Member of Parliament Mr Zainudin Nordin remarked wrote in his letter to Sunday Times: “Mr Nizam’s refusal to see the improvements made but to instead lean on phrases like ‘stubborn gaps’ and ‘social inequality among the races’ is puzzling”. Mr Zainudin instead paints a glossy picture of the achievements of the Malay-Muslim Community (MMC), stating …
This is a summary of my thoughts that I shared at a Discussion Session with undergraduates from the University Scholars Program at Cinnamon College, NUS on 3 Apr 2017. I was asked to broadly comment on the following issues: 1) Given the varying responses to the Reserved Presidency, how this will affect the unity of the Malay community. … Continue reading
I read with disappointment the letter by Ho Ka Wei, Director of Corporate Communications, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth which was published on 29 Apr 2013 in the Straits Times’ Forum page. The letter suggests that I had used “AMP as a platform and a cover to promote (my) race-based politics.” This suggestion is … Continue reading
One issue that has emerged is the view that my participation at a civil protest in Hong Lim Park and a Workers’ Party (WP) Youthquake Seminar was tantamount to involvement in partisan politics (and therefore purportedly incongruent with AMP’s charter of independence). The narratives from the Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs and AMP has … Continue reading
I write this note not merely to explain the circumstances behind my departure from the Board of Directors of the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) and stepping down as Chairman of the Board of Centre for Research on Malay and Islamic Affairs (RIMA). More importantly, I am compelled to set out the approach taken by … Continue reading
More than 2 weeks have passed after Parliament has passed a motion approving the Population White Paper on 8th Feb 2013. More than a week has passed since the landmark public protest at Hong Lim Park on 16th Feb 2013, attended by more than 5000 angry Singaporeans. And yet, there remains no clarity, to-date, as … Continue reading
In the aftermath of the Hong Lim Park Civil Protest against the White Paper, here is why the Government must listen to the voices at Hong Lim Park. PM Lee had earlier unequivocally stated that the public debate on the White Paper must continue, despite Parliament passing a motion approving the White Paper. Yet, Singaporeans … Continue reading
Originally posted on Yawning Bread:
The protest held on Saturday, 16 February 2013, against the government’s 6.9 million population White Paper saw the second largest crowd ever at Hong Lim Park. Organisers estimated it to be 4,000 to 5,000, which puts it second only to Pink Dot 2012. Walking around and observing the density of…
Fellow Singaporeans, The White Paper has stated that it places Singaporeans at the Core. The question is – has it really? What does it mean for Singaporeans to be placed at the Core? I will argue that the White Paper has not placed Singaporeans at the core. And Singaporeans must reclaim our rightful space – at … Continue reading
The Ruling Party still does not get it. According to mainstream media reports, the Ruling Party attributed the loss of Punggol East to 2 reasons: (1) Voter unhappiness on the events surrounding Michael Palmer’s stepping down from MP-ship and (2) the By-Election Effect. The message appears to be that the Government will still continue with … Continue reading
Berita Harian (“BH”) carried an interesting debate on the CLF Convention on Dec 1st 2012. BH had translated and featured my blog piece, Returning the Concepts of “Community” and Leadership to CLF in an article here . BH also featured a response by Mendaki’s CEO and head of the CLF Secretariat. The thrust of the … Continue reading
Fikir 