Tag: Singapore

Security Guard Jailed For Making Facebook Posts Inciting Religious Violence

A 28-year-old security guard has been jailed for three months after making Facebook posts inciting readers to religious violence.

Muhammad Shamin Mohamed Sidek made the two posts on Nov 29 last year after reading a news report of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a dialogue on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Wen Hsien said that Shamin’s posts used “graphic and evocative language” which “further encourages violence along… religious fault lines”.

She added that the reach of the accused’s words had been magnified by the accessibility of his Facebook platform.

In mitigation, Shamin said he had deactivated his Facebook account the same day after leaving police custody, and that the posts had been those of “a simple layman… venting in frustration”.

District Judge Shawn Ho called the accused’s posts a “grim reminder of how offenders can use technology to stoke the flames of violence… particularly given the current international, regional and domestic security climate”.

“It is infinitely better to prevent a breakdown in law, order and safety than to deal with an aftermath when untold and often irreparable damage has been done,” he said.

Shamin was also convicted of possessing contraband cigarettes, which were discovered during a police raid on his Tampines flat.

He admitted purchasing the 40 packs of Marlboro cigarettes knowing that their duties had not been paid. For this, he received a fine of $3,200, or 16 days’ jail if he defaults.

For making a document or electronic record containing an incitement to violence, he could have been jailed for up to five years, fined or both.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

May 19, 2015
Rail Corridor Turns Into Sins Avenue At Night

A spot along the Rail Corridor near Sungei Kadut Avenue has been turned into an outdoor brothel at night.

Men gawk at a handful of foreign women, who sit in rows. When a deal is struck, the woman guides her client into a narrow pathway carved out of the tall lalang grass.

TNP staked out the area on Wednesday and Thursday. Between 9pm and 10.30pm, we witnessed a steady stream of men going into the state-owned land.

One of them, who gave his name only as Salim, initially told TNP that he used the trail as a shortcut to Yew Tee MRT station.

When pressed further, the Bangladeshi in his late 20s said with a smile: “Inside, there are also Ah Muis (Hokkien for girls), so I take a look while on my way. But I never try them – there are many mosquitoes.”

Some workers claimed that a makeshift brothel has been in business in the area for the last five months, moving locations frequently within the Rail Corridor.

From our observation point about 50m across a muddy canal, we could see men looking at four women seated on plastic chairs.

Closer to Sungei Kadut Avenue, a group of men peddle contraband cigarettes which they stash in the bushes.

Source: www.tnp.sg

May 18, 2015
HOME: Ihumane To Turn Away Refugee Boats

By Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME)

Singapore should demonstrate leadership to the humanitarian crisis that is happening with the Rohingyas, who have been victims of systemic persecution, discrimination and rampant abuse. We also urge the Myanmar government to stop persecuting them to prevent the mass exodus of asylum seekers.

Even though Singapore did not ratify the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, under international law the Singapore government has to adhere to the principle of “non-refoulement” – not to expel anyone back to places where they may experience persecution.

The crisis involving the Rohingyas is one that has to be resolved by ASEAN and not one country alone. But for Singapore to say that it is not in a position to accept refugees goes against the values of cooperation and humanitarianism and we urge the government to re-consider its decision.

Singapore need not accept and re-settle all who seek political asylum. It can work with other ASEAN governments and civil society, both locally and abroad, to ensure that the asylum seekers have temporary housing, food and medical attention while their cases are processed by the the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The solution should not be to turn these boats away as the Singapore government did in 2012 when it refused entry to 40 stranded asylum seekers after their vessel sank off the coast of Myanmar on December 5 and sought to dock in Singapore waters.

An ASEAN inter-agency framework for action should be established and all countries should work together to resolve this crisis in a sustainable way. But even as this framework is being put in place, rather than abandoning them to their deaths, Singapore should do its part and provide them with protection.

This statement has the support of the following individuals:

Lynn Lee, Terry Xu, Jennifer Teo, Rachel Zeng, Joshua Chiang, Shelley Thio, Roy Ngerng,

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

May 18, 2015
Masjid Mujahidin Kini Miliki Galeri Al Quran Baru

Secuah galeri Al-Quran yang baru merupakan kemudahan terbaru yang dapat dinikmati para jemaah di Masjid Mujahidin.

Ia memaparkan keindahan khat atau kaligrafi Islam beserta maklumat tentang pembelajaran Al-Quran menerusi kaedah Qiraati serta alunan merdu ayat-ayat suci Al-Quran menggunakan pelbagai gaya tarannum.

Dua kios i-Pad juga disediakan di galeri digital itu bagi membolehkan orang ramai memuat-turunkan maklumat yang terdapat di galeri itu.

Galeri yang terletak di ruang masuk masjid tersebut merupakan inisiatif pihak masjid mendekati orang ramai serta mengenalkan keindahan Al-Quran menerusi seni, pembelajaran dan pembacaan.

