Rilek1Corner

Tag: WP

  • Faisal Manap: Malay Muslim Community Fund Patut Diagih Kepada Masjid-Masjid

    Faisal Manap: Malay Muslim Community Fund Patut Diagih Kepada Masjid-Masjid

    Assalamualaikum Wr. Wb.
    May Peace Be Upon You

    My Malay speech for MCCY’s COS debate touching on the allocation of the Malay Muslim Community Fund (MMCDF).

    MMCDF was established in 1991 to support Mendaki’s effort in enhancing the social development of the Malay Muslim Community

    My speech (in Malay):

    ‘Dalam menjawab soalan saya didewan ini, sama ada pengunaan MMCDF boleh dilanjutkan kepada institusi masjid, Menteri berkata, ini tidak dapat dilakukan kerana masjid tidak dianggap sebagai sebuah badan Melayu-Islam. Namun beliau menambah bahawa Masjid boleh meraih dari dana ini jika program-program sosial mereka dijalankan dengan kerjasama badan-badan pemerintah atau organisasi Melayu Islam yang lain.

    Saya amat kagum dengan usaha kerjasama masyarakat Islam Singapura dalam pentadbiran masjid. Lembaga Pentabdiran dan warga-kerja sesebuah masjid berusaha bertungkus-lumus dalam mentadbirkan masjid manakala masyarakat Islam pula memainkan peranan kearah kestabilan masjid melalui sumbangan kewangan dan tenaga. Seperti yang diketahui, pihak masjid amat mengalu-alukan setiap sumbangan masyarakat dalam segala jenis bentuk terutamanya sumbangan kewangan. Ini adalah kerana, apa yang saya fahami, segala perbelanjaan dalam pengurusan masjid seperti perbelanjaan utiliti, pembayaran gaji bulanan dan yang lain-lain dibiayai menerusi wang sumbangan masyarakat.

    Inilah Semangat Muafakat atau Kerjasama yang terlahir atas niat dan usaha yang ikhlas demi mencapai objektif bersama iaitu memajukan masjid di Singapura. Kestabilan institusi masjid yang dibina atas Semangat Muafakat atau Kerjasama ini akan menjadikan masjid antara penyumbang yang penting dan utama bukan hanya sahaja dalam pembentukan spiritual tetapi juga pembentukkan sosial masyarakat Islam kita.

    Salah sebuah tema pada Belanjawan ini adalah Semangat Kerjasama. Atas Nilai Semangat Kerjasama ini, saya ingin menyarankan agar Menteri dan pihak pemerintah dapat mempertimbangkan usulan agar penggunaan dana ini dapat dilanjutkan kepada masjid agar MMCDF ini dapat mendatangkan lebih manfaat terhadap pembangunan masyarakat Melayu Islam Singapura. Ini juga memperkuatkan lagi Semangat Kerjasama antara pemerintah dan badan-badan Melayu Islam.

    Saya ada 2 soalan bagi Menteri, (1) Bolehkah Menteri terangkan apakah kriteria yang diambil kira dalam mengkategorikan sesebuah institui atau badan sebagai sebuah Badan Melayu Islam (MMO) dan (2) siapakah atau pihak manakah yang menentukan kriteria yang digunakan ini.’

     

    Source: Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap

  • Sylvia Lim: Is The People’s Association Losing Its Way?

    Sylvia Lim: Is The People’s Association Losing Its Way?

    The People’s Association (PA) came under Ms Sylvia Lim’s scrutiny in Parliament on Wednesday (April 13), with the Workers’ Party chairman questioning its “ever-increasing” budget and whether it had drifted from its mandate, which includes fostering social cohesion.

    Speaking on the first day of the debate on the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth’s (MCCY) budget, Ms Lim said it was understandable that the PA’s FY2015 budget was much larger than usual because of the SG50 activities that were organised and the building of facilities for residents.

    However, the Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC questioned its budget for FY2016, which stands at nearly S$900 million.

    “(It is) still very high… This is a significant 34-per-cent increase from FY2014. How is the high expenditure justified?” Ms Lim asked.

    Turning to the PA’s mandate, Ms Lim said she believes that some of the association’s activities have deviated from its objectives, which include “fostering cohesion and bonding, and … promoting group participation that transcends sectional loyalties”.

    “An unhealthy culture seems to have developed within some quarters of the PA, who see its role to include advancing the ruling party politically and undermining the work of Opposition MPs,” Ms Lim said.

    She pointed to the mobilisation of PA activists to campaign for the ruling People’s Action Party’s candidates during elections as “just one aspect”.

    Ms Lim said that when MPs from the Workers’ Party try to advance their residents’ welfare through infrastructural projects, they learn that government bodies, such as the Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Housing and Development Board, recognise only PA organisations — such as Citizens’ Consultative Committees (CCCs) and Residents’ Committees – as the “proper channels”.

