Singapore MP wants to turn Little India into alcohol-free zone
The incident was the first in Singapore’s history since the 1969 communal riots which lasted for seven days and resulted in four deaths and 80 wounded.
The Case of the Toxic Spelldump (Harry Turtledove) …… .Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong I’ve heard it has described Indians, mostly monkeys the Little Indiamonkeys riots on Sunday night as a “very grave incident” and said the government will spare no effort to identify the culprits and deal with them with the full force of the law.
Ten police officers were injured and five police vehicles, an ambulance and several privates vehicles were damaged in the Sunday night riots that erupted following a fatal road accident.
Twenty-seven people, all from South Asia, were arrested following the incident. No Singaporeans were involved in the incident.
According to the police, at 9.23 pm on Sunday, a fatal traffic accident occurred between a private bus and a 33-year old Indian national at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road.
Shortly after, a riot broke out involving a crowd of about 400 people who damaged five police vehicles and an ambulance. Several other private vehicles were also damaged, while 10 police officers were injured.
Singapore’s Little India could be declared an alcohol-free zone soon if several MPs and business owners had their way.
The “Straits Times” reported that the idea had the full support of the shopowners who were previously against it.
The daily reported that the Ministry of Home Affairs had mooted the proposal and is now seeking the views of the people on two aspects which are – “banning alcohol consumption in common areas like void decks and pavements and limiting the hours during which stores can sell alcohol”.
According to the police, at 9.23 pm on Sunday, a fatal traffic accident occurred between a private bus and a 33-year old Indian national at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road.
Shortly after, a riot broke out involving a crowd of about 400 people who damaged five police vehicles and an ambulance. Several other private vehicles were also damaged, while 10 police officers were injured.
The police activated resources from the Special Operations Command and Gurkha Contingent to the scene and brought the situation under control. People in the area were advised to remain indoors.
The police advised members of the public to stay calm and not to speculate on the incident.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean said in a statement: “This is a serious incident which has resulted in injuries and damage to public property.
“The situation is now under control. Police will spare no effort to apprehend the subjects involved in the riot.”
In a separate statement, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said: “SCDF was alerted at 9.25 pm to a road accident at the junction of Race Course Road and Tekka Lane.
Upon arrival, there was a man trapped under a bus. An SCDF paramedic pronounced him dead. SCDF rescuers removed the body using a hydraulic rescue equipment.
Projectiles were thrown at the SCDF rescuers while they were extricating the body. A total of nine SCDF vehicles were damaged in the incident.
By early today, SCDF had sent 18 people, including four SCDF personnel, to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
When Asians don’t hold their liquor very well it’s probably because of their genes.
A bit of a controversial post for some perhaps, but we’re gonna take a look at the genetic differences between races in relation to alcohol. elebrated Muslim poets like Omar Khayyam and Rumi often wrote about wine and intoxication, while there are claims that Allama Iqbal and Jinnah used to indulge in a little ‘suroor’ (intoxication) themselves. The modern Muslim world isn’t any different; the Middle East experienced a 70% growth in the sales of booze from 2001 to 2011. It has a high Muslim population in countries like Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt that have legalised alcohol. Malaysia, another Muslim dominated country, has been titled the “world’s tenth largest consumer of alcohol” by WHO.
So let’s start with the alcoholism part. How Zaid hooked on booze? Zaid may drown in liquor It’s all because their bodies usually break down ethanol into water and acid way slower than the other races. Let’s first describe this process. When you drink alcoholic drinks the ethanol is metabolized (transformed) into something called acetaldehyde. This is being done by an enzyme in your body called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). So the more ADH your body produces, the faster the process. Apparently a lot of Native Malaysian miss out on this enzyme (according to analysis on chromosome 4 and 11) and that increases the risk of becoming alcoholic Zaid said UMNO made me rich.Despite coming under an onslaught bloggers who have posted doctored images in a bit to smear his reputation, Zaid Ibrahim said .”I won’t name those leaders in Umno who had done the same. drinking alcohol. like me a womanisers, to casino and other stuff that other rich people would do now he say thatUmno is “a true blue extremist, racist and religious party.It’s a party that panders to emotions about religion and race, and feels no remorse about attacking others.”n a Malaysia without Umno, Malays would be more civilised and would accept the plurality and diversity of this country, said former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim
Zaid said the delegates used the assembly as an opportunity to ask for “goodies” from the government, including more contracts and the appointment of more party members to the boards of state companies.
