Halimah Yacob says "her stomach churned" and feels sad at how unkind PAP MPs are towards Opposition MPs

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Fat hope!

Halimah Yacob spoke up about paedophiles, about criticism of Singapore's Olympic athletes, strongly condemned the prohibition of wearing hijab at the workplace, but is silent about the elitist and condescending attitude of the PAP MPs towards the Opposition MPs.

'My stomach churns every time': President Halimah calls for more protection against paedophiles​

Condemning rape as "the most heinous" crime, President Halimah Yacob noted how the damage inflicted could last a lifetime for a victim.
PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER

Ang Qing

SEP 14, 2021

SINGAPORE - Longer jail terms for sexual offenders passed in Parliament on Monday (Sept 13) are "badly needed" but more has to be done to curb sexual predation at home, said President Halimah Yacob.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, she added: "My stomach churns every time I read about convicted paedophiles who raped young, defenceless girls, often within the sanctity of the home, which is supposed to be a safe haven."
Condemning rape as "the most heinous" crime, she noted how the damage inflicted could last a lifetime for a victim, unlike the convicted paedophile who "walks out free after serving his term" and will not be caned if he is aged above 50.
On Monday, Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok) noted in Parliament that the age limit was introduced in 1900 when the average life expectancy for men was about 47.
On the same day, Parliament passed legislation to mete out harsher punishments for several sexual offences.
These include those who engage in sexual activity in the presence of a minor aged between 14 and 16, or cause them to view a sexual image as well as similar offences done against minors aged between 16 and 18, where the offender is in an exploitative relationship with the minor.

The Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill will increase the maximum jail term for these two offences from one to two years.
But legislation intervenes only if the rape is reported, said Madam Halimah, adding that she was unsure how effective existing programmes are against sexual predation at home.
The new law comes after three paedophiles were convicted and sentenced this year.
In April, a man, 44, was sentenced for sexually assaulting and raping his daughter over 7½ years, starting when she was three years old. While her mother was at work, he also showed her child pornography.

Last month, a former Singapore Armed Forces regular serviceman, 24, was sentenced for sexually violating a 15-year-old girl and preying on other victims, including a former schoolmate.
This month, a man, 71, was sentenced for raping his step-granddaughter when she was nine. He had also watched pornography with the victim, who learnt how to search for such videos online from observing him.
Of these three convictions, Madam Halimah highlighted that two cases were revealed only when people related to the victims reported the incidents.
"(For the case involving the 44-year-old,) the rape came to light only when the father molested his daughter's friend and her family reported him," she noted.
"In the second case (involving the step-grandfather), it was discovered when the girl's brother, who witnessed the rape, told the family about it."
Calling for more to be done beyond the law to protect girls, Madam Halimah said: "Fear, shame, intimidation, familial ties are common tools employed by paedophiles to ensnare confused little girls who scarcely know what's happening to them."
She added that the girls need to know that it is safe to talk to someone about adult behaviour that they are uncomfortable with and know where to get help.
"They need to be told that it's not taboo to seek help and they are not to be blamed for wanting to protect themselves," said Madam Halimah.

About 40 per cent of sexual assault cases reported to the police from 2017 to 2019 involved victims below the age of 16, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said in a written response to parliamentary questions in January.
In those three years, there were 6,988 reports of sexual assault, including rape, sexual assault by penetration, outrage of modesty and sexual offences involving children and vulnerable victims.
Of these, 2,798 victims were below 16, and 1,000 victims were between 16 and 20 years old.

 

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No place for discrimination in Singapore: Halimah​

Unfair practices at workplaces particularly disturbing amid Covid-19 outbreak, she says​

Jessie Lim and Wong Shiying

AUG 21, 2020


President Halimah Yacob has condemned in strong terms discrimination at the workplace, saying it is particularly disturbing during the Covid-19 outbreak.
"Discrimination of any form and against anyone has no place at all in our society," she said yesterday.
She was referring to a recent incident when a 20-year-old sales promoter was told by Tangs department store to remove her hijab to work there.
Such incidents, Madam Halimah added, will add to the anxiety of people already grappling with concerns over their jobs and livelihoods.
"People should be assessed solely on their merits and their ability to do a job and nothing else," she said.
Madam Halimah's remarks, in a Facebook post as well as to reporters who asked her about the incident during her visit to charitable organisation AMP Singapore yesterday, said Tangs has since agreed to remove such restrictions and will allow the hijab to be worn at work.

