Tag: Walid Jumblatt Abdullah

Walid J. Abdullah: Singapore Needs To Re-Examine Ideas Of ‘Tolerance’, ‘Harmony’ And ‘Extremism’

We really need to think through the idea of ‘tolerance’ and ‘harmony’, and ‘extremism’.

Is a person intolerant because (s)he refuses to say merry christmas to someone else? Does one turn into an extremist for having the belief that religious practices should be exclusive to one’s own faith? And if we start here, i wonder where do we draw the line: what do we make of a person who refuses to marry outside his/her faith? Is that person an ‘extremist’?

Personally, i know of a couple of elderly Muslims who do not attend events at churches or temples (it’s a personal preference, as they would mostly acknowledge), but no one in the right mind would ever make the claim that they are ‘distant’ or ‘intolerant’: they are probably some of the nicest neighbours one could have. They give food to their neighbours (yes, non-Muslims too), always strike a conversation with strangers in the block, and never fail to smile at anyone.

At the same time, i have many non-Muslim neighbours who have never wished me ‘Selamat Hari Raya’ or ‘Eid Mubarak’ (for whatever reasons): but of course, no one bats an eyelid when that happens. When a Muslim does/does not do the same thing, it is suddenly problematic. Unfortunately, Islam is always on trial.

One of the ways that we should not make a community feel ‘distant’, is to stop viewing the world in false binaries. We should not be too quick to accuse and ‘advise’ a particular group, based on our own worldviews and understandings of the world.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

January 21, 2016
Walid J. Abdullah: The injustices in Palestine and Syria deserve equal outrage as the Paris attacks

I am not disturbed at all by people who change their profile pictures to incorporate the French flag. Some do it because they studied/worked in France, or have learnt French, and therefore have a natural affinity for the country and its people. Some do it because it’s cool to jump onto the bandwagon. Some do it simply because all it takes is to press a button. It is all fine. There is really no need to get upset about that.

Changing your profile picture does not need in any way imply you are fine with killing of innocent people elsewhere, so we must not make such tenuous claims.

What does disturb me though, is when people say that talking about innocent lives being taken away elsewhere, or speaking on how Western foreign policy could be one of the causes of terrorism (not the only one, obviously), is somehow equal to devaluing human life, or is equivalent to justifying the murders in Paris. I think that is just absurdity of the highest order.

Of course, we must in no way justify the Parisian murders, or devalue the lives lost. I just don’t see how saying that Palestinians go through similar stuff, or stating that Syrians have been through worse, or that many other peoples in the world face injustices everyday, ‘cheapens’ the lives lost in Paris.

Worse still, some of the people who are saying such stuff, are usually completely silent when innocent people are killed elsewhere.

If someone is vocal about the loss of innocent lives in Afghanistan, for example, and then says that we should not compare Paris to other countries, i can accept that, even if i may not agree with the premise.

But for those who are silent on other issues, and yet see the need to lecture others who are expressing dismay at the loss of Palestinian lives, i think we know for sure who are the ones that actually ‘cheapen’ the lives of others.

An innocent life is an innocent life: if we rush to condemn one act of terror vociferously, and then are silent towards others, i think it is good to check why on earth we are behaving in that manner, who is it that we are so eagerly trying to please, and whether that is indeed consistent with our own moral codes.

It also seems to me like people who refuse to discuss the causes of terrorism properly, are perhaps not really interested in solving it.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

November 17, 2015
Walid J. Abdullah: Society, Not State, The Answer To Police And Nip Seditious Comments

I always get worried when someone is charged or jailed for saying something ‘wrong’. Believe me, i know all about racist/derogatory comments (i am Muslim and Indian, after all!), but even with regards to those who make such remarks towards my religion or ethnicity, i would never advocate for the strong arm of the law to punish the offender.

And what is even more worrying for me, i see so many people cheering the sentence of the dude who allegedly hurt so many Singaporeans with his comments; and in fact, many are asking for a longer jail term.

Do we really have to punish people who make the slightest of offensive remarks? Can’t we disagree loudly and passionately, or call them out ourselves? Can we ever solve racism or attain true racial harmony if our response is to utilize the full force of the state each time something like this happens?

