HUBUNGAN masyarakat Islam dan pemerintah sebagai rakan kongsi telah membolehkan banyak cabaran sukar diatasi dalam pembangunan negara, kata Menteri Perhubungan dan Penerangan yang juga Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.

Perkongsian itu berteraskan penerimaan norma masyarakat berbilang kaum dan agama, bersikap terbuka, bertolak ansur dan menghargai keprihatinan dan hambatan.

Beliau berkongsi pengalaman Singapura itu semasa menekankan perlunya Islam diamalkan mengikut konteks setempat supaya dapat menyumbang kepada pembangunan di samping mengamalkan nilai Islam.

Berucap di Persidangan ‘Islam dalam Dunia Semasa’ anjuran Sekolah Pengajian Antarabangsa S. Rajaratnam (RSIS) semalam, Dr Yaacob berkata masyarakat Islam seluruh dunia sedang melalui transformasi sosial dan pelbagai isu seperti penyertaan politik, sekularisme, ekstremisme dan hak asasi.

Namun, respons terhadap isu haruslah berteraskan nilai yang telah lama diamalkan seperti saling menghormati, rendah hati dan keterangkuman.

“Di Singapura, kami berusaha mengambil kira realiti kehidupan umat Islam yang membina masa depan mereka dalam masyarakat berbilang budaya dan bangsa yang ditadbir secara sekular,” kata beliau.

Dr Yaacob berkata hubungan masyarakat dan pemerintah yang disemai sepanjang 50 tahun telah membolehkan masyarakat Islam Singapura menjadi sebahagian daripada kemajuan dan sama-sama membina negara.

Beliau memberi contoh pembentukan Akta Pentadbiran Hukum Islam (Amla) yang mengambil kira konteks kedudukan Singapura sehingga terlahir Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis), institusi Mufti dan Jawatankuasa Fatwa.

Ia telah membolehkan isu ditangani seperti merobohkan masjid dan surau di kampung semasa proses pembangunan semula bandar, pembinaan masjid baru yang selesa untuk ibadah dan pendidikan, fatwa progresif yang menyuntik kesegaran pada harta wakaf sehingga mencapai nilai $600 juta, dan pembentukan Mahkamah Syariah yang menangani isu perceraian.

Usaha terus dilakukan bagi memastikan warisan perundangan Islam terus relevan dengan realiti di Singapura, kata beliau.

Pendekatan secara damai ke arah mencari titik persamaan telah membantu menyumbang kepada hubungan harmoni di kalangan pelbagai masyarakat di Singapura dan mengukuhkan struktur sosial.

Ia satu proses berterusan yang memerlukan semua pihak berterus terang dan bersikap sopan, kata Dr Yaacob yang juga Menteri Bertanggungjawab bagi Keselamatan Siber.

Peranan pemerintah ialah mewujudkan sekitaran dengan dasar yang menggalak kesedaran dan rasa hormat terhadap kepelbagaian budaya dan peluang sama rata.

Ia mendorong masyarakat bersatu padu melawan sikap eksklusif yang memperkecil-kecilkan kepercayaan orang lain, sikap prejudis dan stereotaip yang boleh melemahkan perpaduan, tambah beliau.

“Bagi Singapura, sejak merdeka, masyarakat dan pemimpin agama sentiasa mendekati isu dengan tujuan mencari penyelesaian yang bermakna kepada masalah konkrit.

“Masyarakat kita mempunyai tradisi yang berpandukan prinsip kesederhanaan, keterangkuman dan menghormati kepelbagaian, serta mengambil bahagian secara aktif dalam usaha membina negara kita. “Ini adalah cara Singapura. Kita sebagai sebuah masyarakat perlu menghargai dan melindunginya,” kata Dr Yaacob.

This article was first published on April 29, 2016.
Go to beritaharian.sg for more stories.

A transgender Singaporean who “has been living as a woman for the past 10 years” has been granted sanctuary in Britain to protect her from having to do reservist training in Singapore.

