Tag: religion

President Tony Tan: Pope Francis ‘Keen’ To Learn More About Singapore’s Racial And Religious Harmony

Building bridges across communities through inter-faith dialogues is one of Pope Francis’ main priorities, said Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

The President said this is an area where Singapore can “share its experience with the Vatican”, during a briefing with reporters on Sunday (May 29) after he concluded a week-long state visit to Italy and the Holy See.

Dr Tan had received a pontifical audience with Pope Francis earlier this week, the first ever for a Singaporean President. He also met Secretary of State of the Holy See Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who visited Singapore in 2015.

“For Singapore, racial and religious harmony is fundamental not only to our progress but to our very existence,” he said. “And from the start there was a great deal of emphasis on building bridges across communities. It’s been going on for so many years in Singapore that sometimes we take it for granted. But if you look at the world around us, this is quite an exception to the rule.”

Dr Tan added that while Singapore was “not insulated” from radical influences, her approach to handling the issue is “possibly a little bit different from other countries”.

“We look at it not as a security problem but in a holistic way, which involves ideological issues, social issues, family issues,” he said. “And our religious rehabilitation group is playing a great deal – it includes Muslim clerics who talk to those who have been affected by these radical teachings on the Internet.”

POPE INVITED TO VISIT SINGAPORE

Dr Tan said Pope Francis was “very keen” to learn more and “to see how we integrated the different communities together”, while he updated the Pope on the major role played by the Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore in the National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious Harmony, working with other communities to build religious and racial harmony.

During the meeting, the President highlighted to the Pope the valuable contributions the Catholic Church has made to Singapore’s development, including in the areas of education, healthcare and social welfare. He also invited Pope Francis to visit Singapore, something he said the Pope was pleased to accept.

Looking ahead, Dr Tan said he sees growth in the relationship between Singapore and the Vatican, with the Catholic Church playing a very important role “not only within the Catholic community but also among wider society in Singapore”.

“That’s very fundamental for us, and that’s something we can share with the rest of the world,” Dr Tan said.

Source: ChannelNewsAsia

May 30, 2016
Rileks Bro – Let Police Handle Amos Yee!

Amos Yee has once again gone out of his way to offend Muslims. Where we felt anger previously, we only have sympathy for Amos now. He is in desperate need of attention and psychiatric help.

This video is not the least bit funny. The existence of people like him is is partly the reason why there are inter-religious conflict in the world today. Whatever it is, let’s not get carried away.

We urge our fellow Muslims to calm down, take a breather and rileks. This crazy attention-seeker is not worth wasting your energy on, or even worse, getting into trouble for. Remember, as Muslims, our words and actions must be a credit to Islam and Prophet Muhammad SAW.

Let the authorities handle him. With the video, nobody can defend him.

***

Hope that authorities detain him without any more delay. Just worry he got killed if he remain free outside

Source: Abdul Rahim Suef

May 25, 2016
Alfred Dodwell: Amos Yee Re-Arrested

Blogger Amos Yee has been arrested again.

News website TODAY reported that Yee’s former lawyer, Mr Alfred Dodwell, confirmed that Yee was arrested on Wednesday (May 11). Mr Dodwell was contacted by Yee’s mother for help.

Yee was being probed in December for making religiously offensive remarks online in November.

According to TODAY, Yee did not report to a police station when instructed to do so then. Police said that Yee left Singapore “and remained overseas for a prolonged period until his return in April”. The blogger was last spotted attending Bukit Batok by-election rallies held by the Singapore Democratic Party early this month.

When served a Warrant of Attendance upon his return to report, he failed to do so again.

TODAY also said that Yee uploaded a video last week of the police presenting him a warrant to appear before the police for investigation on Tuesday.

Yee was found guilty on May 12, 2015, of uploading an obscene image and making remarks intending to hurt the feelings of Christians in a video. He was sentenced to 4 weeks jail on July 7, with his sentence backdated after spending nearly 50 days in remand.

Source: http://news.asiaone.com

May 13, 2016
Walid J. Abdullah: Murali’s Win Illustrates That Sinicization Important Pre-Requisite For Winning

I have seen opposition supporters trying to put a positive spin on the by-election.

Honestly, whichever way you look at it, it was quite a disaster (but not an unexpected one) for the SDP and Dr Chee. This was a by-election, not a general election, so there was a greater chance for him. He was up against a minority candidate. And it was an SMC.

