Tag: Singapore

Yaacob Ibrahim: There Cannot Be Double Standards When Dealing With Issues That Touch On Race And Religious Harmony

This incident involving Imam Nalla of Jamae Chulia mosque has been a trying one for the community. Imam Nalla has realised that he is in the wrong and that his words have caused tension and disquiet. His apology over the weekend was a meaningful gesture to reconcile with friends from other faiths. I thank our non-Muslim friends for accepting the apology. Their willingness to forgive reflects the Singapore way, where we uphold mutual respect and harmony for our common good.

Earlier, I mentioned that there cannot be double standards when we deal with issues that touch on race and religious harmony. Our laws preserve the freedom to practise one’s faith, and protect all communities, regardless of race or religion, from being denigrated. The authorities have done the right thing by applying the law firmly and fairly, as this is in the best interest of all communities.

As Muslims, we are called to radiate rahmah (compassion) and spread peace. Words matter and words that cause mistrust and apprehension among the various communities have no place in Singapore. Similarly, a case such as this should always be directed to the relevant authorities as and when they arise. It would be irresponsible and reckless to sensationalise such issues on social media.

This has been a difficult episode. But it is also a timely reminder of how words uttered insensitively can undermine our social cohesion. Let us learn and reflect from this episode, unite as one people and focus on the future we hope to build as a society. Wherever we are, including spaces like our places of worship, we must safeguard the values we hold and cherish as Singaporeans – mutual respect, unity and social harmony. The unity of our nation depends on this.

#yaacobibrahim

Source: Yaacob Ibrahim

April 4, 2017
Dr Khairudin Aljunied: I Wish To Apologise Unreservedly To Singaporeans And NUS

Dear Friends,

1. I refer to my posts on social media which were made on 1-2 March 2017, titled “The Imam and the Silly Convert” and “The Imam and the Wised up Convert Reloaded”.

2. I wish to acknowledge that I had made the posts without a full understanding of the facts on the ground, and I wish to say that I disagree with the Imam making such supplications during his sermon, and I did not know that the supplications were not an extract of the Quran. I do note that the Imam has since apologised earlier yesterday for the recent incident.

3. I also wish to say that whilst my posts could be seen as being supportive of the Imam, and I was wrong to have put them up.

4. I had meant it as a fictional account and not in support of anyone in particular. My posts were meant to show how Muslims can settle differences between them in a peaceful and amicable way.

5. I now wish to apologise unreservedly to Singaporeans and NUS, since my posts were supportive of what the Imam had said. I undertake not to repeat my conduct.

Best Regards,

Khairudin Aljunied

Source: Khairudin Aljunied

April 4, 2017
Government ‘Seriously Considering’ How To Deal With Fake News: Shanmugam

The Government is “seriously considering” how to address the fake news issue and will announce its position upon completion of a review, said Minister of Law K Shanmugam in Parliament on Monday (Apr 3).

“Under our current law, there are limited remedies to deal with these falsehoods,” he acknowledged. “For example, it is an offence under the Telecommunications Act to transmit messages knowing it is false. But these remedies are ineffective. They were really looking at a time before this new age. The circulation of falsehoods can grow viral today very quickly, and so we need to do more.”

Mr Shanmugam said fake news was a problem in Singapore, albeit not yet at a level seen globally where it has expressly interfered with both domestic political and international affairs.

“We see the phenomenon hasn’t had that much impact yet, but you can predict the same sequence of actors – foreign countries, foreign agencies, people sitting outside of Singapore using it to either destabilise our society or… doing it to make money. Both are problematic,” he stated.

He pointed to the defunct The Real Singapore (TRS) as a website that regularly generated fake news for profit, citing examples such as a 2015 piece which claimed a commotion between Thaipusam participants and police was sparked by complaints from a Filipino family.

One of the co-founders of TRS has since set up the States Times Review website, which continues in a similar vein of publishing fake news from outside Singapore, said Mr Shanmugam.

“Last August, the States Times Review claimed a near-zero turnout for former president SR Nathan’s funeral, and that kindergarten kids were forced to attend, in an attempt to paint him as an unpopular president,” said Mr Shanmugam.

The whole purpose is to purvey falsehoods, mislead the public and render truth completely irrelevant, he said.

Referring to the All Singapore Stuff website as another instance, Mr Shanmugam pointed to a fake story in November last year on how the rooftop of Punggol Waterway Terraces had collapsed.

“The police, civil defence, all had to be mobilised and deployed to investigate the claim. Taxpayers pay the cost for all of this,” he explained. “Another post widely circulated on social media falsely claimed a childcare centre in River Valley made children sleep on the floor, eat rotten fruit… There was public outcry, but can you imagine the impact on the childcare operator?”

