, this isn’t just at the secondary school level either. I had to address a similar issue while teaching a primary 2 class this morning, when they didn’t react to 2 ethnic dances I mentioned we would be learning, but started giggling and making noise when I mentioned the third.

    Every day I realize how broken our world is, and how we are the ones who broke it. But shouldn’t we also be trying to help fix it?

    Sarah
    A.S.S. Contributor

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • Ahmad Osman: Calvin Cheng Not Fit To Comment On Tudung Issue

    Ahmad Osman: Calvin Cheng Not Fit To Comment On Tudung Issue

    I have refrained myself from commenting on this issue, but I can’t let it continue after coming across this particular post by NMP Calvin Cheng.

    Before I begin I would like to apologize to any parties which may feel offended by my post, and to all Muslim ladies who might just have had enough mansplaining on this entire tudung issue, but at the same time, I am not here to please everyone but simply to right what I feel is wrong.

    This individual right here started off on the wrong foot, talking about the history of politics in Singapore and comparing it to Malaysia for no reason whatsoever. The reality is that the issue we are facing is unique to our own country, and there should never have been any reason to compare our political system with that of our neighbours. And that too, was flawed. You might be well versed in the political history of Singapore, but please keep your mouth shut on the history of politics of other countries, for it seems like you are just taking advantage of this situation to paint our neighbours in a negative light. Silence would then be your best bet for things you obviously have no clue in.

    If the GRC system was supposedly set up to ensure minority representation, why is it that Mr Cheng here is repeatedly against minority MPs championing minority causes? Doesn’t that go totally against the intent of the GRC that he so clearly stated? So if a Malay MP is not allowed to question the parliament regarding the tudung issue, would it be more acceptable for lets say, a Chinese MP to bring up the same issue?

    Mind you, Mr Cheng, this isn’t the first time that Malay MPs have brought up this issue in parliament, and for the past few years a number of Malay MPs from PAP have brought up this issue as well. Why then are they not considered to be divisive or sowing discord? However, when the same issue is raised by a Malay opposition MP, the tables were quickly turned against him to shut him up. Are you telling me our politicians have stooped that low today?

    Yes, Faisal Manap represents people of all races and religions in Aljunied GRC, and I am pretty sure he remembers that, for the simple fact that he brought up a lot of issues in parliament on the very same day, yet unfortunately, only this issue was highlighted by the state controlled media. Mr Cheng, if parliament isn’t the place to discuss such issues, then where else? Where have the so called closed door discussions brought us to? Has there been any changes, any progress? It only makes the most sense to bring up such a large scale issue in front of all government members to discuss it with diplomacy, however, in doing so Faisal Manap was labeled as sowing discord instead.

    I’ll end off with two quotes for you. Last year, the very same Masagos was recorded saying “All matters pertaining to any religion are often discussed in the Cabinet and we do look at ways to lead society to be more open, more accepting.” A year before that, PM Lee mentioned, “we discuss things more openly now, even sensitive matters, we discuss openly in mixed groups and we speak candidly with one another from the heart.”

    I guess you are the one who has forgotten how Singapore’s political system and multi-religious society functions. Coming from someone who has advocated the killing of terrorists, their families and all their children, really, you are the least fit individual to even talk about this issue. You should remember that.

     

    Source: Ahmad Bin Osman

  • What Are Religious Leaders Doing To Promote Pluralism?

    What Are Religious Leaders Doing To Promote Pluralism?

    I applaud Dr Yap Kim Hao’s call for “religious pluralism” ( Need for those who can teach religious pluralism; April 11).

    It is a reality that religious communities, even in Singapore, remain in their silos.

    It is not uncommon for religious organisations and businesses to place emphasis on recruiting those who are of the same faith, even for roles not directly religion-related.

    Of course, it is their prerogative to do so.

    But it is sad that instead of living and working side-by-side with non-religious affiliated parties to forge mutual understanding and friendships despite their differences, these groups choose exclusivity and isolation.

    I have seen it even in charity and volunteer organisations, where one can overhear remarks like “this person will not have genuine compassion because he does not share our faith” or “he is an outsider, so he cannot fully understand our religious goals”.

    Rhetoric like this from any religious organisation or individual is disconcerting. Such comments are dangerous and not to be accepted here.

    With the City Harvest case and the one in which an imam made insensitive remarks, it is clear that religious leaders have a big influence over their followers.

    But what are they doing to promote religious pluralism?

    In this age of heightened consciousness of one’s religious identity and of religious diversity, Singapore can never deviate from our pledge of “regardless of race, language or religion”.

     

    Wong Lai Chun

    Source: www.straitstimes.com/forum