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Tag: Singaporeans

  • Former Malaysian DPM Tun Musa Hitam Is Liberal And Proud Of It

    Former Malaysian DPM Tun Musa Hitam Is Liberal And Proud Of It

    KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam has declared that he is a liberal and proud of it, joining a small but growing band of Malay Muslims speaking up in the face of Islamic fundamentalism that has crept into the country.

    In an interview with The Star daily published today, Musa, the first of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s four deputies, also pointed out that Umno was founded on the principles of moderation and liberalism because the Malay nationalist party wanted Malaysia to be one.

    “Only moderation and liberalism will allow us to survive,” Musa was quoted saying.

    “First let me say this emphatically and very firmly – I have always been a liberal and a moderate and am proud of it. My family, my parents, my elders brought me up that way, and in my more grown up days since I entered politics, my political party Umno adopted the stance of moderation from the early days that we gained independence. But I don’t know what’s happening there now,” he added.

    Musa’s declaration of his liberal beliefs comes after a group of 25 retired senior civil servants called for open debate of Islamic legislation in Malaysia and urged Putrajaya to assert the supremacy of the Federal Constitution over Shariah state laws.

    Malaysia’s religious authorities have long derided liberalism and pluralism, with Friday sermons nationwide claiming a conspiracy by “enemies of Islam” to manipulate Muslims through such philosophies and other ideologies like secularism, socialism, feminism and positivism.

    This has been repeated by Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who in April said that Islam was being tested by new threats under the guise of humanism, secularism, liberalism and human rights.

    Musa told The Star that he was very happy to see the statement made by the 25 prominent Malays.

    “To me personally, that was a very good symbolic statement made by them in that they triggered thinking, arguments and conversations. Then there were the responses, which I compliment also because they are not calling names. They are not arguing based on irrationality but arguing on an almost point-by-point basis. This was absent before,” he said.

    The 80-year-old also noted that “many Malay leaders” were attempting to instil fear and a siege mentality among the Malays, but did not name anyone.

    “As a result, they are also instilling a very serious inferiority complex among the Malays. This is misplaced. So many Malays are capable, yet every day these groups are saying ‘You are inferior, you need protection’ and ‘Those superior people are attacking or threatening us’,” said Musa.

    He said Malays had no reason to fear as they were well-equipped to face such challenges and to be competitive.

    The former deputy prime minister and home minister, who served from 1981 to 1986, stressed that a democracy must have a high tolerance of criticism, amid a spate of investigations and prosecutions under the Sedition Act 1948 targeting mostly dissidents against the government.

    “So, what I am trying to do is appeal to both sides, don’t just arrest them and hassle them. Use rationale and reasoning,” he said.

    Musa also expressed concern about the use of racial and religious issues to gain political mileage, which he said hearkened back to the time leading up to the bloody May 13 race riots in 1969.

    “Very early on in my political career, I saw so many attempts for popular support using racial and religious issues. I hate to use this example but I have to – the May 13 incident was the result of it all.

    “But we were supposed to have learnt and corrected ourselves after that. Yet now, after so many years, we seem to be back to the old days. The basic ingredients are the same, the approach is the same, even the statements are the same in many respects. In the historical perspective, it brings a very eerie reminder of the bad old days,” he said.

     

    Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

  • PAP Parachutes Former Hougang SMC Candidate Desmond Choo To Tampines

    PAP Parachutes Former Hougang SMC Candidate Desmond Choo To Tampines

    As the general election draws near, failed PAP candidate Desmond Choo at the Hougang constituency has suddenly been seen making the rounds at the Tampines GRC.

    In his Facebook posting last week, Mr Choo made mention of Tampines several times.

    “Visited our residents from Blk 260 last night. Very glad to know that many of them were in good festive spirits. Most of them were residents of Tampines for more than 20yrs and their children continued to stay in Tampines after their marriage,” he said.

    “When asked why, it was simply, “We love Tampines”.

    One wonders though why he did not continue to stay in Hougang after the last general election, or why the PAP decided to move him out.

