Winds of Change in the SAF?

Hopefully it is more than tokenism as a Malay MP suggested. Forty-four years after independence, a Malay-Muslim is finally appointed as a one star general in the SAF. He is in charged of the 6th Division and that does sound like a front line and sensitive appointment.

However, Khairulanwar makes a good point - to show whether the SAF has integrated Malays, perhaps it can release figures on statistics and representation of Malays in the SAF. This could be a better sign that Malays are now accepted as fellow defenders of Singapore. I sometimes wonder whether between choosing a naturalised citizen or a Malay for a sensitive SAF unit and all things equal, who would the SAF choose. I hope that the answer is an easy one for the decision-makers and someone who is born and socialised here, rather than some import, gets the job.

Nevertheless, I would not be sceptical and cast aspersions on why and how BG Ishak was promoted. I'm sure he rose through the ranks through his own merit and he is not some SAF tokenism. Instead, I am optimistic that the SAF will involve Malays more and more in our country's defence and the winds of change are here.


2009/06/26
Singapore military picks first Malay general

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will create history on July 1 when it appoints a Malay general.

Colonel Ishak Ismail, 46, a senior Malay officer who has served for 28 years in SAF, is being promoted to Brigadier General, local media reported today.

He was one of the five SAF colonels (the other four non-Malays) who received their appointment letters as Brigadier Generals and a First Admiral during a function at the Defence Ministry yesterday.

Singapore has been criticised by various parties especially the Malay leaders and communities in and outside the island republic including Malaysia for seemingly practising a policy of not giving Malay SAF personnel opportunities to rise to the highest ranks due to concern over their loyalty.

Col Ishak who is SAF Sixth Division Commander since August last year, is among 464 SAF full time and National Service officers promoted this year.

"If this promotion is seen as something that can inspire others, it will also indirectly motivate them to work hard and achieve excellence every time," he was quoted by Berita Harian Singapura as saying.

Member of Parliament Zaqy Mohamad was quoted by Today newspaper as saying that Col Ishak’s achievement was a milestone for the Malay community in Singapore.

"It’s been talked about that you don’t see Malays serving in the upper echelons of the SAF. Now you’'ve got one, so it dispels some talk," said Zaqy who added that Col Ishak’s promotion would pave the way for more capable candidates in time.

"I hope it’s not seen as a token appointment," he said.

Sedition Law Applied Again

I have many friends who are Christians and I am fortunate that most of them are moderate and not pushy about their religious views at all. The only views we are all pushy about, relatively speaking, are political ones and those views cut across gender and religious lines. I am glad the government bothers to take such blatant deliberate attacks on Islam as serious provocation, and its recent position on the Aware controversy is comforting that secularism is the political direction of the day. Nevertheless, some of my Catholic friends find that although the government is nervous about any Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) cartoons circulated in Singapore some time back, it is less worried about films like the Da Vinci Code, which could be interpreted as having negative portrayals of the Catholic Church, kicking up a storm.

Christian couple convicted for anti-Muslim booklets

SINGAPORE (AFP) — A Christian Singaporean couple were found guilty of sedition on Thursday for distributing evangelical publications that cast Islam in a negative light, court officials said.

Ong Kian Cheong and his wife Dorothy Chan had been charged with distributing a seditious publication to two Muslims in October and March 2007 and sending a second such booklet to another Muslim in December that same year, a district court official told AFP.

The publications were found to have promoted feelings of ill-will and hostility between Christians and Muslims, the Straits Times said on its website.

A hearing was set for June 4 for mitigation pleas and sentencing.

The sedition charge carries a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to 5,000 Singapore dollars (3,437 US) or both.

Singapore, a multi-racial island nation, clamps down hard on anyone seen to be inciting communal tensions.

In 2005, two ethnic Chinese men were jailed for anti-Muslim blogs.

The following year, a Singaporean blogger received a stern warning after posting cartoons mocking Jesus Christ on his online journal.

Ethnic Chinese make up a majority of the city-state's resident population but there are significant numbers of Malay Muslims, ethnic Indians and other groups.

Gaza's Children

Everyone must constantly be reminded that victims of any war would be civilians and children are the ones who suffer most. What would the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder be on children if adults themselves struggle to cope with it? Children would be psychlogically scarred if they survive the conflict physically. And sadly, as victims of violence, all they might understand is violence in future. Both sides should not continue to provoke each other and hopefully a ceasefire would occur very very soon.


300 Gazan Children Killed, 1,500 Wounded Since Tuesday

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- As of Tuesday, over 300 children have been killed and more than 1,500 wounded, since the Gaza crisis began on Dec 27.

