Stories from my bapak. (Chapter 1)

Alhamdulillaah, at age 77, my father is still healthy and relatively still strong.  He lives on his own now, after my mother's passing.  He cycles to the mosque daily.  He buys his food or sometimes he cooks easy dishes with ready made cooking pastes.   On weekends, he travels to visit his children, my brother and me.

Bapak was born in Melaka, Malaysia.  At about the age of 10, his family moved to Temasek, Lorong Engku Aman.   When I was a child, I thought it was Long Kwa Man.  Then, for a short time, he stayed in KL before returning to Singapore to work.   

Nowadays, he would tell me stories of his childhood and younger days.  I'd like to keep some here, so that I will not forget. 

MELAKA Childhood stories :

His house in Melaka is one house before the main road. And across that main road, was the sea.  Though his house is that near to the sea, his grandmother was a very strict person and did not allow the grandchildren to play at the sea, at all.    My father and his siblings could only watch from across the road, other kids playing at the sea.   My father and his siblings could only play around their house area and village, not across the road. 

Before maghrib, they must all be home, to take their baths and change to clean clothes, and can no longer step outside the house.  Sometimes they would sit at the verandah to watch other children who are still playing, till late.

Every morning, breakfast was putu piring and coffee.   My father would walk about five minutes to the house selling putu piring, which was towards the deeper end of the village.   Payment for the putu piring are made monthly.  This was apparently quite a common practice in the olden days with some shops and sellers. They would record the takings and payments in a small popular notebook, used to be sold in mamak shops, the 'buku tiga lima' (555)..  I've seen those notebooks at mamak shops during my younger days.   

One of those mornings, he was assigned to pick up the putu piring for breakfast and make payment, He was given a five ringgit note.    However, he forgot about it.  He collected the putu piring and returned home.  He didn't even know he had lost the money, and only realised when he was asked, if he had already paid the person.  I wanted to ask, what happened then, like was he scolded or beaten? But I didn't get the [mental] chance. 

Other stories, including the Temasek stories in other posts insyaaAllaah. 

Answering Ex Muslim's 16 questions

Questions posted on the website for ex muslims in singapore - that also makes me ponder and want to answer for myself.  Bismillaah. 

16 Questions Ex-Muslims Have For Muslims In Singapore

[1] Censoring others
If someone insulted Islam or Allah or the Prophet, what would your response be? If you could just shut someone up to prevent him from insulting or critiquing Islam, would you?  >> Say, 'salam' and leave.  (Q:25:63)

[2] Critique of Islam
What about the critique of Islam? Is that permitted or should that not be allowed? Are there questions that cannot or should not be asked, pertaining to Islam? If so, what are they? And why can’t those questions be asked? Does critique and honest curiosity count as intolerance and hatred towards Muslims and Islam?  >> Permitted.  Ponder, seek knowledge, think.  (Q:30:8)

[3] Misconceptions about Islam
What are some questions that you think non-Muslims in Singapore might have about Muslims in Singapore? Do you think that ex-Muslims are mistaken in the way that they have perceived Islam? Or how about non-Muslims, in what ways do you think that non-Muslims have false assumptions about Islam?  >> People make false assumptions about Islam when they look for answers in people, rather than trying to find the answers themselves, directly from God's Words (the Quran), first and foremost.

[4] Being Offended
Is an offence taken or given? Who is responsible as in the case of Charlie Hebdo for the retaliatory actions of the murderers of the editors?  >>  The people who commit the actions are responsible for them.   

[5] Apostasy of a family member
If someone in your family chose to leave Islam, would you still consider him family? Will he be treated the same, or differently? If differently, how so? Why?  >>  Yes, still a family till we leave this world.  Until then, we will make doa that Allaah brings peace in our minds and guides us all, forgive our sins and let us finally die as Muslims, and that we may meet again in Jannatul Firdaus.   Allaah is Most Merciful.

[6] Friendships with Ex-Muslims
If your friend chooses to leave Islam, do you think it is possible for you to still continue being friends with him? How so?  >> yes of course, as per normal.  Just like how I'm now friends with other non Muslims. 