    In fact, Desmond Choo had ran his campaign in the by-election in Hougang on being ‘Always Here for You’.

    But it looks like Mr Choo has decided to stop being there for the Hougang residents and have decided to turn heart towards Tampines.

    Will ‘We love Tampines’ be his new slogan?

    More importantly, will the Tampines residents buy into his sudden entrance?

    On his Facebook, he also said, “We have gotten a lot of good feedback to improve the neighborhood. We need to continue to work hard to ensure that this will be the case for many years to come.”

    Just yesterday, Mr Choo also visited the markets to try to win more votes.

    Once again, he spoke about how long the residents have been in Tampines.

    “Many of the shopkeepers had been around since 1985.

    “Their continued vibrance had continued to attract patrons from even outside Tampines. Was reminded by them frequently that the Merchant Association and Town Council relationship is the foundation of their livelihood.

    “Seems like we have a strong bedrock in place,” he said.

    Looks like Mr Choo’s strategy is to emphasise on the residents’ stay at Tampines in the hope that by latching onto their presence that this can help him get voted into parliament.

    Will the Tampines residents let it happen?

    Mr Choo had failed in make inroads in Worker’s Party-stronghold at the Hougang constituency and has been shifted to Tampines.

    Tampines GRC is currently headed by ex-minister Mah Bow Tan who is widely unpopular, after his harshly-criticised housing policies. Mr Khaw Boon Wan, who took over him as National Development Minister, has also been criticised, especially for his remarks on how Singaporean households who earn only $1,000 are able to buy HDB flats.

    Mr Choo, who was given the moniker, “auntie’s killer”, is not the only candidate who is parachuted into the Tampines GRC. At the last general election, Mr Baey Yam Keng who was previously at the Tanjong Pagar GRC, was also sent in, in a bid to help win the Tampines GRC.

    But Tampines GRC only won 57.2 percent of the votes at the last general election and Mr Choo’s move looks to be an attempt to stave off the possibility of the PAP losing the GRC at the next general election.

    At the Hougang by-election in 2012, Mr Choo had asked Hougang residents not to vote for the Worker’s Party as it will be four more years of “the same thing”.

    Thankfully, the Hougang residents did not listen to PAP’s Choo.

    Looks like his leaving is an acknowledgment of the Hougang’s residents wanting more of “the same thing” with the Worker’s Party.

    “And if I may say, four years of the same thing is four years too long,” Mr Choo had also said.

    It does look like his patience and commitment to his Hougang residents was worn quite thin.

    And four years is indeed “too long” for him. He has decided to jump ship to the Tampines GRC. Only time will tell if Mr Choo finds four years “too long” with the Tampines GRC.

    Mr Choo’s wife, Pamela, was known to be working at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). They got married after two months after the 2011 General Election.

    Desmond Choo was the National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) deputy director of industrial relations and the National Transport Workers’ Union’s (NTWU) deputy executive secretary.

    MOM and NTUC has refused to implement a minimum wage to protect workers in Singapore and have instead worked in cahoots with the government and businesses to cause the wages of Singaporeans to depress instead.

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com

  • Reverend Kang Ho Soon Preaches Inclusivity

    Reverend Kang Ho Soon Preaches Inclusivity

    For more than 40 years, Reverend Kang Ho Soon has preached the message of inclusiveness.

    He has welcomed homosexuals to his services, invited religious leaders from various faiths to speak to his Christian flock and reached out to prostitutes and migrant workers.

    The Methodist preacher, who retired this month at the age of 65, said: “I’ve been open to friendship with anyone in any station or walk of life, from all religions.”

    His retirement service at Paya Lebar Methodist Church on Nov 22 was testament to this.

    Among the 1,000-strong crowd were Catholic nuns, a Taoist priest, imams, Sikhs and a representative from atheist group the Humanist Society Singapore.

    Rev Kang, a 30-year member of the Inter-Religious Organisation Singapore (IRO), said he does not set out to change people but to “accept them for who they are and to be their friend”.