A Tangs spokesman told The Straits Times on Wednesday that its corporate office colleagues and back of house employees wear religious headgear, and that they plan to standardise this practice across the stores for all.
Welcoming the move, Madam Halimah said: "Diversity is our strength and our society has already embraced it. I hope that employers too will fully embrace diversity at the workplace and do their part to uphold the values of a fair and open society."
On July 29, part-time handbag promoter Nurin Jazlina Mahbob had been working at a pop-up booth on the second floor of Tangs at Tang Plaza in Orchard Road when she was asked by staff of the department store to remove her head scarf. It was her first day on the job.
Ms Jazlina, 20, told ST two female Tangs managers told her that she could not work in the store with a hijab on, as the company did not allow staff to wear any headgear.

The managers then explained to her that removing her hijab was "for the sake of professionalism".
"Asking me to remove my hijab in public is a personal insult. Wearing a hijab is not only required by my religion, it is also a symbol of my modesty," she said.

After the incident, Ms Jazlina's employer, who wanted to be known only as Ms Chin and had hired her to run her booth, posted about it on Instagram.
She said that the rules Tangs had were "very ridiculous", adding: "The last thing we need is discrimination and unfair treatment my part-timer and I were put through."
Ms Jazlina said she was thankful Ms Chin spoke up for her and for the change in Tangs' policy.
Yesterday, Ms Chin, 36, told ST she was grateful for the support and awareness her post had raised, saying: "We have been brought up to be a harmonious country, respecting one another... I hope we can all push for a fair and open society."
The incident, and reports on it, also drew responses from members of the public, as well as Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Defence Zaqy Mohamad.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, Mr Zaqy said employers should be thoughtful of the policies and practices they set, and urged them to take into consideration the views and sensitivities of their employees, customers and business partners.

"The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices make it clear that recruitment and hiring are to be based on merit and the ability to perform the job," he said.
"Religious attire should generally be allowed at workplaces, unless employers have uniform or dress-code requirements which are suited to the nature of their work, or for operational and safety reasons.
RELATED STORY

Religious attire should be allowed at workplaces where possible: Zaqy Mohamad​

"It is important for employers to communicate their uniform policy or dress code clearly and sensitively to their employees and jobseekers and their stakeholders," he added.
On the Tangs incident, he added that the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices - the national discrimination watchdog - has contacted the parties involved and is currently looking into the matter.

 

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Waiting for Halimah Yacob to make a Facebook post to condemn Vivian Balakrishnan and the PAP ministers for denigrating schools and mocking the literacy of Opposition MPs.

Did she feel sad hearing the video on how unkind Vivian Bastardkrishnan are towards Opposition MP Leong Mun Wai?

Olympics: Messages of support pour in for Joseph Schooling, other S'pore athletes in Tokyo​

Joseph Schooling sharing a warm embrace with his swim coach, Sergio Lopez, at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.PHOTO: SERGIO LOPEZ MIRO/INSTAGRAM

Laura Chia

JUL 30, 2021

SINGAPORE - President Halimah Yacob and other public figures paid tribute to the efforts and sacrifice of swimmer Joseph Schooling and his fellow national athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics and urged Singaporeans to support them in both good times as well as bad ones.
Madam Halimah wrote on Facebook on Friday (July 30): "I feel sad looking at how unkind we can be towards each other.
"One moment, we carry people to the highest pedestal with our words, yet the next moment we thrash them to the ground just because they fail to live up to our expectations.
"Yet, many a time, we would ask for dispensation for ourselves if we did not achieve something which others expect of us. We argue that we are only human but we don't apply the same yardstick to others."
Schooling, 26, entered the Games as the 100m butterfly defending champion. But he did not advance to Friday's semi-finals after he clocked 53.12 seconds to finish last in his heats on Thursday and placed 44th out of the field of 55.
That, wrote Madam Halimah, "was the start of negative, hurtful comments against him". She added: "We forgot that he had helped us to win an Olympic gold medal and brought glory to our own sports history.



"We have to appreciate the tremendous sacrifices and stress that our athletes have to undergo. And the Olympics is not a walk in the park. They are competing against some of the world's best athletes but they still tried their best.
"The least that we can do is to appreciate their effort and continue to encourage and support them. I'm glad that there are still many Singaporeans who do just that, and I thank them.
"We talk incessantly about building a gracious, compassionate and caring society because we believe that a society thrives not just on economic growth alone. It's easy to articulate these values, but a lot more difficult to practise it. We will be tested ever so often, like in this instance.
"So let's be kind. Support our athletes wholeheartedly. They are doing their best."