Britain’s The Guardian reported on Wednesday (April 27) that two judges have ruled that she should not be forcibly returned to Singapore, where she would be required to do two weeks of reservist training each year “for the next eight years”.

The 33-year-old transgender woman, who was not named “for legal reasons”, went to Britain in September 2004 as a student.

It was reported in The Straits Times in 2014 that the Singaporean considers herself “transgender lesbian”. Although women, including transgender women, in Singapore are not required to serve National Service, she had chosen not to undergo full gender reassignment procedures and is thus still legally required to serve.

Her previous bids to remain in Britain for the same reason were unsuccessful, and she was allowed to remain in the country until October 2012 to complete her studies.

But her case was heard in the first tier of Britain’s immigration tribunal in November, The Guardian reported. The judge then said that requiring her to “hide her gender and live as a man, even for two weeks a year, would be wholly unreasonable”.

Britain’s Home Office appealed against that judgment, but the appeal was rejected this week.

According to The Guardian report, Britain’s Home Office had accepted her as a woman, and the gender on her Home Office ID card is female.

She had completed National Service in Singapore between December 2001 and June 2004 as a man, and has said that she “felt uncomfortable serving with men”.

She reportedly also said that she would find it intolerable to be treated as a man after living as a woman for 10 years. She also said she has recurrent nightmares about her time spent in military service, The Guardian reported.

The Straits Times said in a report today (April 29) that if repatriated, she would be required to serve in-camp training of about two weeks a year until 2023, or face up to three years in prison and a fine of $10,000.

sinsh@sph.com.sg

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The New Paper, Kelly Kimberly Cheong, Ava Gia Munaji Salamat

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Video screengrabs

A cross-dressing Singaporean who “has been living as a woman for the past 10 years” has been granted sanctuary in Britain to protect him from having to do reservist training in Singapore.

Britain’s The Guardian reported on Wednesday (April 27) that two judges have ruled that “she” should not be forcibly returned to Singapore, where he would be required to do two weeks of reservist training each year “for the next eight years”.

The 33-year-old man, who was not named “for legal reasons”, went to Britain in September 2004 as a student.

His previous bids to remain in Britain for the same reason were unsuccessful, and he was allowed to remain in the country until October 2012 to complete his studies.

But his case was heard in the first tier of Britain’s immigration tribunal in November, The Guardian reported. The judge then, referring to the man as a “her”, said that requiring the man to “hide her gender and live as a man, even for two weeks a year, would be wholly unreasonable”.

Britain’s Home Office appealed against that judgment, but the appeal was rejected this week.

According to The Guardian report, Britain’s Home Office had accepted the man as a woman, and the gender on her Home Office ID card is female.

The man had completed National Service in Singapore between December 2001 and June 2004, and has said that he “felt uncomfortable serving with men”.

It was reported in The Straits Times in 2014 that the man who considers himself a “transgender lesbian” cannot change his gender to female under Singapore law as he had not undergone sex-change surgery. He also does not have any intention to undergo surgery.

The Straits Times said in a report today (April 29) that if repatriated, the man would be required to serve in-camp training of about two weeks a year until 2023, or face up to three years in prison and a fine of $10,000.

sinsh@sph.com.sg

Soon, you may not need to seek out the Government for a service that you need. The government service will come to you on your mobile device.

That is because different government agencies will share the data of citizens among themselves to anticipate their needs and make life simpler for a smart nation.

“Citizens want services to be pushed to them when they need them,” said Ms Jacqueline Poh, managing director of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), at the Ministry of Communications and Information’s workplan seminar yesterday.

So if your season parking is up for renewal, you could get a reminder on your mobile device.

Specific projects have not been firmed up, but some possibilities have been flagged.

A notice filed at the Registry of Marriages could trigger the push of information on pre-marital counselling, and housing and mortgage loan applications.

The IDA is already partnering 98 government agencies to create e-services that can benefit citizens, such as the OneService mobile app launched last year that lets residents report municipal issues, such as blocked drains, without having to figure out which government agency to contact.