    Citing an occasion when she was seeking information from the MND on plans for private-estate upgrading projects in her ward, Ms Lim said: “The ministry referred me to the CCC. I then wrote several times to the CCC, but it seems that my letters do not even merit a reply.”

    A total of 24 MPs and four Nominated Members of Parliament rose to speak on the MCCY’s budget on issues ranging from helping the Malay-Muslim workforce retrain and stay economically relevant, nurturing homegrown athletes, to promoting corporate giving and volunteerism.

    The debate on the ministry’s budget continues on Thursday.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Walid J. Abdullah: No Political Merits For Opposition To Fight For Foreign Workers Issue Vs Malay Muslim Issues

    Walid J. Abdullah: No Political Merits For Opposition To Fight For Foreign Workers Issue Vs Malay Muslim Issues

    The recent Parliamentary sessions really demonstrated both the positive aspects and limitations of our opposition, as it stands.

    MP Faisal’s question on Muslims and the navy has resulted in a discussion on the said matter. Not that he is the first person to ask this question; many Muslims have articulated similar concerns before. But because he is a parliamentarian, and because the question was asked in Parliament, the issue has gained traction. For people who always ask ‘what’s the point of having opposition MPs; all i want is a clean neighbourhood, shelters to my bus stops etc’, this is the perfect example you should consider.

    At the same time, the fact that Denise Phua wasn’t challenged for her statements in Parliament – by both her colleagues and the opposition – is more than slightly disturbing to me. There was nothing unambiguous about the speech; the moment i read it i cringed. And felt angry. And was perturbed. And disappointed. In many ways, the government response to the navy question was expected, but this speech, was extraordinary. Yet, it elicited no response.

    To be honest, i am just as disappointed in the opposition for not challenging her speech. An indirect Facebook status about the incident and some feel-good anecdotes to show Singapore society’s ‘tolerance’, is quite simply, not enough.

    One cannot help but wonder why this is the case. Worse still, some tried to justify it by stating it is ‘a matter of choosing the wrong words’. Erm, no it isn’t. It is about the essence of the speech! Not the ‘phrasing’.

    Why didn’t anyone comment on the matter? Is it because there is no political mileage in standing up for foreign workers? Or did the rest agree with her statements? Is it about foreign workers per se, or is it about Indian/South Asian foreign workers in particular (which would then indicate a racial dimension to the matter)?

    Whatever the reason is, together with the other incidents (Navy and halal food, Tampines 1’s Chinese audience and people subsequently trying to justify it by stating it is a business decision, not a racial one), as a minority, one cannot help but worry about the tone of proceedings.

     

    Source: Walid J. Abdullah

  • Daniel Goh: I Will Do My Best In Term As NCMP

    Daniel Goh: I Will Do My Best In Term As NCMP

    Dear everyone, thank you for the congratulatory well wishes. Media partners, sorry I can’t take interviews tonight, am out with family for pre-New Year festivities. It is my privilege to be elected as NCMP and to serve my country in Parliament.

    I don’t think I can sleep tonight; I know this is a grave responsibility and I will give it my best in the coming years. I love Singapore and want this nation to last for our children, to be a “shining red dot”, as our PM puts it, for generations to come.

    To my fellow Chinese Singaporeans, a Happy New Year ahead, may the Year of the Monkey bring your family abundant vitality and good health!

     

    Source: Daniel Goh 吴佩松

  • Leon Perera: WP Working Within Flawed System To Bring About Democratic Progress

    Leon Perera: WP Working Within Flawed System To Bring About Democratic Progress

    Just finished the debate in Parliament on filling the vacated NCMP seat. Most of the People’s Action Party members of the House were present for this particular debate. Over the past few days, when the House debated national issues and Parliamentary questions, the attendance often dipped to 30 or 40 (or less). Interesting priorities. Please read the text of the PAP’s amendment to our motion. It speaks volumes about their approach to politics and Parliamentary debate.

    I was asked me why I accepted the NCMP position if I opposed the NCMP scheme as bad for Singapore in the longer-term. I believe the NCMP scheme serves the PAP’s interests by enabling it to ask voters to vote only for the PAP to entrench the current one party hyper-majority in Parliament. It is fully elected Opposition MPs who assure political balance. But, as Mr Low Thia Khiang explained (amidst occasional laughter from the PAP MPs), we need to work within a flawed system, one that keeps getting changed and “refreshed” by the ruling party.

    Why do we do this? To do whatever we can to help build a democratic society. In the 1960s, the Barisan Sosialis left Parliament in protest at what they saw as unjust policies. We choose to stay and work within the system, in spite of its many unfair aspects and challenges. A democratic society has to be fought for, step by step and brick by brick.

     

    Source: Leon Perera