Shortly after Schooling's race, compatriot Yu Mengyu, the world No. 47, fell at the final hurdle and lost in the table tennis women’s singles bronze medal play-off to Japan’s second-ranked Mima Ito.
Schooling and Yu, 31, represented Singapore’s best chances of claiming a medal at the Games in Japan. The Republic won medals at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. Before that, the only medal was weightlifter Tan Howe Liang’s silver at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
On Thursday evening, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, who is in Japan to attend the Olympics, also appealed to the public not to be fickle in their support. He wrote on Facebook: "We cannot be fairweather about this, enjoying the glory when they do well, but criticising our athletes when they don't.
"Remember how it was on 12 August 2016? How Jo lifted all of us with his phenomenal win? Most of us will remember the day, where exactly we were and what we were doing - so momentous was the occasion, and how proud we were as a nation.
"If we are to see this again, then we cannot support our athletes only when they do well. We must continue to support and cheer them on, get behind them, not only when they are up, but especially when they are down."
Schooling and teammate Quah Zheng Wen, who clocked 52.39sec to finish 34th overall in the 100m fly heats, have ended their Tokyo 2020 campaign.

Yu Mengyu (left) lost in the table tennis women’s singles bronze medal play-off while swimmer Quah Zheng Wen missed the cut after he finished 34th overall in the 100m fly heats. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO, AFP

Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) president and Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, who is also in the Japanese capital, echoed this sentiment. He wrote on Facebook: "I know that for many, this will be disappointing. Especially as Jo is the defending champion and the record holder. Trust me, the disappointment is felt most by our athletes who expect more of themselves every day and work at trying to improve all the time.
"Majority of the athletes competing at the Olympic Games will not stand on the podium. The Olympic creed reminds us, 'The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.'
"When the tough gets going, they remind us to keep going and continue to find the best version of ourselves."

Schooling's swim coach Sergio Lopez also paid an emotional tribute to his charge after Thursday's heats, posting a picture on Instagram of them sharing a warm embrace at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
Lopez, 51, who claimed a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke event at the 1988 Seoul Games, wrote: "Over 10 years ago we crossed path in this beautiful life for something more than just being perfect.
"Never forget that perfection lies in the imperfection of life.
"Thank you for this amazing and interesting journey. Let's keep moving forward."

 

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Was Halimah Yacob just as perturbed at what happened in Parliament?

Police investigating offensive poll ranking female Islamic teachers; President Halimah and other leaders criticise poll​

Madam Halimah said that she was deeply perturbed by the poll.ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Hariz Baharudin

MAY 27, 2021

SINGAPORE - Police are investigating an offensive poll online that ranked a list of ustazah, or female Islamic religious teachers, and which President Halimah Yacob, MPs and other religious leaders have lashed out against on Thursday (May 27).
The poll, which first came to light on Wednesday, had asked people to rank a list of ustazah according to their sexual attractiveness.
The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said on Thursday that it was aware of the post, which had caused "immense distress" to the individuals involved, and was very concerned by it. It lodged a police report to expedite investigations into the matter and "bring the perpetrators to justice".
The police confirmed that a report had been lodged and investigations are ongoing.
The council has also reached out to speak to the victims of the post, and will be providing support and counselling for them.
Muis added that it would not tolerate any form of sexual harassment, as such behaviour was an abomination that must be stopped and was a disgrace to the Muslim community. "Our faith calls for mutual respect at all times, and emphasises with utmost importance, the need to safeguard the honour and modesty of all members of society," it said.



The poll on social media platform MeWe was highlighted by Ustaz Muhammad Zahid Mohd Zin late on Wednesday in an Instagram post. MeWe allows users to post comments, start polls, message one another and have group discussions.
The list shows at least 12 asatizah being ranked, with 1,005 participating in the poll.
The Straits Times understands that about 20 to 30 asatizah were ranked in it.
"I got a distress call from an ustazah and was shocked! All listed here in an app are our local asatizah! Who did this must be held accountable!" said Ustaz Zahid.

Following this, Ustaz Irwan Hadi Mohd Shuhaimy, deputy director at the Office of the Mufti, also made a similar post, expressing his disgust at the online poll.
He also appealed for those involved to be dealt with under the "full force of the law".

In a Facebook post, President Halimah said that she was deeply perturbed by the poll, and called on Muis and the police to fully investigate the matter and punish those found guilty. Those who conducted and participated in the poll "deserve our strongest condemnation", she stressed.
"Is there no limit to how low some will stoop to degrade and defile women?" Madam Halimah wrote. "This is not just the worst kind of harassment that's against our law but amounts to an open invitation to commit sexual violence against women. We must not allow the anonymity of the Web to embolden those who wish to abuse, denigrate and violate women."
She added: "If indeed it's true that some are students studying the religion (of which I stand corrected), then we have to seriously consider whether they are fit to preach in the community once they complete their studies."