    At 23, in his first role serving the Methodist Church as chaplain of Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) and pastor of the Barker Road Methodist Church, he gave his “full blessings” to a Muslim caretaker – known to him only as Madam Saminah – to hold Islamic classes in her living quarters at the church.

    Their friendship blossomed and he would visit her and her family every Hari Raya. Her grown-up daughters were present at his retirement service.

    Instead of pursuing an engineering degree, Rev Kang studied theology at Singapore Bible College and Trinity Theological College.

    He spent a decade at Paya Lebar Methodist Church, five years at Wesley Church and 17 years at Kampong Kapor in Little India – his longest term. There he reached out to prostitutes and migrant workers in the community.

    He said: “Everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, sex trade workers and migrant workers were welcome to attend our services at Kampong Kapor. If we don’t reach out to them, we end up neglecting them.”

    He credits his openness to having spent his youth growing up in a kampung on the southern isle of Pulau Bukom.

    There, he learnt Jawi, an Arabic alphabet for writing Malay. It was something his late father, a labourer from China, encouraged him to pick up so he could interact with his Malay peers.

    Rev Kang is married to former St Andrew’s Junior College teacher Kang Yeok Lung, 65, and brought up his three children in the same way.

    His elder son, 35, a deputy public prosecutor, has four children of his own. Rev Kang also has a 29-year-old son who works in the communications field and a 26-year-old daughter who is an officer at the Economic Development Board.

    Another friend, Imam Habib Hassan of the Ba-Alwie Mosque, an IRO member, said Singapore needs more open-minded leaders like Rev Kang.

    “One time he wasn’t well in hospital, I went to see him. He asked me to pray for him,” said Imam Habib. “We pray for each other… This is the spirit of inter-faith relations that he has been building up.”

    Bishop Wee Boon Hup of the Methodist Church Singapore said Rev Kang’s approach to reach out to those who might have a “less favourable view of the Church” has been well received.

    “It is difficult to move forward in inter-faith relations unless someone first starts to reach out to another,” he said.

    “Ho Soon is one of those who reach out… He makes friends with people from all walks of life, engages in conversation with them and, in the process of hearing them share their faith journey, he is also able to let them hear of his faith.”

    Rev Kang, who admitted that his approach has not been “fully accepted” in some Christian circles, believes it is time for the Church “to speak more words of love, hope and peace to marginalised communities, instead of words of condemnation and judgment”.

    While he has retired from the Methodist Church, Rev Kang said he will be a pastor till the day he dies.

    He said he will devote his time to people, rather than institutional or organisational concerns.

    He aims to be a “listening ear” and counsellor to people from all walks of life, including pastors, people of all faiths or no faith, and people of all sexual orientations.

    “We’re a conservative society, but everyone can have a place and equal standing,” he said. “We look to try to understand and accept one another, with no agenda to convert.”


    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • More Foreigners Contribute To Higher TB Incidence In Singapore

    More Foreigners Contribute To Higher TB Incidence In Singapore

    A greying population and a rise in the number of foreigners have contributed to an increase in the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in Singapore since 2008, a study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has found.

    The incidence rate of TB — the number of new cases per population at risk, at a given time — had been on a downward trend in Singapore since 1998, even hitting a historic low of 35.1 cases per 100,000 people in 2007. But the number began to climb to around 39 cases per 100,000 people from 2008.

    In their study, which was published in BioMed Central Public Health journal in October, the NUS researchers looked at more than 40,000 TB cases reported to the Singapore Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (STEP) registry between 1995 and 2011. They found that the higher incidence of the infectious respiratory disease among the elderly partly accounted for the increase in incidence of TB among Singapore residents; the resident elderly population here in 2011 was almost double its population in 1995.

    The researchers also found that another contributor to the overall burden of TB here came from the growing non-resident population, who were found to have higher TB incidence rates than residents. Since around 2005, the liberalisation of Singapore’s immigration policy saw a marked increase in the foreign population here, noted the study.