Ia dilancarkan semalam di MeQar, yang merupakan nama baru Pusat Al-Quran di masjid itu yang terletak di Stirling Road.

Pengerusi Eksekutif Lembaga Pentadbir (LPM) Masjid Mujahidin, Encik Mohd Khairul Jameel Yahya, berkata:

“Mungkin tidak ramai yang mengenali pembelajaran Al-Quran kaedah Qiraati dan galeri ini akan memberi maklumat ringkas tentang kaedah tersebut.”

Menjelaskan penjenamaan baru MeQar, beliau berkata: “Dengan tema Jelajah Ilmu Al-Quran, perubahan nama itu bertujuan meluaskan kegiatan-kegiatan yang ada hubungan dengan pembelajaran Al-Quran yang telah dimulakan di masjid sejak awal 1990-an.”

Pusat ini mula mengenalkan kaedah Qiraati, iaitu kaedah cepat pandai baca Quran dengan tartil (tersusun). Kaedah ini diasaskan oleh Allahyarham Kiyai Haji Dachlan Salim Zarkasyi dari Indonesia, sejak 1963.

Turut hadir di majlis itu ialah ketiga-tiga anak Allahyarham Kiai Haji Dachlan termasuk Ustaz Abu Bakar, Ketua Pengurusan dan Pedtabiran Pusat Qiraati Luar Negara Indonesia.

Di Singapura, khususnya di Masjid Mujahidin, kaedah Qiraati diperkenalkan oleh Ustaz Mohammad Masruh Ahmad yang mempunyai pusat Qiraati di Rawang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Sempena majlis tersebut, seramai 100 orang guru Al-Quran kaedah Qiraati turut diberi pentauliahan. Sejauh ini, lebih 800 guru Al-Quran telah menerima tauliah dari Masjid Mujahidin.

Pusat MeQar turut menganjurkan kursus tarannum dan penulisan khat.

Turut dilancarkan semalam ialah majalah MeQar dan kios cenderahati yang membolehkan orang ramai membeli produk berkaitan Al-Quran seperti buku, papan logam dan tulisan khat.

Source: http://beritaharian.sg

May 18, 2015
Lima Anak Melayu Raih Pingat Emas Dari Politeknik Temasek

Lima anak Melayu yang merupakan lulusan Politeknik Temasek menutup tirai persekolahan mereka minggu ini dengan meraih pingat emas sebagai pengiktirafan di atas kecemerlangan mereka.

Setiap daripada mereka telah melalui tempoh-tempoh sukar, baik diuji dengan penyakit mahupun membuat peralihan dan penyesuaian dalam bidang pengajian baru.

Antaranya termasuk Cik Iffah Fathin Mohd Azhar, 20 tahun, yang diuji dengan ketumbuhan sista di rahimnya sehingga menyebabkan pendarahan berlebihan setiap kali kedatangan haid bulanan.

Pelajar jurusan Reka Bentuk Runcit dan Pelayanan itu adalah penerima Pingat Emas tajaan syarikat Designworx, syarikat yang membangun sekitaran kerja berkesan melalui solusi reka bentuk bijak.

Dua bekas pelajar maktab rendah, Encik Muhammad Zulaidil Kasman, 26 tahun, dan Encik Muhammad Alsyaari Mohamed Shahril, 24 tahun, turut dianugerahkan dengan pingat emas kerana muncul sebagai pelajar terbaik kursus masing-masing.

Encik Muhammad Zulaidil merupakan pelajar jurusan Diploma Pengurusan Kemudahan Bersepadu yang meraih pingat emas tajaan syarikat pengurusan hartanah dan kemudahan Property Facility Services.

Encik Muhammad Alsyaari pula merangkul Pingat Emas tajaan Micron Foundation kerana cemerlang dalam bidang mikroelektronik.

Penerima Pingat Emas tajaan syarikat RSA Security Analytics, Cik Nur Syakirah Mohd Said, 20 tahun, juga berdepan dengan kesulitan cabang pengajian forensik digital yang masih baru.

Turut cemerlang tetapi tidak dapat ikut serta merakam foto bersama lulusan lain kerana bercuti di luar negara ialah Cik Amalina Ridzuan, 22 tahun, penerima Pingat Emas Sysmex Asia Pacific.

Beliau adalah lulusan Madrasah Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah dan Diploma Sains Bioperubatan yang ditawarkan tempat di Sekolah Perubatan Yong Loo Lin, Universiti Nasional Singapura (NUS).

Mulai hari ini hingga Jumaat ini, seramai 5,437 lulusan kursus sepenuh masa dan sambilan akan menerima diploma mereka.

Menteri Negara Kanan (Pendidikan merangkap Undang-Undang), Cik Indranee Rajah, akan merasmikan sesi pertama penyampaian diploma di Pusat Persidangan Temasek, hari ini.

Source: http://beritaharian.sg

May 18, 2015