United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) executive director Ann M. Veneman described the figures as not merely "cold figures" but those which interrupt the lives of children.

"No human being can watch this without being moved. No parent can witness this and not see their own child," she said in a statement on Thursday.

Ann said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon was currently in the Middle-East, appealing for urgent compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1860.

The resolution calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire and the unimpeded provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza.

Another Racist Blogger Arrested

Why are there still racists? Because such ignorant people will always be around.

Acting on a complaint, the police arrested that racist and it is reassuring that some action is taken, and that they didn't just ignore the whole complaint. I presume they would take action on any racist regardless of her or his ethnicity.

Nevertheless, what is appropriate action now after the supposed arrest? Should that blogger be jailed, fined, issued a stern warning or do community service? Which is the action that is most beneficial to society and that blogger at the same time, without turning him more antagonistic towards other races and blaming them for the predicament he is in now somehow?

I think it should be community service as it is his chance to make things right.

Response to Islam in Singapore : Where to from here ?

Unfortunately, the comments section of this is deactivated and so I decided to post my comments here:
######################
I don’t quite get Dr Alwi’s rhetoric of Singapore’s by attempting to either dilute or modify Islam in order to integrate its Muslim community. As Singaporeans, we should just continue to practice Islam as it is and stop harboring thoughts that others are trying to impede our practices.

First of all, “Islam does not concentrate on filling men’s minds with philosophical ideas, or on excessive dream-like spirituality, or on physical training and perfection, or on self-serving materialistic philosophies such as exist nowadays. The personality of the Muslim is perfectly integrated and balanced, and no aspect of it is overtaken by others, as happens in other societies where man is brought up under imperfect manmade systems which all too often are governed by selfish desires, reprehensible innovations or deviant ideas.”

Secondly all Muslims are supposed to be on good terms with their neighbors, regardless of their religious practices and there isn’t a need to dilute the Islamic practices. “With his neighbor, the true Muslim is an example of good treatment and consideration of others’ feelings and sensitivities. He puts up with mistreatment and turns a blind eye to his neighbor’s faults while taking care not to commit any such errors himself. He always adopts the Islamic attitude whereby treating neighbors well was made a basic principle of Islam, so much so that the Prophet thought that Jibrail would make his neighbor his heir. Therefore he never does anything bad to his neighbor, nor does he fail in his duty towards him; rather, he does not spare any effort to do favors for his neighbor, without expecting any favors, reward or thanks in return.”

Muslims do not unjustly accuse others of ‘fisq’ or ‘kufr’ and should be modest at all times. Nothing can restore the health and authenticity of the Muslim identity except a sincere return to the eternal way of Allah and a deep understanding of the mission with which the Muslim has been entrusted. This will enable the Muslims to fulfill their duty of conveying this message to mankind, after they have adopted it for themselves as an ideology and way of life.

##############################
References:
http://www.crescentlife.com/articles/islam/ideal_muslim.htm

Foreign Domestic Workers restrictions on their religious practices in Singapore?

While blog-hopping, came across this http://nusms.blogspot.com/2008/03/religious-freedom-for-indonesian-maids.html.

For a mere SGD$200++ per month, some of these domestic workers need to work like labourers, deprived of food, salaries, religious freedom, and social contact. The full report is available here http://hrw.org/reports/2005/singapore1205/6.htm .

10 Facts abut Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore- http://www.scwo.org.sg/cms/content/view/111/29/

1. There are more than 140,000 foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Singapore. Most are from Indonesia and the Philippines. The rest come from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, India and Bangladesh.

2. One in eight households in Singapore employs a foreign domestic worker.

3. The number of FDWs has increased almost thirty fold since the Foreign Domestic Worker scheme was introduced in 1978.

4. Each day, an average of 10 FDWs seek help and advice from their embassies because of problems such as physical and/or sexual abuse, non-payment of wages, not being given adequate food, and work-related stress.

5. In 2001, MOM banned 49 people from hiring FDWs. This was 12 times as many as in 1997.

6. Nine out of 10 people accused of maid abuse are women. This has been attributed to the stress of shouldering the household burden alone coupled with the lack of family support at home.

7. In the last four and a half years, 90 FDW’s, mostly Indonesians, have fallen to their deaths from high-rise buildings.

8. In 2001, less than 1% of the total population of FDW’s ran away from their employers and was not successfully repatriated.