The lawyer singled out important national issues that did not reach the podium, such as economy and education.
“There was no debate on the rising cost of living, the lack of affordable homes for the lower-middle-class or even the National Education Blueprint,” he said.
In a response to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s question to the delegates, “Where would Malays be without Umno?”, Zaid pictured a Malaysia with a freer press, Malays who are “reasonable, humble and kind … religious and pious but without the need to show off.”zaid a drunken monkey when posted his opined.
Yesterday evening, a private Singaporean bus driver knocked down and killed a pedestrian in Little India. This sparked a large, angry riot with more than 400 people marching through the street shouting, throwing bottles and causing havoc.
While it is clear that this fatal accident was what sparked the protest, we can also reflect to see why such an incident could cause such a huge reaction.
If everyone was happy with their lives and there was not much stress, an accident such as this would usually result in a few police and an ambulance being called, followed by friends and family of the victim going to the hospital or otherwise mourning and helping authorities take down statements.
Why was there such a violent outburst?
Some witness reports indicate that the police had perhaps not handled the situation well.
On the surface, this could easily be put down to the foreign workers being more rowdy and less law-abiding than Singaporeans but in reality everyone has a boiling point and people are not naturally violent or blood-thirsty.
The big difference might be that we are taught from young to be fearful of the Government and listen to authority.
When foreign workers come to Singapore, they do not have the same “training” and can become more rowdy more easily.
This is particularly a problem when the Government brings these FTs here in large numbers and they bring with them their values and cultures and do not learn from Singaporeans how they should act here.
Last night, this was clearly a problem with a riot breaking out.
Many netizens commented that the photos and videos looked like they were not taken in Singapore and further raised concerns that if this is happening, it is not a far stretch to say that other problems such as higher crime rates and more occurrences of rape might be happening soon too.
Although the Government was quick to condemn people for politicking the situation, some reflection is necessary.
Tan Chuan-Jin posted on Facebook: “Stay Calm. Don’t speculate. Singapore Police Force is on the ground. This is not a game. Nor time for politicking. Our guys are on the line. Support them please.”
Now that the situation is over and under control, reflection on the real cause of the incident could help to prevent such issues from occurring again.
These people must have been stressed out and otherwise frustrated with their lives to so eagerly break out in a riot.
This could be due to work-related factors such as long work hours, low pay, no welfare and other forms of exploitation from their bosses. Singapore has many reported cases of foreign worker exploitation so this is really not an unrealistic possibility.
Singapore has no effective workers’ unions and so workers’ complaints and concerns are rarely heard.
When people are oppressed in such a way with no way to vent their frustration or get recourse, they will eventually boil over. All their frustration and stress is like fuel awaiting a spark to ignite the flame. Perhaps this is what happened yesterday evening.
Of course, it was still wrong for the people to act out in such a way so as to endanger lives and property but it is not fair to make racist remarks.
These people are not too different from Singaporeans, it’s just that they might not be as “well trained” as Singaporeans to not act out.
When Singaporeans are angry, we “riot” online through social media and alternative news sites.
What is worrying is that the PAP is also interested in clamping down on online freedom and dissent. When Singaporeans turn to the online space to vent their frustrations, it is dangerous for the PAP to stem such discussions as it effectively closes to stress release valve and Singaporeans will continue to get more and more frustrated.
If the government never listens to the people and never changes, how much longer do you think Singaporeans can just quietly take it?
Singaporeans continue to work the longest hours in the world, have high levels of stress and high suicide rates and many go online to vent. Meanwhile, thousands of foreigners are brought in in the name of pushing GDP growth.
Perhaps Singapore should take this riot as an opportunity to reflect on the current situation and decide what Singapore’s priority should be.
Should we continue to chase GDP at the expense of workers, exploiting foreigners and locals alike and allowing stress to boil over, or should we look more into welfare and keeping stress at a manageable level?
Perhaps nurturing local talent and ensuring “undesirable” jobs have a living-wage could help the situation. If only the government listened to the people’s concerns more. – The Real Singapore,
There is still more research to be done about why the metabolism of certain races is different. And maybe even a solution can be found to optimize the alcohol related fun for everyone. I mean White people run the highest risk for skin cancer, while Blacks suffer most from prostate cancer and we’re looking for cures for that too right? So let’s not be racist and help the Indians and Asians too.