[7] Equality of gender in Islam
Would you say that Islam in Singapore treats women equally? Even though in Islam it clearly states in the Quran that a woman will receive half the inheritance of her male sibling, among other things, and that sharia dictates that a woman’s testimony is only half the value of that of a man’s?  >> Yes, the Creator, The Merciful is fair and the Creator knows His creations best.  Each of us have a role to play.   You earn some, you learn some.  On the other hand, in a marriage, women has a right over the husband's money - but the husband has no right over the wife's money - it's her own and not her responsibility to feed her family.  

[8] Consequences of Muslim apostasy in general
If a Muslim leaves Islam in a country where sharia is the law, is it right, or necessary, to kill him, as stated according to sharia law?  >> What is syaria law?  Are you referring to something decided by a government of a country, by a people.  in the Quran though, there is no compulsion in religion (Q:2:256)

[9] Relevance of the Quran
What are the verses in the Quran today that no longer have any relevance in today’s society? Since some verses are said to be only contextually and historically relevant and that a lot of the context then, it does not apply now. How many percent of the Quran is irrelevant today?   >> 100% still relevant.    In the Quran there are many stories, lessons, examples, advice, instructions and restrictions.    All of it helps a person live this life with purpose and some guidance on how to act and react. 

[10] Emulating the Prophet
What are the practices of the prophet that should not be emulated? Is fondling a girl and underage marriage allowed or even to be recommended or is that no longer recommended? Is slavery in Islam condoned, if it was still permissible today?
*Sahih Bukhari 3:38:504 *Sahih Bukhari 7:62:16 *Sahih Bukhari 7:62:17

>> Nobody can emulate every single thing about the prophet's SAW actions.  Some are exclusive to him SAW, as a prophet.   What is 'underaged' marriage?  My late grandaunt was married at 12 years old - was that underaged?  currently in rural Indonesia it is common and normal for girls to be married at 14, 15 years old.  Is this 'underaged' in Singapore 2021 context based on common age of marriage?  Slavery is discouraged if it was permissible, therefore the freeing of a slave is a great act of charity and a means of atonements.  

[11] Islam, a religion of peace
Is Islam a religion of peace? If so, why do Muslims around the world act in a non-peaceful manner when they find something offensive. Numerous Bangladeshi bloggers have been hacked to death on the streets for blasphemy. A fatwa calling for the death of blasphemers was imposed by Ayatollah Khomeini to Salman Rushdie in 1989. Theo Van Gogh, the film producer of Submission(2004) was killed as a response for his role in making the film, that criticized Islam’s treatment of women.  >> This is akin to asking: if Singapore is a peaceful country, why is there still murders and thefts and harrasment in Singapore?  Did the government teach the citizens so? Are Singaporeans gangsters and murderers?  

[12] Other Muslim denominations in Singapore
How do you view Shi’ah’s in Singapore and the other Muslim denominations? Are they to blame for anything or everything bad that has happened in Islam?  >> what??  why??  People create sects, but by God - Muslims are only Muslims. Muslims are those who believe and worship One God, believe in the Day of Judgement, and do good deeds. 

[13] Implementation of Sharia Law
If possible, should you want for the full extent of Sharia law in Singapore, given that the Sharia is supposedly the highest standard of ruling in any society, after all, it was decided by Allah?   >> What constitutes the FULL extent of sharia law?  If it includes that - even if a leader's child, commits a robbery, they'd be subjected to the same punishment.  That if a person is caught in the act of indecency, by one who was spying on him, then the accusation is invalid.  If a person accuses a woman of adultery, that they must have discovered not by spying, and have 4 witnesses who actually saw them in the act.  and if after accusing, the person cannot produce the 4 witnesses, then the accuser himself would be flogged.   - all this included?   Sadly, there is no known country leaders known to me, that can carry out the FULL extent.   Plus Singapore is not a Muslim country. 

[14] Refusal of Sharia Law
What would it mean if a Muslim refuses sharia law, does that make him a hypocrite? Does that make him a non-Muslim? >> No, especially when the person is only a housewife and does not run the country. 

[15] The correct brand of Islam
Who is practicing the right brand of Islam? It is always said that anything that doesn’t seem right in Islam is due to misinterpretation. Any unfair punishment or unequal treatment is said to be a wrong interpretation of the doer’s part. So who is actually interpreting it correctly then?   >> Only God can interpret correctly - people always try their best to interpret them, but in the end - God will judge.  And as long as one is sincere in his actions and has tried his best, Allaah is Most Merciful.  

