He Ain't Heavy, He's Your Father

When Mas Selamat Kastari's relatives were jailed in Nov 2010 for aiding a fugitive from the law, the message sent was loud and clear - nation's interest comes before family ties. Mohd Fatris Bakaram, Deputy Mufti of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), rubbed in the salt: "It is natural to help and give protection to family members, but it is not acceptable by Islamic law to perform the act that will jeopardise the peace and security of a society." Well, it depends on whose family is involved.

When 3 young Singaporeans were charged under the Sedition Act for allegedly posting inflammatory racial remarks online, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong drew the line in the sand:

"It does not matter whether inflammatory racist remarks are made online or offline, it is still against the law to stir up distrust and enmity between the races. And the Singapore government will act against anyone who threatens racial and religious harmony". (17 Sept 2005).

"It has nothing to do with whether you are a blogger or not. If you publish such stuff, anywhere you go, we will act," said Lee, who was then speaking to reporters at the launch of a family carnival organised by the People's Action Party Community Foundation (PCF) and the National Trades Union Congress.

This is how he acts after the Association of Muslim Professionals issued a strongly worded statement to seek clarification on whether MM Lee's comments on the Muslim community reflected the thinking of the Government, comments which "have hurt the community and are potentially divisive": "The views on Singapore Muslims expressed by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in a new book are his personal opinions, and not those of the Government," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday. That's it? He's going to continue drawing a fat salary as a member of the Government? He's not going to step down "for personal reasons" and "spend more time with the family"? Do we need an ICBM from North Korea heading our way to send the PM a clearer message?

Would the 3 young Singaporeans mentioned earlier have been left off the hook if they used the "personal opinions" defence? Can Alan Shadrake, who published some stuff about the judicial system, also avail himself of the "personal opinions" defence? Are we to understand that all Government policies are also subjects of "personal opinions"? That's a very slippery road he has chosen to navigate - but at least we now know what we are voting for.

Shoot The Messenger

Since it's a SPH publication that exposed MM Lee Kuan Yew to a barrage of flak never experienced before in the annals of Singapore history, it was no surprise that a sacrificial lamb had to be found. The extract published on page A6 of the Sunday Times, 30 Jan 2011, seems to serve the intent well.

With the Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura (PKMS) calling for the dreaded ISA provision to be invoked to haul in someone for "distorting and inciting racial and religious disharmony", editor Han Fook Kwang is obviously more suitable for the arctic cold airconditioning of Whitley Road Detention Centre than an ailing geriatric - after all, he was the one who proposed the Q&A format.

"May we advise that the ISA provision be applied to Mr Lee Kuan Yew and can he be detained and be further investigated for such subversive acts? No Singaporeans shall be allowed immunity if he/she committed the offence under: The Sedition Act (Cap 290)."

The Sunday Times extract from the offending book does not include the incendiary quotable like "I would say today, we can integrate all religions and races except Islam" or "Be less strict on Islamic observations and say,'Okay, I'll eat with you'. " Besides deflecting the barbs to a racially biased questioner, the same extract also alludes to "a younger generation of leaders" who may not know "how to manage them" and, out of fear, there "might be an overreaction". You see, everybody has erred, everybody, except MM Lee. He is perfect, he can do no wrong. He's like the character who can send you to hell, and get you thanking him profusely for the privilege.

Meanwhile Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim, ever eager to get on with receiving his million dollar ang pows, disparaged all the deleterious dissonance with his "personal view" that, "looking at what he has painted, it (Lee's personal view) is at best a worst-case scenario." Now, what exactly does that mean? He can either stand with the people he is supposedly in charge of and reject the flawed accusation they cannot be integrated with he rest of society today, or be deluded and subscribe to the fallacy, for the few pieces of silver thrown his way. This is no freak flood of derisive comments that occurs only once in 50 years. This one won't wash so easily.

Allah's Torch

That's the title the author chose after sounding out Ruhaini Dzuhayatin, a lecturer in sociology and director of the Center for Women's Studies at the State Institutute of Islam Studies in Jogjakarta - for fear its meaning might be misinterpreted. What did she think?
"I think it's great, "she said enthusiatically. She caught the gist immediately - the torch of Islam was meant to bring enlightenment, but in the wrong hands, could also be put to destructive ends.

In May 2000, acclaimed journalist and filmmaker Tracy Dahlby unwittingly sailed with Laskar Jihad warriors into troubled Moluccas. When the Muslim-Christian fracas boiled over at Ambon, he narrowly escaped, initial attempt by crashed Navy plane, and finally by the same transportation of choice of terrorists, M.V. Bukit Siguntang. That didn't stop him for heading back to Indonesia in 2002, for an abortive effort to interview Abu Bakar Bashir, whom he ascribes as "the wolfish grandpa who took his orders straight from Osam's board of directors". That's a tasting portion of Dahly's wicked humour. Those who have travelled to populous Indonesia will recognise the friendliness and hospitality he experienced along the way. So how did the Bali bombers like Imam Samudra fit in the scheme of things?

One of his interpreter-guides, Reza, offered one variant in his tale of being fixed by Suharto's' military goons and thrown into the local equivalent of Abu Ghraib, complete with a "electric stick" which made his limbs jump crazily and sucked the air from his lungs. All he wanted was a Cory Aquino inspired people's power revolution to address the abuses of the Smiling General. Does poverty gap, skewed education or jaundiced judiciaries ring a bell? "I don't agree at all with the Bali bombers and what they did. But I know exactly how people like them feel. I know how angry they are. They're reacting to the same atmosphere of injustice in this society."