“Hoaxes like these can have real world consequences,” Mr Shanmugam said. “If not quickly corrected, they can cause harm to Singaporeans, alarm to public, emergency resources will have to be diverted, and reputations of businesses and people can be completely, unreasonably, unfairly damaged. All because some nasty people seek to profit from this.”

“There is a much more serious dimension to all of this,” he added. “Fake news today, we must assume can be used as an offensive weapon by foreign agencies and foreign governments… to get into the public mind, to destabilise the public, to psychologically weaken them.

“That’s a very serious threat and it will be naive for us to believe that governments or state agencies don’t engage in this. There is enough evidence that they do.”

Source: CNA

April 3, 2017
Imam Nalla Charged, May Be Punished With Up To Three Years In jail, A Fine Or Both

An imam who made controversial remarks against Christians and Jews during his Friday sermon at a mosque was charged in court on Monday (Apr 3) with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion or race.

In January and February 2017, Nalla Mohamed Abdul Jameel had made supplications at Friday prayers where he recited an old Arabic text which originated from his village in India. The text read: “God help us against Jews and Christians”, which is not an extract from the Quran.

The incident came under police investigation after a video of the sermon was posted on Facebook. It sparked heated debate, prompting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim to call for peace and unity in the Muslim community.

Nalla subsequently apologised in front of Christian, Sikh, Taoist, Buddhist and Hindu representatives, as well as members of the Federation of Indian Muslims, saying that he was “filled with great remorse” for the inconvenience, tension and trauma caused by his remarks.

Lawyers Channel NewsAsia spoke to said that the imam’s apology could be a strong mitigation factor if the case is brought before a court.

After the police concluded investigations into the case, Nalla also visited Rabbi Moderchai Abergel at the Maghain Aboth Synagogue on Sunday to extend his apology to the Jewish community in Singapore – which the rabbi accepted.

For promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion or race, the imam may be punished with up to three years in jail, a fine or both.

Source: CNA

April 3, 2017
Sengkang Cops’ Quick Thinking Helped Them Revive Two-Year-Old Boy

Police Senior Staff Sergeant Mohamad Azhar Abdul Aziz, 30, was handling a complaint from a member of the public on March 18 when an elderly woman dashed into the Sengkang Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) carrying a boy, who was limp.

The officer knew something was wrong after taking a look at the boy and that he needed to do something, or the child would die.

Senior Staff Sgt Azhar and Sergeant Mohamad Adam Roslan, 26, were on duty at the NPC at about 2pm that Saturday.

Speaking to The New Paper on Wednesday, Senior Staff Sgt Azhar said: “His head and legs were dangling as his grandmother carried him.”

The frantic woman went between Senior Staff Sgt Azhar and Sgt Adam to place the unconscious two-year-old on the counter.

She was speaking in Mandarin in a panicked and shaky voice. Neither officer understood her, but both knew they had to act fast.

As Sgt Adam called for an ambulance, Senior Staff Sgt Azhar checked the boy’s vitals. There were no signs of breathing or a pulse, so he applied cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

EMOTIONAL

Senior Staff Sgt Azhar, who has a daughter the same age as the boy, said: “I was worried because as I was trying to save him, doing the compressions, I was thinking of my daughter and I was quite emotional.”

Cradling the boy in one arm, he performed chest compressions with his other hand.

Just as he was about to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, he noticed the boy’s teeth were tightly clenched, indicating he was breathing again but experiencing fits

At the time, Staff Sergeant Joshua Kwek, 27, was on the second storey of the NPC having food.

When he heard of the case, he sprinted to the Sengkang Polyclinic next door.

The polyclinic had closed for the day, but he found a doctor who had not yet left for home and told him about the boy.

Staff Sgt Joshua ran back to the NPC to inform Senior Staff Sgt Azhar, and they rushed back to the polyclinic with Senior Staff Sgt Azhar carrying the boy.

They took him into the doctor’s consultation room.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force spokesman told TNP they sent an ambulance and that the boy was then taken to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

The grandmother of the boy profusely thanked Senior Staff Sgt Azhar and his colleagues.

Senior Staff Sgt Azhar told TNP: “I feel fortunate that he survived. I did not want a human being to die in my hands.”

Assistant Superintendent of Police Muhamad Iskandar Abdul Kadir, the officer-in-charge of the community policing unit for Sengkang NPC, said: “I am proud of them, and they have done the police force proud.

“I am glad they took the initiative to take the boy to the polyclinic instead of waiting for the ambulance.”

Source: TNP

April 3, 2017