    “As you grow older, you also have conditions that weaken your immune system, and it’s the immune system that controls the tuberculosis bacteria,” said Dr Hsu Li Yang of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at NUS, who led the study.

    His colleague, Assistant Professor Alex Cook, said that though STEP — a programme started in 1997 under which a nurse or doctor supervises patients with their daily medication, while their relatives, friends and colleagues are screened — managed to better control the disease over the years, the effects of an ageing population remained bigger than the results of STEP efforts.

    That is why the researchers noted that since 1995, the incidence rates of TB have been decreasing when compared across different age groups. This means that a 65-year-old in 2011 had a lower chance of getting TB as compared with an individual of the same age in 1995, for instance.

    Meanwhile, the proportion of TB cases involving non-residents increased from 25.5 per cent in 1995 to 28.9 per cent in 2004 and 47.7 per cent in 2011.

    “An increasing trend of non-resident TB cases contributing to the overall proportion of TB cases over the years could suggest that mass immigration from high TB incidence countries is increasingly contributing to the burden of TB in recent years in Singapore,” noted the study, which cited India and China as some of the countries of origin of these non-residents.

    But while non-resident TB cases contributed to the overall TB rates here, the researchers did not find a direct link between the increase in the foreign population and the risk of TB among local residents.

    With these findings, Dr Hsu noted that doctors in Singapore would have to be more aware of potential tuberculosis cases among the elderly. Already, foreign workers entering Singapore are undergoing stricter checks for TB, with their X-rays sent to the STEP registry, he added.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that nine million people developed TB and 1.5 million died from the disease last year. Singapore sits within a region that accounts for 29 per cent of the global TB incidence. Though TB is slowly declining each year and it is estimated that 37 million lives were saved between 2000 and last year through effective diagnosis and treatment, the WHO noted that the death toll was still unacceptably high, given that most deaths from TB are preventable.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Malaysia Likely To Price VEP At RM20

    Malaysia Likely To Price VEP At RM20

    The prospect of having to pay more than double what they are currently forking out to drive across the Causeway has jolted Singaporean motorists into saying they will drastically reduce the frequency of their trips up north.

    Although the RM20 (S$7.55) Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) fee that Malaysia plans to charge for foreign-registered vehicles entering the country from around the middle of next year is less than half the RM50 figure bandied about previously, drivers say cost savings from shopping in Malaysia — already slashed as a result of toll hikes imposed by both countries since Oct 1— will be negligible with the latest VEP charge.

    Malaysian daily New Straits Times, quoting the country’s Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi, reported last Saturday that the details of the VEP fee implementation for foreign vehicles, including the installation of charging devices, are being worked out. Once completed, the fee will be levied at the Causeway and the Second Link, said the minister, adding that Malaysia is also mulling over the implementation of the fee for vehicles entering from Thailand and Brunei.

    The charges for Singaporean drivers crossing the Causeway recently increased by more than five times from RM2.90 to RM16.50, after higher toll rates kicked in on Aug 1 at the Johor Baru Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex.

    Two months later, Singapore raised the toll charges at the Woodlands Checkpoint to S$6.50.

    With the new VEP fee imposed by Malaysia, Singaporean drivers would have to pay more than S$20 for a round trip to Johor.

    Freelance videographer Edwin Cheng, 32, who drives to Johor at least once a week to buy groceries and pump petrol, said he was shocked and disappointed by the third round of hikes.

    “I used to be able to save up to 40 per cent for a full tank of petrol and up to 20 per cent for groceries in Johor. Now, it would make no difference if I pumped petrol and did my grocery shopping in Singapore,” he said.

    Mr Cheng added that he would cut back on trips to Johor once the new VEP fee kicks in and would also stay there for longer periods so he can do more things.

    Student relations officer Rosnah Hussain, 30, shared the same sentiment. Before the toll hikes, she would drive to Johor at least thrice a week to buy groceries, go for massages and pump petrol.

    Ms Rosnah added: “After the (toll) hikes, I go (to Johor) only once every two weeks. Once the VEP fee is imposed, I don’t think I will go so often, it is too expensive.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com