I say: always be careful if you advocate for more state intervention in terms of punishment, because today it may be someone else who said something ‘wrong’; tomorrow, when societal conditions and/or the state change, it may be your turn.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

September 22, 2015
SG on Gaza: ‘Analysts’ and ‘Experts’ Should Not Complicate and Obfuscate Conflict

I refer to Mr Goldberg’s article ‘Why Hamas is trying to get Gazans killed‘.

I am quite astonished by the ahistorical approach he has taken, and his attempts to diminish the severity of the over 100 Gazans killed by Israeli attacks, and worse, absolving Israel of any blame.

Interestingly, the number of Israeli casualties/injuries are also not mentioned, hence the grossly brutal and disproportionate nature of the attacks were hidden.

It is also quite astounding that entire blame is shifted to Hamas. Lest we forget, this conflict is not three weeks old, nor is it one that started in 2005 as the author seemingly suggests.

Hamas was founded in the 1980s (and perhaps the author forgets that Israel was at least partially responsible for its creation), while Israel’s occupation began in 1948, and further expanded in 1967. To attribute the effect of occupation as the cause, is at best a rewriting of history, and at worse, disingenuous.

Additionally, the West Bank is not under Hamas; so if Hamas is the problem, why is West Bank still illegally occupied by Israel?

Israel has violated more UN resolutions than any other state in the world, and even though almost the entire world voted at the UN general assembly for an independent Palestine, Israel – backed by the US – purposefully ignores the will of the international community. I wonder why all these basic facts were not mentioned in the letter.

Another unmentioned truth is that whatever actions the Palestinians have taken – armed resistance, ceasefire, negotiations with Israel, going through the UN – the building of Jewish settlements never ceased and in fact grows exponentially. A simple look at UN reports and one would find this.

Considering all these, is it any wonder there is so much trouble in Palestine?

I urge Israel to abide by the international laws that govern every state, and I hope that ‘analysts’ and ‘experts’ will provide better and fairer analyses, and not obfuscate and complicate what is a relatively simple and straightforward matter.

Authored by Walid Jumblatt Abdullah

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July 16, 2014
LATEST: Chinese Man Call Malays “Stupid and Poor”, “Extremist”

Thanks to a vigilant Singaporean, Rilek1Corner was alerted again on another racist and offensive comment by a male Chinese who goes by the name of ‘Issac Teck Shuean‘.

Issac who stated on his Facebook profile to be residing in Singapore and born in Johor, had called Malays “stupid and poor” and “extremist“.

Last month, another male Singaporean Chinese man, Peter Hu lodged a police complaint to say that he did not post an offensive comment on Muslims. In his attempt to cover up his insensitive remark, Peter Hu claimed that his account was “hacked”. In another posting he claimed that the image was “doctored”. Later on, he said that he was unaware of the offensive posting existence until his friends had informed him about it.

So which is the truth? One story, different information coming from the same guy.

Rilek1Corner was informed that Peter Hu who is openly gay, an avid PinkDot SG supporter and an LGBT activist, had previously argued with several anti-PinkDot activists in a Facebook group called ‘We are against PinkDot’.

The police are currently investigating this case.

https://www.facebook.com/thepeterhu

https://www.facebook.com/thepeterhu

Another female Singapore Chinese woman named ‘Kim’ who has an Instagram account ‘@kimmeeoow’ also said offensive remarks on Muslims and Malays.

She claimed her Instagram account was hacked. But preliminary investigations from netizens and tip-off from her friends have revealed that none of her social media accounts was hacked because she was posting as usual after she made those offensive comments. The police are also currently investigating this case.

Also in the hall of shame, we have Amy Cheong who was an employee of NTUC was terminated due to her tactless insensitive remarks on Malays.

Her insensitive comments have deeply hurt the Malay community and left a lasting impact thus far.

Amy Cheong $50 void deck wedding

EDITOR”S NOTE

Thank you Abdul Malik Mohammed Ghazali for the contribution.

While we understand offensive comments made by non Malays/Muslims such as Peter Hu, Amy Cheong, Kimmeeoow, and now Issac Teck Shuean are not true reflection of majority, we the minority, cannot help but notice the increasing number of individuals who are unhappy towards both the Malay and Muslim communities.

Our advice: Keep those thoughts to yourself. Don’t share it on social media because chances are, you will be featured here. And the rest will be history.

Racism is not confined to one race – all communities need to join hands to end it. It is an issue ignored, downplayed and denied.

Let’s move forward. Let’s end racial prejudice and religious discrimination.

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July 12, 2014