Also launched last year, the myResponder app calls qualified volunteers to suspected heart attack cases until emergency services arrive, while the Beeline app lets office workers book rides from private bus operators.

Later this year, the IDA will merge with the Media Development Authority to form the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA).

A new Government Technology Agency, or GovTech, will be formed to continue the IDA’s existing smart nation engineering efforts. The IDA’s regulatory role will go to the new IMDA.

Mr Gabriel Lim, head of the MDA and chief executive-designate of the IMDA, said the merger will help create new business opportunities in fields such as virtual reality and augmented reality.

“Often, we use the technology in the context of games,” he said. “But it can be applied in training for jobs that are more dangerous, like firefighting.”

This article was first published on April 29, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

One of the few Singaporeans who know how to build and repair kampung houses and dig wells still resides on Pulau Ubin.

Mr Ahmad Kassim is 80 years old and has been living on the island for 70 of them. He can rattle off the various steps involved in what is usually a two-month process of building a kampung house.

“You go into the forest to collect suitable wood, lay the foundation, build the frame… Eventually, you add the zinc roof,” he said.

“It takes gotong royong (kampung spirit) to complete it.”

His expertise was uncovered and recorded by anthropologist Vivienne Wee and her research team as part of the first comprehensive study of Pulau Ubin’s living heritage.

Dr Wee, managing director of anthropology company Ethnographica, was commissioned by the National Heritage Board (NHB) to map the island’s social history.

Her year-long research, which has just concluded, recorded about 90 structures, including houses, huts and coops, on the 10.2 sq km island, off the north-eastern coast of mainland Singapore.

It also identified other skills of islanders, including the cultivation of indigenous fruits, herbs and spices; fishing and crabbing by line, hook and trap; and having knowledge of wildlife such as hornbills and wild boars.

The study further puts to rest the assumption that the island is a sleepy backwater island in decline.

Previous newspaper reports said there were 38 official residents on the island – down from 2,000 between the 1950s and early 1970s. But Dr Wee’s research has found that there are more than 130 people who live and work on Pulau Ubin.

She has also identified a “kampung-centred social network founded on kinship, neighbourly relations and friendship” on the island.

She said the network is not only thriving but also extending beyond the island’s shores to include non- residents and regular visitors.

Capturing ‘way of life rooted in our history’

Younger Singaporeans are also integrated into the day-to-day affairs of Pulau Ubin. The island gets about 300,000 day trippers annually.

Dr Wee said they are tied to the island through informal apprenticeships, fitness and leisure, or because of their family businesses.

For instance, financial consultant Emily Chia, 26, returns to the island thrice a week to help her father run the family’s bicycle rental shop. “I really love this place, the people and the way of life,” she said.

Dr Wee said the constant flow of non-residents to the island and their induction into the network reflect that it is likely to continue to grow, expand and evolve.

The project also documents different aspects of Ubin’s unique island heritage, including the social history of the island, religious practices and festive events, such as the annual six-day-long Tua Pek Kong Festival, which drew 5,000 people last year.

Dr Wee said the study is significant as it captures “a way of life that is rooted in our history”.

First suggested by the Singapore Heritage Society, the project is one of NHB’s contributions to The Ubin Project, led by the Ministry of National Development.

The ministry is working with the community and other government agencies through its Friends of Ubin Network to gather ideas on how to maintain the island’s rustic charm. Its plans include preserving Pulau Ubin’s nature, biodiversity and heritage.

Mr Alvin Tan, NHB’s assistant chief executive of policy and community, said the project’s findings will help the authorities develop sensitive strategies to retain and enhance the island’s heritage and “ensure its transmission from one generation to another”.

Those interested in learning more about Pulau Ubin can catch the premiere of film-maker Royston Tan’s new documentary on May 14 on the island’s wayang stage as part of this year’s Singapore HeritageFest.

A 25-minute documentary capturing Dr Wee’s research is available on NHB portal Roots.sg.

This article was first published on April 29, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.