Tag: Singapore

New Book On Local Fatwas

Can a Muslim man donate his sperm? Can cadavers of Muslims be used for medical research? Can pig skin be used to treat a heart defect? These are among the questions answered in a new book explaining the rationale behind 29 fatwas on science, medicine and health.

The first volume in Muis’ Fatwas Of Singapore series was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday (11 Feb). He said he hoped the book would be a source of education for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. It is available in both Malay and English, with an e-book version of the English edition available for download from Muis’ website.

Since its inception in 1968, the Fatwa Committee has issued 577 fatwas. As Muis turns 50 next year, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said “it is timely to showcase how our fatwas have evolved, and take stock of the development of Islamic jurisprudence in our country”. The series explains the socio-historical context behind some fatwas.

Dr Yaacob explained the importance of developing fatwas with society in mind, adding this is recognised in Singapore’s Administration of Muslim Law Act, which allows the Fatwa Committee to follow the tenets of various accepted schools of Muslim law.

And to safeguard public interest, the committee is allowed to re-examine rulings in new circumstances. Dr Yaacob cited a 2007 fatwa that revised an earlier ruling excluding Muslims from the Human Organ Transplant Act. The committee concluded that amending the Act to include Muslims would ultimately promote public interest and welfare.

Speakers at yesterday’s conference included Singapore Mufti Fatris Bakaram, who currently chairs the Fatwa Committee, and Professor Quraish Shihab, a prominent Islamic scholar from Indonesia.

As for the above questions, Singapore’s Fatwa Committee ruled that a Muslim man cannot donate his semen to a sperm bank, and its chairman in 1972 permitted the use of cadavers in certain cases. And while pig skin can be used to treat life-threatening illnesses, there are certain conditions.

Source: StraitsTImes

February 23, 2017
The Strange Route Benjamin Netanyahu Took To Get From Singapore To Sydney

For many people flying from Singapore to Sydney, the flight can take as little as seven hours or so. But not if you are Benjamin Netanyahu. In the Israeli prime minister’s case, it can take more than 11 hours.

As you can see in the map above, created using data from FlightAware, the Israeli leader took an unusual detour when traveling from Singapore to Australia overnight. The Guardian newspaper confirmed this unusual route with Netanyahu’s delegation.

This detour added several hours to his journey.

Netanyahu’s plane wasn’t taking the scenic route by choice. Instead, the carrier — El Al, Israel’s national airline — was deliberately avoiding Indonesian airspace.

Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population. Like other Muslim-majority nations, the country has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel because of the latter’s conflict with Palestinians. Some implications of this are well known — Israeli passport holders are refused entry to a number of Muslim-majority nations, except in special circumstances, although Israeli citizens are permitted access to Indonesia on tourist visas.

However, the strange route of Netanyahu’s plane shows another effect of Israel’s diplomatic situation. Indonesia doesn’t grant El Al access to its national airspace, necessitating a circuitous route around it.

And Indonesia isn’t the only country to restrict access. A quick look at Netanyahu’s earlier flight from Tel Aviv to Singapore shows how the Israeli prime minister took an unusual route, which may have been designed to avoid the airspace of Saudi Arabia or another nation.

Representatives of El Al didn’t respond to clarify what airspace they were prohibited from flying over.

Netanyahu’s awkward journey around Indonesia comes at a time when the Israeli leader is hoping for a closer relationship with Jakarta. The two countries were reported to be informally upgrading their relations in 2012, with Indonesia opening a consulate in the West Bank city of Ramallah that would include a diplomat who would unofficially serve as ambassador to Israel.

However, when Netanyahu called upon Indonesia to normalize diplomatic relations last year, the Indonesian government said it would do so only when the Palestinians are granted an independent state.

Source: WashingtonPost

February 23, 2017
Tuas Fire Involves Chemical Waste And Flammable Materials; Public Advised To Stay Clear Of Area: SCDF

Explosions can be heard as firefighters fight to put out a fire involving chemical waste and flammable materials at a Tuas waste management plant on Thursday (Feb 23) morning.

