Tag: tudung

Workers’ Party: Set Up Committee to Address Malay-Muslim Concerns

SINGAPORE – Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap of the Workers’ Party yesterday called for the formation of a committee to address concerns of Malay-Muslims over how their loyalty to the nation is viewed.

But in a swift rebuttal, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Manpower Hawazi Daipi deemed his suggestion unnecessary as this was an issue that could be overcome by strengthening inter-racial ties.

The exchange began with Mr Faisal saying that more needed to be done to “address and find solutions” to community concerns highlighted in a recent report. He quoted the findings of the Suara Musyawarah committee, which said Malay-Muslim participants felt left out in certain policies and practices which “question the loyalty of Malays to the country”.

The committee was formed in 2012 to gather feedback on the thoughts, concerns and aspirations of Malay-Muslims. Its report highlighted personal accounts of employers expressing a preference for non-Malay workers and surfaced concerns over exclusion from certain parts of the Singapore Armed Forces.

Mr Faisal acknowledged that progress has been made in terms of opportunities afforded to Malay-Muslims in education and national service, but said the committee’s formation could offer a “quick solution” to achieving a “more inclusive and open Singapore society”.

Responding to his speech, Mr Hawazi and Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) later asked Mr Faisal if the latter had ever felt that his loyalty to the country was questioned, and what his own views on the issue were.

“I’m concerned (that) if we highlight the differences, we will be widening (them) not only among one community but all communities,” said Mr Hawazi, adding that schools and community activities are means to forge greater social cohesion.

In response, Mr Faisal stressed that the issue of loyalty among Malays was surfaced by the Suara Musyawarah report, and not him.

Mr Hawazi then suggested that Mr Faisal had cherry-picked portions of the report, failing to highlight, for example, that Malay-Muslim participants also said they were “very committed” to Singapore on issues that include defence and security.

Maintaining that he was reflecting concerns on the ground, Mr Faisal said: “I have said in my view that I am aware and agree there is progress made, but because there are still many people who say that this issue is present, I, as a voice of the people, would like to voice it out.”

Source: The Straits Times

READ MORE ON WORKER’S PARTY RELATED ARTICLES

May 29, 2014
Muslim Butcher Paste Hijab Sticker on Stall to Promote and Support Hijab Awareness

Support for Hijab sticker logo seen on a local Muslim food stall. Credit: Mohd Saiddhin Abdullah

Support for Hijab sticker logo seen on a local Muslim food stall. Credit: Mohd Saiddhin Abdullah

Hijab sticker in conjunction Singapore hijab movement seen on Facebook profiles of many Muslims who helped to spread the awareness

Support for Hijab sticker logo seen on a local Muslim food stall. Credit: Mohd Saiddhin Abdullah

Dear R1C,

I would like to share something wonderful that I found over the weekend. I saw one of my friend shared a photo of a local Muslim butcher stall owner who pasted hijab movement sticker on the stall. The stall is located at Blk 4A Eunos Crescent Market & Food Centre S402004. I want to express how happy I am to see this. I believe more people should paste all these stickers at their work place, their food stalls, their home and even their car. As Muslims, it is our duty to spread this awareness.

As a proud Muslim, I am happy to find a growing number of Muslims who are supporting the hijab movement. Hijab is a command of Allah and every command of Allah is full of wisdom.

Wearing a hijab for me feels great. It definitely makes you feel different somehow as if your spirit is being up lifted. For myself I wear a hijab with guidance but also as I feel comfortable. I don’t try to push myself too hard but still stay within boundaries of what Allah would want.

I started by wearing the hijab and practicing how to wear it when going out with friends and incorporated a new wardrobe along the way as hijab is not just covering the head. I made people around me aware of my interest in Islam and that I was serious about becoming Muslim and in doing so following “it” and respecting Islam as much as I can and that means representing the faith and we should as well as Muslims following their book of guidance and Muhammad who was a great teacher.

Allah wants us to be protected from harm and get maximum benefit so keep in that in mind. It is all about believing in yourself and that you can do it. Take the hijab as a stepping stone to a new direction. Once you wear it you will understand that it is not difficult. You have to have the courage to wear it as it will protect your beauty.

Hijab is dignified, not dishonoured, noble, not degraded, liberated, not subjugated, purified, not sullied, independent, not a slave, protected, not exposed, respected, not laughed at, confident, not insecure, obedient, not a sinner, a guarded pearl, not a prostitute…

Khadijah Abdul Majid

May 12, 2014
Rehashing the Hijab Movement in Singapore

NUS Nursing undergraduate Afiqah Binte Kamel, who started the Singapore Nursing Hijab Movement aimed at representing nurses and the specific issues surrounding wearing the hijab in nursing.
Credit: Google Images

SINGAPORE, Mar 14 (Campus Eye) – Debates concerning the ban on the hijab for Muslim women wearing uniforms in the civil service continue between the Singapore government and lobbyists, after having been reignited in late 2013.