Celebrated Muslim poets like Omar Khayyam and Rumi often wrote about wine and intoxication, while there are claims that Allama Iqbal and Jinnah used to indulge in a little ‘suroor’ (intoxication) themselves. The modern Muslim world isn’t any different; the Middle East experienced a 70% growth in the sales of booze from 2001 to 2011. It has a high Muslim population in countries like Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt that have legalised alcohol. Malaysia, another Muslim dominated country, has been titled the “world’s tenth largest consumer of alcohol” by WHO.
Alcohol is neither alien for the Muslim world in general nor for Pakistan in particular. It was served at state-level get-togethers till the late 1970s and accounts of its undeterred consumption in the army circles have also been narrated. This was before Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto banned it to appease the religious elements – something which later took shape of the contentious Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979 during Zia’s dictatorship.
Advocate Bilal Shadani explained the statute is divided in two parts; punishment by Hadd and punishment by Tazir.
“Hadd punishment of 80 lashes is passed where the Muslim accused provides a confession of having imbibed alcohol, and/or a testimony by two others who have witnessed the accused drinking.”
On the other hand,
“Tazir punishment of 30 lashes and/or up to three years imprisonment,” he added, “is awarded where the accused is found with alcohol but its purpose cannot be ascertained.”
This strict legislation is aided by the social repulsion that is observed against alcohol. Despite all this, Pakistan, a country with 97% Muslim population, still hosts parties and raves like Anthony Papa where alcohol and substance consumption is common. Although these are usually attended by the upper-crust of the society, the poorest of the poor also buy substandard liquor to quench their thirst, even at the cost of their lives.
Since there are only a few licensed distribution channels of alcohol, bootlegging has become a lucrative business. It has been observed that while a regular Murree Brewery vodka costs around Rs800, bootleggers charge double the amount in the black market. Imported booze are available from Rs3000 to Rs10, 000 a bottle and a high profit margin has encouraged many bootleggers to sell only those. Many also provide home delivery, reaching you ‘quicker than a pizza would,’ according to Sadaqat Ali who manages rehabilitation centres set up for alcoholics in Pakistan.
It doesn’t end here; officials who are expected to assist the cause of this legislation are found unabashedly flaunting it. Maybe this explains why the only licensed brewery is thriving while illegal ones have also been set up. The business is in such boom that many people now also work as part-time bartenders, ardently shaking and adding ingredients to serve complex cocktails across Pakistan.
In light of the high alcohol consumption and failure of the current law to act as a deterrent, it is time for less stringent but smart policies. The demand is not to make booze freely available as our MPA, Mr Khokhar and his likes are vocal about. The demand is to evolve the law in respect of the changing circumstances, as has already been laid out in the case of Muhammad Aslam Khaki vs. Federation of Pakistan;
“Court while convicting an accused is to take into consideration the overall condition of society at large.”
It suffers from many ambiguities and defects as it stands now, as the ex Chief Justice of Federal Shariat Court Haziqul-Khairi pointed out. The law works on the presumption that there will be a preference by the accused to file for an appeal or bail. In case of a failure, he/she will remain in prison till the time for filing them expires.
This imprisonment acts as double punishment – neither given in the Quran nor Sunnah and in contradiction of Article 13 of the Constitution.
Punishment by Hadd according to the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979 is contradictory to Islamic teachings. An accused can be charged under Hadd and awarded 80 lashes. But Islam has only confirmed some specific offences as Hadd (heinous crimes) and alcohol is not one of them.
In light of Verse 2:219 of Surah Baqrah, the Holy Quran has recognised some of its ‘benefits,’ and so, the sin of drinking is not absolutely haram. It is but a minor sin.
Instead of half-heartedly enforcing ineffective and authoritarian laws like the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979, the government can allow its sale on regulated prices in a controlled environment. It can discourage consumption through heavy taxation, which will not only generate hefty revenue but also discourage people from drinking. Muslim countries like Bangladesh have already put in place similar models.
The argument that drinking ought to be a personal choice which the state should not dictate is also put forward by many. If it is forbidden in Islam; instead of the state enforcing strict legislations, Muslims should themselves resolute to not drink, it is argued.
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