[16] Are you happy that we are happy after leaving Islam? If not why is that so? Why are you sad when we’re happy. We are happy for you, why can’t you be happy for us?  >>  If you have a child, who wants to play on a busy road and he says he will be happy running around, or else, he will throw tantrums and be so sad and angry, would you be happy to let the child go and play on the road?  Why can't you be happy for him, if he said he will be happy?   This is a delicate situation for the believers (and especially the parents who love their children, it pains them lah, when they are afraid of what will happen to you on Judgement Day).  Some of them don't know how to react to this.  Some other parents, maybe can only do our best to try and be an examplary Muslim, and until the day they return or we die, pray to Allaah for guidance and Mercy and leave our affairs to Allaah.   Allaah is Most Merciful. 

May we all be guided, and may we all have peace. 

Singapore Malaysia borders opening situation - in times of COVID19

 Believe me, I am as expectant as everyone else, for Singapore to open it's borders with Malaysia, to establish the VTL (Vaccinated Travel Lane), that will allow me to visit my family and friends in Malaysia.

My Malaysian family and friends said to me, after Singapore opened up VTL to eight more countries, 'how could Singapore, have not included it's neighbour?'

In the Quran, there is the story of Moses, who thought that he was the most knowledgeable person, and God directed him to a person more knowledgeable. He asked that knowledgeable man, if he could follow and learn from him.   The knowledgeable man said, Moses would not have patience with him. He would not have the patience, when he does not have a full grasp of the situation.

The people complaining about the Singapore-Malaysia borders situation truly reminded me of this.    

So in order for us to have patience about this situation, we should try to understand it -  why it is not an easy thing for Singapore to open it's borders to our closest and beloved neighbour, Malaysia.

1. When Singapore opens it's borders to other countries than Malaysia - these people are all arriving by AIR.  Also, there are designated planes, that comes under this program, which means that the number of incoming visitors can be controlled by the number of incoming flights. 

2. This will not be the case, when Singapore opens it's borders to Malaysia.  As it was - Kuala Lumpur to Singapore was the 3rd busiest international AIR route in 2018.  Nearly 4,500,000 incoming persons in that year - via AIR alone (according to Wikipedia).

The number of people coming to Singapore by LAND (JOHOR -> SINGAPORE) based on a 2012 report, was... 127,000,000 annually. 127 MILLION. (Wikipedia)

3. VTL does not mean that the incoming people just go through immigration like we do previously.   With VTL, incoming people must take PCR test upon entry. 

127 million translates to an average of 320,000 people a day - queuing for PCR tests.  The situation at the immigration will be crazy!  Worse than Chinese New year jams!  Singapore immigration must prepare for so many personnel to do this all day long.    If previously, just having to stamp/scan your passport, we sometimes have to queue 1-3 hours, imagine if you also need to take PCR.  

4.  Then you say, if that is so, open the AIR route only.   However, you can already imagine the same people and press complaining - why open to people from Kuala Lumpur only and not opened to your NEXT DOOR neighbour?

5. The government has to prepare for AIR and LAND scenarios, and I'm sure apart from that, they also have to think of how to manage the exponential increase in COVID19 cases in Singapore due to influx of thousands of people into Singapore?  Even currently, while Singapore is slowly adjusting and putting in place the steps to manage positive COVID19 cases in Singapore - the people are already complaining that MOH reaction is slow, they are not efficient blah blah blah.   Do we think we can do a much better job?  Do we think they are superhumans?  

I can see how at this time, Singapore is not ready to manage the kind of numbers, if Singapore were to open it's borders by VTL to Malaysia.   It's almost impossible to apply the PCR for land border crossings.   Perhaps a special arrangement has to be considered for Malaysians, like no PCR test required at all upon entry.  

But if we do this -  will the Singapore health system be ready for the consequences - managing inevitable COVID19 cases increment within Singapore?  

People, it's not an easy decision to make and steps to take.  

Let's have patience and pray for the best.  I'm sure, they are doing their best - there are no ill-intentions here, only precautions. 

I also hope the press, instead of inciting the readers towards negative thoughts, should work with the authorities to educate the public about the possible reasons behind such decisions.  

May God ease our affairs.   I miss you Malaysia.