This issue resurfaced following the creation of the Singapore Hijab Movement, a Facebook group that amassed more than 20,000 likes within weeks of being set up. The group ceased operations on Nov. 14, 2013.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Yaacob Ibrahim, said in a statement released on his Facebook page following closed-door discussions in November 2013 with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that Malay ministers from the People’s Action Party and civil society leaders in the Malay-Muslim community must “manage and balance the diverse needs of our multi-racial and multi-religious society,” and that “accommodation and compromise by all parties” is necessary.

Lobbyists for the cause are dissatisfied with this seemingly ambivalent government response.

One such reaction came from Walid J. Abdullah, a tutor in National University of Singapore (NUS) Political Science department and active participant in the ongoing debate.

“One of the things we are afraid of is dialogue and debate about religion in Singapore. On all sides, there needs to be more openness, more engagement,” he said.

“Have discussions, for example, with the nurses who want to wear the hijab,” Walid added. “Get to know them, get to know what their intentions are.”

This sentiment was echoed by NUS Nursing undergraduate Afiqah Binte Kamel, who started the Singapore Nursing Hijab Movement aimed at representing nurses and the specific issues surrounding wearing the hijab in nursing.

Read more here

Written by Sharifah Nursyafiqah

Source: Sharifah Nursyafiqah, Campus Eye NUS, Afiqah Kamel

MORE HIJAB RELATED ARTICLES HERE

April 30, 2014
Muslimah Shares Story on Bipolar Disorder

SINGAPORE – Sanity and happiness, Mark Twain once wrote, is an impossible combination.

In Yohanna Abdullah‘s case, it is all too true. She cannot afford to get too happy because that would trigger something in her brain and make her do outrageous things.

Like sunbathing in her underwear in Kallang Park, singing, dancing and flirting with strangers in public, and even marrying a foreigner she met online but barely knew.

The 47-year-old publications executive has bipolar disorder, a mental illness characterised by severe mood swings, from depressed (“low”) to manic (“high”).

Ms Yohanna has been diagnosed as Bipolar Type 1, which means she is prone to mania.

“I am generally a modest person but when I am high, I’m uninhibited and say or do as if there is no wrong or right. Whatever is right is what feels right at the moment,” she says.

She was diagnosed with the condition – which experts say is caused by many factors ranging from genetic to social – more than 15 years ago.

The divorcee and mother of two children, aged 17 and 19, believes it was triggered by a combination of factors: mother-in-law issues, the stress of juggling work and motherhood, financial problems and the discovery of her former husband’s affair with a colleague.

Her meltdown shocked many who knew her to be Miss Congeniality, an intelligent woman with a bubbly disposition and a promising future.

Chatty and articulate, Ms Yohanna is still grappling with the condition which turned her life into a roller-coaster ride, but says medication and the support of loved ones have helped her to manage it a lot better.

She had only a brief attack last year. This was a far cry from two years ago, when she had to be hospitalised in the Institute of Mental Health on at least 10 occasions.

Source: Asiaone

February 27, 2014
11 Kebaikan Memakai Tudung Bagi Muslimah

1) anda tidak perlu membuang masa set rambut, sikat2 dan dandan bagi lawa, pakai vidal sasoon ke mousse ke bagi rambut nampak lawa, berkilay dan beralun. Suami pun x merungut lama sgt menunggu korg mekap.

2) korg tidak akan terasa membahang di kepala. Iklim malaysia yg panas dan membahang akan menyebabkan kepala cepat panas bila cahaya matahari yg berUV direct kena rambut n kepala. Menyebabkan kerosakan rambut dan tisu kulit kepala yg mengakibatkan kurap dan sopak.

3) jika korg mempunyai rambut yg cantik beralun, korg ada segala hak utk x bagi org tgk. Biasanya org kalu nak beli henpon, dia akan beli yg dalam kotak dan bukannya display set. Korg ni mahal, bukannya bahan free show.

4) tidak akan ada org yg menyalahkan korg kalau korg ni kena rogol ke atau kena raba ke disebabkan korg x memakai tudung serta x tutup aurat.

5) penjimatan duit yg confirm banyak sbb nak set rambut kat salon bukannya murah. Satu sesi dah beratus. Sebulan at least kena pegi salon sekali utk basuh rambut. Belum masuk kos syampu, minyak rambut, mousse, conditioner.

6) nak solat mmg senang, xyah susah2 carik telekung. Boleh solat terus dgn baju yg dipakai sekiranya xde najis. Jimat masa.

7) tak perlu risau rambut kusut masai ditiup angin lemah gemalai

8) jika anda ke amerika, org tempatan akan menghormati anda. Skang ni org amerika dan barat lebih memahami islam banding org timur.

9) cakap telefon senang. X la sharp sgt bunyik suara kat speaker. Mengurangkan risiku kena barah akibat gelombang radio telefon.

10) anda x payah nak set2 rambut atau dandan rambut. Save time, save money, mesra alam (kurang sampah dibuang).

11) awek seksi bukak aurat naik motor dgn boifren? BOHSIA! Awek tudung menutup aurat naik motor dgn suami? SWEET!

Sayangnya, hanya satu kekurangan (dr segi nafsu) kalau menutup aurat – dunia ni penjara bagi org mukmin dan syurga bagi org kafir.

Sumber: Fais Al-Hajari

February 26, 2014