9. Employers lodged 350 complaints against maid agencies in 2001, a 50% rise since 1998.

10. Only 19 of the more than 700 maid agencies in Singapore have been accredited under the Case trust scheme so far.

Sufiah Yusuf-A disgrace to the Muslim Society?

Memalukan apabila ada diantara anak gadis Islam yg cerdik menjadi sedemikian. Tidakkah dia menyedari bahawa lelaki-lelaki tersebut memperalatkannya? Apa nak jadi dengan dunia ini. I'm amazed that Sufiah Yusuf has yet to make it to Wikipedia unlike our infamous Annabel Chong.

Berita Minggu paid a tribute to Sufiah by dedicationg 1 whole page to her. Sex sells huh. A local Malay sex prodigy coming up soon?
~~~~~~
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/7/nation/20870201&sec=nation

Monday April 7, 2008
I have no regrets, says Sufiah
PETALING JAYA: Maths prodigy Sufiah Yusof, who is now working as a prostitute, claims she is living the life she wants without any regrets.

She does not think being an escort is sleazy and terrible and says her clients treat her like a princess in an interview with British tabloid News of the World.

“People think escorting is sleazy and terrible but I don’t see it like that,” she said in a no-holds-barred interview that was published with pictures of her in skimpy attire and sexy poses.

Sufiah: ‘People think escorting is sleazy and terrible but I don’t see it like that’
Sufiah claimed that she wanted to be in control of her life.

“I hate this stereotype society has of escorts as being exploited. It is so far from the truth. My clients treat me like a princess. One guy took me shopping on Bond Street. He bought me a beautiful black Gucci dress for £300 (RM1,920) and then took me to Selfridges, where I could pick a handbag I liked.”
Sufiah chose a £600 (RM3,840) Gucci clutch and later that night, she repaid him for his generosity .

The 23-year-old Sufiah, who passed her Maths A-level when she was only 12, was enrolled at St Hilda’s College in Oxford a year later.

She was working as an administrative assistant earning £16,000 (RM102,400) a year in Manchester when, about four months ago in a bar, she was asked by an “immaculate lady in a designer suit” to become an escort.
She found the offer appealing because she was running up debts of about £3,500 (RM22,400) in rent and credit card expenses.

“I have studied so intensely for so many years, I wanted to have some fun,” said Sufiah, whose Pakistani father Farooq Yusof forced her to study day and night.
The father is now in jail for sexually assaulting two pupils.

She sent her photographs to an escort website and the agency listed her. A few days later, she was offered a client.
She admitted being quite nervous, but excited as well.
Sufiah said the first client was a “lovely man” in his late 20s, tall and handsome.
“I left that night feeling totally elated having an amazing time with £250 (RM1,600) in my purse,” said Sufiah.
She has built a base of regular clients and saw between five and 10 men each week.

“I don’t believe my education had been wasted – in fact, I usually take problem sheets with me to solve before appointments,” she said.

Sufiah claimed she could earn more than £1,000 (RM6,400) a night by having dinner and staying over with a client.

“Now, I wonder if I could go back to a normal relationship, where you watch EastEnders and have boring sex. I’ve gotten used to being treated like a princess,” she said.

If Sufiah talked glowingly about her “career,” she was not so effusive when talking about her childhood and her father.

She recalled studying maths all the time. She did not have any friends or allowed to join any activities.

“As I grew older, I began to clash with my father. He was violent at times. He pushed me so far academically, I became more confident for any girl my age. I grew up too quickly.

“Oxford was an amazing place but I was too young. By the time I was 15, I wanted to be in control of my life. I fought back,” she said.
That was the year she ran away from university.

Sufiah told the News of the World she ran away with £200 (RM1,280). She found a hostel in London for £14 (RM89.60) a night. After a week, she moved to a hostel in Bournemouth.

When she was found in an Internet cafe, Sufiah refused to go home. She was placed in foster care.

When she was 18, Sufiah returned to Oxford to resume her studies. She fell in love and married fellow student Jonathan Marshall a year later.

“At that time, I thought we would be together forever, but we married too young and grew apart,” she said.

After the divorce, she moved back to London and taught maths in the evening.
Six months ago, she shifted to Manchester and became an escort.

“I still enjoy learning and I find it puts me in the right frame of mind for an
intelligent conversation with my clients,” she said.
Sufiah is adamant about continuing with her “career” because “I have a nice life.”

She also does not want much to do with her parents. Describing the relationship as estranged, she said she was in contact with them occasionally but “couldn’t speculate what they will think of my new life.”

“I have never felt so confident about my body and I’ve had some of the best sex of my life,” she said.