The cause of the fire is not known. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) says the fire involves chemical waste and flammable materials and has advised the public to stay clear of the area.

Eye witnesses told The Straits Times that the roads around the site of the fire at 23 Tuas View Circuit are closed and bus services have stopped.

ECO Special Waste Management was engulfed in flames when the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived. It is fully licensed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) as a Toxic Industrial Waste Collector, a General Waste Collector, and an Asbestos Removal Contractor, among other qualifications.

It provides services to industrial and commercial customers from industries such as petrochemical, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, power generation, electronics, marine, engineering, and semiconductor, with 2,000 customers, the company said on its website.

Construction worker Asraful, 23, told The Straits Times he saw the fire when he woke up at 8am.

Mr Asraful, who lives in Tuas South Dormitory, was walking out from Tuas South Ave 9, which had been closed to the public.

“The buses have all stopped,” he said.

Mr Daniq, 40, a chef, was on his way to work at Tuas Power Station at 10am. He said he had to walk from a long way off because of road closures due to the fire.

Around 200 SCDF responders are currently at the site to put out the flames.

SCDF has also deployed nine fire engines, five Red Rhinos, four Unmanned Firefighting Machines, one ambulance and 15 support vehicles.

In a Facebook post at 9.49am, it said: “Periodic explosions could be heard as firefighters battle the blaze to contain it within the affected premises. SCDF is also applying foam to suppress the fire in the drains within the immediate vicinity.”

An earlier SCDF Facebook post at 8.40am said that the area, which measured about 200m by 200m, was fully engulfed in flames when their officers arrived.

It first alerted the public about the fire on its Facebook at 7.18am, adding that StarHub mobile subscribers within the immediate vicinity of the fire incident would have received an advisory message urging members of public to stay away from the area.

Police confirmed the fire in a Facebook post: “The Police confirm that a case of fire has been reported at 23 Tuas View Circuit. Tuas South Ave 3 and Tuas View Crescent are closed to facilitate operations. The public is advised to avoid the area.”

Source: StraitsTimes

February 23, 2017
Singapore Biker Chick Speaks Up Against New Additional Registered Fee (ARF)

We have masked robbers caught and incarcerated, yet we have our finance minister gloriously on TV, executing daylight robbery on citizens who save up hard-earned wages to own a bigger capacity motorcycle to suffice their daily transport/sport/leisure all in one.

After increasing public transport rates, you give a miserable 10-cent discount for every 6 train rides spent, you issue one-off GST vouchers capped at $200 that isn’t even close to covering the increased Water Utilities bill rates, yet you take tens of thousands of dollars from us in an instant, without a damn reason with a new Additional Registered Fee (ARF) of up to 100% of the OMV for bigger motorcycles.

Who are you to rob us monetarily? Who are you to rob us of our simple hobbies? And where does this unjustifiable 100% extra ARF loading on motorcycles go to?

In the year of the Rooster, I guess you’ve undeniably earned yourself the biggest Cock award of the year.

Source: Vaunephan

February 23, 2017
Police: Beware Of Scams Offering Uber/Grab Ride Promotional Packages

Since last week, the Police have received at least nine reports where victims were cheated into purchasing “Grab / Uber promotional packages”. The total amount cheated is at least $7,700.

Victims were introduced to the cheap “Grab / Uber promotional packages” through their friends who had come across these advertisements by word of mouth. The victims were then asked to contact the seller via Whatsapp, and were instructed to transfer money to bank accounts to purchase the packages. However, after making payments, victims were not able to redeem the rides and the seller became uncontactable subsequently.

The Police would like to advise members of the public to purchase rides only from the official sources and to always exercise caution when purchasing items at prices that sound too good to be true. When in doubt, please call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722 6688 or visit https://www.scamalert.sg.

Anyone with more information on this crime is requested to call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Source: Singapore Police Force

February 22, 2017