TR EMERITUS

By Hurr Riyahi There are two important religious occasions coming up for Muslims. The first is the start of a new year in the Islamic Hijri Calender. The first month of Islamic Calender is called Muharram. Muslims typically refer to the start of the new Hijri year as coming of Muharram. The second occasion is Ashoura which is on the tenth of Muharram. Both occasions saw numerous events occurring in the Prophetic tradition. Hence these two occasions signify a retreat or flight from oppression, falsehood and injustice towards justice, truth, fairness and freedom. The two sacred occasions also signify turning away from helplessness, aggression and violence to standing steadfast with courage, faith and hope resiliently. Muharram or rather the Islamic Calender itself started when Prophet Muhammad migrated from his birthplace of Mecca to Medina. He was given the divine command to flee Mecca from the pagans who had issued a price for his head and were hunting to kill him. Till then while he preached monotheism in Mecca for years, he was ostracized, verbally and physically abused by his pagan tribesmen. They also offered him position, wealth and women to give up his message. He did not succumb to any political threats nor was he tempted by whatever they lured him with. He could have retaliated during that period but since he did not get any divine command to do so and therefore he refrained from retaliation and instead patiently persevered. After a long time of test and tribulation that he and his companions endured, he received divine command to migrate to Medina. This symbolises the flee to freedom from injustice and oppression. It wasnt a permanent flight and so it was not running away in cowardice. Instead he came back to take over Mecca without bloodshed after a period in Medina. Hence the message of Muharram for Singapore Muslims just like for all Muslims is they should  seek a new beginning in freedom from oppression, injustice and unfairness and till that beginning comes they must patiently endure with hope and resilience and without relenting an inch to the oppressors. That steadfast sense of endurance will be far superior than helplessly resorting to retaliation and confrontation. Ashura is the second occasion that takes place on the tenth day of the month of Muharram. There are a lot prophetic events that took place on this day. For instance Moses escaped from Pharoah on this day when the sea was split with his shaft and Abraham was rescued on this day from the fire that was created by the tyranical king Nimrod to destroy him. It symbolises how God can save someone from the the most wicked, cruel and unjust humans using methods beyond the imagination of the victimised and oppressed one. If the victims or oppressed are pushed to the edge of the sea, the one that will drown will be the oppressor. Ashura is also the day in history when the Prophet's grandson Hussein was killed in battle in Karbala (present day Iraq). The ruling Muslim King, Yazid, wanted Hussein to give his allegiance to him. However Yazid was an oppressive and corrupt king. Hussein refused. The people asked Hussein to group together and wage a war against Yazid and depose him. Hussein refused saying he does not want divisions. He wanted peace at all costs. He fled and Yazid sent his army after Hussein. The army besieged Hussien and committed all kinds of attrocities such as denying him and his camp any access to water. All Yazid wanted was allegiance from Hussein but his army was so determined to get that that they exceeded their own consiousness and decided to cruelly force Hussein to submit. Hussein refused and he was killed by Yazid's army. They also tortured his body. This event symbolises the fight for freedom, peace and truth is far supreme and heavenly than fighting for position in this world. Hussein was fighting for truth, peace, justice and freedom. Yazid was fighting for his position in this world. Hussein lost the worldly battle but won the heavenly battle. Yazid won the worldly battle but lost the heavenly battle. If life ended only in this world, we all can be Yazid. But since there is life after death, we need to be Hussein. This event also saw the army being so steadfast in fulfilling the vision of Yazid that they exceeded themselves. This symbolises man's vulnerability to exceed himself when he pursues an ill objective of his leaders. The message that Singapore Muslims need to learn from this event is that those within government service, police, army, intelligence agencies etc need to reflect on which of their leaders objective is truthful and just and which are ill and unjust. They need to only fulfill the former. If they seek to fulfill the latter they will exceed their limits as humans and loose themselves eternally. Within the battle of Karbala, there is another interesting personality, Hurr. (Please read the full  story here http://www.shariati.com/horr.html). Hurr was one of the important commanders of the army of Yazid. On the day of battle of Karbala, he crossed over to Hussein side and he was the first to charge towards Yazid army and he was the first to fall. Why did he cross over? Before that day while he was part of Yazid's army that besieged Hussein and his camp, he was reflecting on all the attrocities and wrongs that his army was doing. He realised his army was wrong and unjust. He consulted his peers and the commander of his army and all gave the same reply that they simply were following the law. They all agreed what they were doing was not the most appropriate but they have to do so in order to be dutiful and fulfil the orders of Yazid. Hurr could not accept the law was just. If he had stayed in his army he will definitely been the