If he could not get more than 40% of the votes considering these factors, honestly, he’d probably find it hard to win in any other contest.

Perhaps then it is time for Dr Chee Soon Juan to consider stepping down. He can help build the SDP, but maybe, his time with regards to contesting elections should be up.

Of course, it is easy for me to say all these. I am not the one who has fought my entire life against all odds, just for what i believe in. So i may not feel the need to hold on as much as him.

As for our friend Ah Mu, congratulations are due. But more than that: scrutiny should also be applied. His attendance record in Parliament, the amount of time he spends in his constituency (visiting homes just during election period is not ‘walking the ground’), the promises he made during hustings: all these should be looked at closely by Bukit Batok residents and Singaporeans in general.

And a word on race: Ah Mu, it is hard enough for minorities as it is, so when someone who is as successful as you feels a need to be known via a Chinese name, it really does tell the rest of us that perhaps, being sinicized is a prerequisite for success. So please, Ah Mu and future minority candidates, bear this in mind.

I want to say that elections should henceforth be based on contests of ideas, and not personal attacks, but Singaporeans have shown that personal attacks are rewarded. So my point on this would be moot.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

May 8, 2016
Yaacob Ibrahim: Perkuat Silaturahim, Sepadu Elak Pecah-Belah

SEMENTARA isu keselamatan negara ditangani oleh agensi relevan, warga Singapura boleh memainkan peranan secara peribadi bagi memastikan bahawa perpaduan masyarakat tidak berpecah-belah.

Menteri Perhubungan dan Penerangan, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, berkata demikian sebagai mengulas penahanan lapan warga Bangladesh Selasa lepas kepada media selepas sesi perbincangan bersama golongan belia pada malam hari yang sama.

“Di Singapura, sebagai masyarakat Melayu/Islam, kita harus pelihara perpaduan sosial yang ada di sini.

“Kita lihat bagaimana kita boleh berganding bahu dengan masyarakat lain bagi menentukan bahawa apa pun yang telah berlaku tidak akan memecah-belahkan negara kita.

“Ini salah satu perkara yang penting dan harus terus ditekankan,” ujar Dr Yaacob yang juga Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam.

Lapan warga Bangladesh yang ditahan di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) itu telah merancang melakukan serangan pengganasan di negara mereka.

Mereka berusia antara 26 dengan 34 tahun dan merupakan sebahagian daripada kumpulan yang dinamakan Negara Islam Bangladesh (ISB).

Dr Yaacob menambah bahawa masyarakat Melayu/Islam perlu “terus memperkuat tali silaturahim dalam masyarakat dan memelihara perpaduan sosial yang kita telah capai buat bertahun-tahun lamanya”.

Dalam pada itu, Ketua Pengajian Dasar, Sekolah Pengajian Antarabangsa S. Rajaratnam (RSIS), Universiti Teknologi Nanyang (NTU), Profesor Madya Dr Kumar Ramakrishna, menekankan bahawa masyarakat Singapura tidak harus memulau pekerja asing.

“Sebahagian besar daripada mereka yang datang ke sini semata-mata mahu mendapat kerja dan menyara hidup mereka,” jelas Dr Kumar.

Beliau berkata penahanan lapan pekerja Bangladesh itu menunjukkan kerjasama antara Singapura dan pihak berkuasa Bangladesh perlu dipertingkat, lebih-lebih lagi ini kali kedua penahanan dibuat.

“Pendidikan mengenai cara mengesan sebarang kelakuan radikal boleh juga dianjurkan bagi pekerja asing agar mereka dapat berfungsi sebagai ‘mata’ dan ‘telinga’ tambahan’,” saran Dr Kumar.

Pengasas kumpulan penjagaan susulan antara agensi, Aftercare Group (ACG), Encik Abdul Halim Kader, yang juga Presiden Taman Bacaan, akur dengan pandangan bahawa masyarakat Singapura, tidak kira bangsa, tidak harus meminggirkan pekerja asing.

“Kita harus mendekati mereka terutama semasa waktu lapang mereka; jangan biarkan mereka terasing.

“Saya telah merancang dengan beberapa pihak tertentu bagi memperkenalkan sukan sepak takraw dan bola tampar kepada pekerja asing terutama warga Bangladesh pada minggu-minggu akan datang,” ujar Encik Abdul Halim yang juga Presiden Persekutuan Sepak Takraw Singapura (Perses).

Source: www.beritaharian.sg

May 6, 2016