The author's encounters with a firebrand and a prince, the rhetoric of the Lesser Jihad and the high symbolism of the Javanese Islam culminated in an information overload, the ramifications of which made Dahlby cognizant of the fog of war, the confusion that overcomes observers on an active battlefield.

"We were hit on 9/11 by people who believed in hateful ideas. We cannot win a war of ideas against such people by ourselves," the author quoted Tom Friedman of the New York Times, "only fellow Muslims could do that." In other words, it requires jihad, in the best and broadest meaning of the word. For those unfamiliar with the concept, let prudence be their guide in commentary. As for loud mouthed politicians, just shut up!

The Politically Incorrect Politician

At the Tanjong Pagar "Singapore 21 forum" on 18 Sept 1999, a polytechnic student had asked then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew if certain instinctive emotional bonds among ethnic groups could be surmounted for Singapore to become a nation. This was Lee's reply: "Yes, I think so, over a long period of time, and selectively. We must not make an error. If, for instance, you put in a Malay officer who's very religious and who has family ties in Malaysia in charge of a machine-gun unit, that's a very tricky business. We've got to know his background. I'm saying these things because they are real, and if I don't think that, and I think even if today the Prime Minister doesn't think carefully about this, we could have a tragedy. "

That prompted two Malay-Muslim groups to call for a dialogue with Lee. Taman Bacaan, a grassroots group, said Malay MPs should have a "heart-to-heart" discussion with Lee. Majlis Pusat, the central council for 38 Malay-Muslim cultural bodies, wanted Malay-Muslim grassroots leaders and groups to take part in the dialogue and "put the issue of Malay-Muslim loyalty to rest, once and for all".

This time the AFP report, citing MM Lee Kuan Yew had urged local Muslims, who he said were socially “distinct and separate,” to “be less strict on Islamic observances” to aid integration and the city-state’s nation-building process, drew ire from across the causeway and beyond.

Led by Malaysian Islamic Scholars Association (PUM) and Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim), Muslim organisations criticised Lee for his “Islamophobic” comments.
“His statement seemed to be anti-Islamic and reflects an Islamophobia that is baseless and not founded on historical fact and current reality,” said Abim secretary-general Mohamad Raimi Ab Rahim in a press statement. “Muslims do not need any interference from non-Muslims in religious matters,” PUM secretary Mohd Roslan said, adding that Muslims do not question the practices of other religions.
Mohamad Raimi also said that even though most Muslims in the region were moderate and peaceful, Lee had taken a “step backwards” with his comment which could incite a reaction from Muslim groups who were more radical.

Dr. Imtiyaz Yusuf, Professor of Religion at Bangkok's Assumption University said the views of Lee about Islam do not hold water and criticizing and generalizing about Islam as being un-integrative is unsophisticated.
"When I identify myself as a Muslim in Southeast Asia, I am defined as a person who does not eat pork and has four wives. I am sure that if Buddha, Muhammad and Jesus were to ever meet today, they would not talk about pigs and women, they would address more profound issues facing humanity today such as materialism, the reduction of the role of religion in social and moral life and the negative effects of globalized economy on the poor sections of society."

Well said, Professor.

More Hard Truths About Education In Singapore

In a new twist to his graduate mother policy, Lee Kuan Yew is blaming parents for the difference between "brand-name" schools and neighbourhood schools. He observed that 72 per cent of Raffles Girls' School pupils have fathers who are university graduates while it was 9 per cent at Bukit Merah Secondary. The disparity is similar across the schools in terms of educational profiles of mothers. He urged non-graduate parents to bring their children to the library from an early stage, "They must get their children accustomed to ... acquiring knowledge by themselves and not be spoon-fed by teachers."

We know how "brand-name" schools end up with the graduate parents. 18 year old Wong Zheng Kai explained it clearly and patiently to the slow learner: "Hwa Chong's fees would be too taxing on my parents." While the monthly fee at Dunman High is $37, it is $300 at Hwa Chong. Grossly out of touch, Lee was still thinking meritocracy alone determines placement in secondary schools when he posed his question to her earlier, "What made you choose Dunman High? Which schools did you try to get in but couldn't? Let's not be shy."

Let's not be shy. There are the poor who need a leg up to level the playing field (Recall the education of rookie MP Michael Palmer: "Before I joined the grassroots organisation, I never knew there were poor people in developed countries"). Northbrooks Secondary principal Janet Oh told MediaCorp it was not easy to "just encourage parents to support their child's learning" when their physical needs are not met. Northbrooks encourages students to stay back for two periods after school to build up the habit of doing homework, but "Many of them don't stay back after school because they have no money for lunch." This school provides money for lunch and recess. Thank you, principal Oh.

About the spoon-feeding by teachers: A Norwegian lady friend doing her doctorate here sent her two daughters to a neighborhood school because she didn't want them to be pampered by the likes of the American School (who bent the rules for Lee's autistic grandson). Her personal observation after 2 years was that the teachers here don't cover all the syllabus material in class, and the kids are expected to have tutors to make up the shortfall. Needless to say, the poor can hardly cough up the extortion money charged by tutors these days. Someone who emigrated to Canada also noted their kids studying there have no homework - the teaching and learning are completed during classroom hours.

Some schools require a PSLE score of at least 265 before doling out the financial assistance. Kids who don't do well academically because their parents can't afford the "books and all the paraphernalia that makes for a learning child" mentioned by Lee, end up spiralling deeper into the poverty trap. And into the tentacles of the local street gangs. At least some of those guys are more genuine in offering a helping hand than the MOE officials.