Several netizens have alleged that those who started the poll were students studying to become asatizah, and have urged Muis to not accredit them.
Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Faishal Ibrahim said in a Facebook post: "The authorities are looking into the matter thoroughly and those found guilty will be brought to justice accordingly."
Dr Mohamed Qusairy Thaha, the acting chief executive of the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (Pergas), said the association is pursuing the issue as well, and that it stands with all the asatizah who are affected, as well as all women who are sexually harassed and abused.
Commenting on Ustaz Irwan's post, Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim said the people who started the poll must be held accountable.
"This is totally unacceptable against women and our asatizah... The person and the 245 or so who polled must be held accountable," said Mr Zhulkarnain, referring to a screenshot that showed 245 people had voted in the poll.

Several other Malay/Muslim MPs, including Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli, Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Communications and Information Rahayu Mahzam and Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Nadia Ahmad Samdin, also took to Facebook to criticise the poll.
They called on the public to stand up against misconduct against women and to teach people, especially the young, why it is wrong to degrade women and men.
Ms Rahayu said efforts to encourage women's development will be meaningless if society still disrespects women and still perceives them as the weaker gender or as sexual objects.

"I have faith that this is not completely the situation in Singapore though. There are some people whose conduct and comments about women are unacceptable and in bad taste. I am happy to note that many in our community, especially men, stand up against such transgressions and condemn such actions," she said.
"I'm heartened. But we do need to continue to educate and look at the gaps."
Workers' Party MP Raeesah Khan also spoke out against the poll, stressing that such a post is harmful and abusive, given how what often starts as a joke or quip may end up in one of various forms that sexual violence can take on.
"Speak to women who have endured harassment at home, in school, in public or at work, and they will tell you that in 2021 in Singapore, too many men do not accord women with respect that any person deserves. When such undercurrents of misogyny go unchecked, it festers in the fears too familiar to too many women," said Ms Raeesah, who is an MP for Sengkang GRC.
"And when over a thousand men could find it in themselves to dehumanise our asatizahs in that way, surely we must conclude that this is but a symptom of a deeper wound in our society."
Women's group Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) also said on Facebook that it was "troubled by the demeaning and misogynistic social media poll".
"We echo the point made by (Muslim women's group) Beyond the Hijab and others that so-called "modesty" has never been a factor in sexual violence," it said. "Sexual violence is about power and control over (mostly female) victims."

 

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Vivian Balakrishnan apologises to PSP's Leong Mun Wai after ‘illiterate’ comment circulates online​

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (left) apologised to NCMP Leong Mun Wai for comments he made in Parliament on Sept 14, 2021.

PHOTOS: MCI/YOUTUBE

Rei Kurohi


SEP 15, 2021

SINGAPORE - Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has apologised to Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai for remarks the minister made in Parliament.
Dr Balakrishnan, in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Sept 15), said: "I called Mr Leong Mun Wai today to apologise for my private comments to a colleague in Parliament yesterday.
"I disagree with him on the issue, but I should not have said what I said. Mr Leong has accepted my apology."
During a marathon debate on two motions on jobs and livelihoods in the House on Tuesday, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng and Mr Leong had several exchanges after Dr Tan delivered his speech.
At one point, after Mr Leong had spoken, a voice could be heard saying "he's illiterate".
Later, after another exchange between Dr Tan and Mr Leong, a microphone picked up someone saying: "Seriously, how did he get into RI?... Must have been a lousy school."

It is understood that these remarks were made by Dr Balakrishnan.
Dr Tan is then heard replying: “I’m from Monk’s Hill.”
RI refers to Raffles Institution, where Mr Leong studied in the 1970s, while Dr Tan studied at Monk’s Hill Secondary School. Dr Balakrishnan received his early education at Anglo-Chinese School.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, Mr Leong said he received a call from Dr Balakrishnan on Wednesday and that the minister conveyed his apology for his comments.

Mr Leong said he accepted the apology.
He added: "I am also curious to know who are the other persons who were involved in the conversation and the reason why they held the institution that I attended in contempt."
He also called for everyone to put their time to better use for Singapore and Singaporeans.
PSP, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, made reference to the incident.
It said: “Yes, our maiden parliamentary motion may have been rejected by Parliament. But we believe the public knows and understands why we had to table the motion and get this debate going.
“Unlike some quarters who may find dissenting voices illiterate, we have confidence that our fellow Singaporeans are enlightened and educated, and will not miss the wood for the trees.”

The comments were picked up by a microphone during a debate on two motions on jobs and livelihoods in Parliament on Sept 14, 2021. PHOTO: MCI/YOUTUBE

Video clips of the comments have been widely shared on social media platforms.
Netizens speculated that the voice was that of Dr Balakrishnan, who was sitting next to Dr Tan.
The exchange may have been picked up by the microphone that Dr Tan had used, which he left on after he delivered his speech.