victor as his army outnumber Hussein's small camp. Hurr will have been given the worldy gifts and glories if he had stayed. But the name of Hurr itself means free. In the spirit of his name, he wanted to be free from wrongdoings and injustice of oppressors. He did not want to be part of any oppression. He did not want any blood on his hands. He crossed over even though that is only going to bring earthly defeat. He knew his victory is beyond that. Singapore Muslims on this sacred occassion of Muharram and Ashura need to 1) run towards freedom, break free 2) never give in to oppressors, tyrants and cruel people and leaders 3) never give up hope for freedom and peace and boldy stand up resiliently using non-violence to oppression 4) never fulfill the ill objectives of your leaders. reflect and see if they are just and truthful 5) always cross over to the side of truth and freedom if you realise you are on the side of falsehood and injustice and oppression 6) work for a new beginning and start that with freedom There are two groups of people who ignore Muharram and Ashura. Firstly religious radicals. They do not believe in perserverence, nor non-confrontation nor retaliation. They do not believe in patience. They obviously do not believe in freedom. The second group who ignore Muharram and Ashura are the secularcrats. They only believe in worldly benefit. They will succumb to any political pressures. They love worldly benefit. Truth, justice, fairness etc are immaterial to them. Only material things matter to them. Singapore Muslims should avoid falling into the dishonourable ranks of these people.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent According to Financial Consultant Mr Wu Jiawan, only households who earn at least $7,500 monthly can consider buying a 5-room flat in the new BTO Dawson project at Queenstown. Even then, besides depleting their CPF, they still have to fork out a minimum of $600 monthly to finance the mortgage loan. Mr Wu was referring to the two of the four BTO projects launched by HDB lately which are located in Queenstown. Prices will range from $373,000 to $549,000 for a four-room flat and $532,000 to $664,000 for a five-room flat for both Dawson projects in Queenstown which is more expensive than some condominiums in the suburbs. It is not known how HDB arrives at the figures, but they are pegged to the sale price of resale flats in the vicinity. A four-room resale flat in Queenstown was sold a few months ago at a record-high price of $653,000 to an Indonesia PR. Mr Wu  made a quick calculation for Lianhe Wanbao: "Assuming the mortgage loan is 80 per cent of the flat's price or $528,000, after factoring the HDB interest rate of 2.6 per cent, one still has to pay $2,116 monthly for 30 years." Mr Wu urged first time home buyers to buy an affordable flat within their means to prevent over-stretching their finances as they still have to put aside other expenses for their children and retirement. There is a salary cap of $8,000 for Singapore couples buying BTO flats for the first-time. Going by Mr Wu's calculations, couples buying these five-room flats will surely deplete their CPF for their housing loans and end up with little or no money for their retirement. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that they will continue earning the same amount of money for the rest of their lives and they will be plunged into financial difficulties should one of them gets retrenched. Despite escalating prices of public housing, HDB is adamant that HDB flats are within the reach of ordinary Singaporeans. MM Lee Kuan Yew said recently that the government will try its best to keep HDB flats "affordable" for Singaporeans even as prices continue to climb. He did not elaborate specifically on what the government will do to help Singaporeans achieve this aim. Other ministers are nonchalant about the concerns of Singaporeans too with some even claiming that rising prices are good for Singaporeans as it helps to generate "wealth" for them. However, they failed to realize that the asset value of HDB flats can only be unlocked when they are sold and the seller may have to fork out more cash to buy another flat in such an inflationary market. When Singaporeans complain that they are unable to get a flat of their choice, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan chided them for being "choosy", saying that he cannot build the flats near the city or without second storeys. At this rate the prices of HDB flats are going up, some property analysts even predict that flats in Queenstown may fetch over $1 million in ten years' time. Mr Wu felt that even if the flats are valued as such a price, there may not be any buyers as few Singaporeans can afford a flat more than $1 million and those who can will be buying condominiums. The prices of HDB flats have sky-rocketed in recent years with resale flats hitting a record high in June this year, contributed partly by the relentless influx of foreigners into Singapore. As the public housing market is controlled tightly by the government, its prices can be manipulated easily by increasing the demand while keeping the supply low at the same time. The high cost of HDB flats is one of the reasons deterring young Singapore couples from having more children thereby triggering off a vicious cycle in which the government has to turn to immigration to boost the nation's declining birth rate.  Read More →

TI CINEMA TOPIC:SOCIAL BALANCE Source: http://www.youtube.com/v/uNR_6UuVl4s The French health care system has been dubbed "the best in the world." David Turecamo finds out why the French can afford to get sick. A must watch documentary that shows the merits of universal healthcare  Read More →