Gurmukh and his family dedicate their unique rendition of their club’s song to celebrate Liverpool’s Premier League win. Photo: Gurmukh Singh
By Asia Samachar Team | MALAYSIA |
Liverpool emerging as the Premier League champions after a three decade gap has got their fans hitting new highs. In Malaysia, a lawyer-kirtani celebrated the event with a “semi-classical” rendition of the the football club’s anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
And the event caught the attention of The Star, the nation’s largest English newspaper.
Gurmukh Singh, 54, recorded the song, posted the video on his Facebook page yesterday, and it has been a hit since!
“I had to do it. I’ve wanted to put a traditional Indian spin on this song for some time now, but never got around to it. What better time than now, right?” says Gurmukh, who has been supporting Liverpool since he was in Standard Five.
“I’m into spirituality and religion. But, I must say, witnessing Liverpool emerge as Premier League champs again after so long was right up there as a kind of spiritual experience. It’s an indescribable feeling,” he told The Star.
Gurmukh and his family-backed kirtan jatha (group) performed daily live online kirtan sessions during the recent Covid-19 partial lockdown in Malaysia.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Editor’s Pick | BRITAIN | A posthumous portrait of Maharajah Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), the founder of the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab. Given by Maharajah Sher Singh (son and successor of Ranjit Singh) to Lord Ellenborough for presentation to Queen Victoria, January 1843. Artist: Imam Bakshs Lahori – Photo & Text: The Royal Collection Trust
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Initially, when I separated from my partner, I feigned I was in a happy marriage only to ward off all unwanted people poking their noses in my life.
I just went through a phase, and it made me realize that a woman’s marital status can have more ramifications than what we normally think. And that each ‘status’ comes with a tag based on which society judges the ‘nature’ of such women. And believe me, it takes a lot of courage and strength for single women to live in this world!
Haaye! She’s single! A married woman is considered reliable and safe to be with. She can be a best friend and even be introduced to her husband and brought home!
If she is separated, she is considered an evil or sex deprived woman. Letting your husband near her is dangerous. And be even more aware if she is a divorcee! You don’t need to think, you know she’s here to woo your husband. Such woman have to be kept out of your house!
A married woman may or may not be as attractive to everyone, depending on the stature of her husband. However, if she is separated, she is an easy target. Why don’t you try your luck? Oh and if she’s a divorcee, don’t even think about it, she is definitely available!
The author is a legal consultant, settled in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, whose first love is and has always been her profession.
Read the full story, ‘Just Because I Am Separated, I Am Not A Desperate Or An ‘Easy’ Woman Looking To Woo All The Men I See!’ (WomensWeb, 28 June 2020), here.
RELATED STORY:
(Asia Samachar, x June 2020)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
How do we see the rule and empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh? For sure the misldars and Ranjit Singh were Sikhs, but can we call his confederacy Sikh Empire.
Lahore-based Panjab studies scholar Dr Khola Cheema discusses the issue at the Akaal Channel’s One Show moderated by Dr Gurnam Singh and Manjit Kaur.
She argues that Ranjit Singh, a.k.a. Shere Panjab, was first and foremost a Panjabi ruler and that is how we should see him. To support her argument she drew attention to the fact that Maharaja Ranjit Singh allowed men from different religions and races to serve in his army and his government in various positions of authority, and that his policies were based on respect for all communities, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim.
You can follow the discussion, mostly in Panjabi, here.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Against the backdrop of the cold-blooded killing of George Floyd, most public discussions about racism draw attention to acts of police brutality and hate crime. Additionally, we may talk about the ongoing injustices related to racism in goods, employment and services and institutional racism. Rarely do we think about environmental racism!
There are many wonderful people in the green moment and I personally have embraced environmental activism in my own politics. Saving the natural ecology of the planet and tackling climate change by moving towards renewable energies and sustainable models of growth is good for us all. It leads to a cleaner and greener world, and that is good for humans, animals and plants.
The big problem with the green movement is that protecting the ecology does not preclude the infiltration of far-right reactionary ideologues. Indeed, the origins of the modern ‘western’ environmental movement include some very dodgy characters and ulterior motives related to race purity and mythological ideas about a previously untouched pristine white landscapes.
All the data on climate change confirms that Indigenous people and people of colour and poor people are disproportionately affected, whilst having little responsibility for this state of affairs. But looking in the mainstream green movement, and the media more generally, they are often forgotten or excluded.
In a recent piece entitled The Environmental Movement Needs to Reckon with Its Racist History, Julian Brave NoiseCat – who is director narrative change at the Natural History Museum) – on 16 September 2019, argues that: “The environment is no longer a white sanctuary…“But an inconvenient truth remains: climate change does not answer to racism, politics, or even justice—at least not directly. Its only principles are chemistry and physics. And this might be its greatest cruelty. Power is grazing the fingertips of people of color for the first time. But as we finally start to grasp it and change an environmental movement rooted in a racist past, science may have other designs.”
When we talk about environmentalism we have to make a distinction between two different kinds of environmentalism. There is the everyday environmentalism of indigenous peoples whose lives as far as I can see are the embodiment of ecological living and therefore this kind of environmentalism is as old as the human species. Then we have modern environmentalism which is predominantly a Western idea that grew during the past 150 years or so in response to questions about land guardianship, demographics, (i)migration, industrialisation and leisure.
In truth, the founding fathers of Western environmentalism ranged from garden variety racists to fully-fledged eugenicists. For example, we have Henry David Thoreau, the American essayist, poet, and philosopher. He was a leading transcendentalist, naturalist and abolitionist whose writings inspired Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., among others. But he also held troubling, but typical views about the inevitable demise of Native Americans. In his influential 1862 essay “Walking,” he wrote: “I think that the farmer displaces the Indian even because he redeems the meadow, and so makes himself stronger and in some respects more natural.”
Another figure is John Muir, a co-founder of the Sierra Club and disciple of Thoreau. The Sierra Club is an environmental organization that was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, California. It was one of the first large-scale environmental preservation organizations in the world and currently engages in lobbying politicians to promote environmentalist policies, currently promoting sustainable energy, mitigating global warming, and opposing the use of coal. Muir wrote about the indolence of Black “Sambos.” He described the Miwok, the Indigenous people of Yosemite, as “dirty” and “altogether hideous.” “They seem to have no right place in the landscape,”
Whilst there is a particular issue about the way in which in the West, eugenics has historically been associated with racial purity and white supremacy, the right-wing appropriation of environmentalism can also be seen in the East.
In India for instance, in a piece entitled ‘Purifying the Sacred: How Hindu Nationalism Reshapes Environmentalism in Contemporary India’ Owen Ellerkamp highlights how Hindutva ideologues are appropriating the environmental agenda. He suggests that this is done by the ‘transposition of the cultural, religious, and sacred onto physical geographies’, which he argues ‘ is practiced by humans everywhere. He goes onto argue that in the present moment, as India seeks to respond to the is own environmental catastrophe, ‘the preservation of “sacred geographies” is being presented by the Hindutva. ideologues as critical to the preservation of Hindu traditions. It is through ‘delineating Hindu nationalist histories and contemporary politics, that ‘environmental work politicizes the landscape through a Hindutva framework through the (re)imagination of Hindu pasts and futures through essentialist and fundamentalist lens.
The Black Lives Movement (#BLM), which was born to highlight and confront state brutality as was so horrifyingly demonstrated in the killing of George Floyd. It has now morphed into a wider struggle against ongoing legacies colonialism and white supremacy. It is important that the movement continues to evolve and for sure it will need to address environmental racism, which is manifest both in the way mercantile capitalism has sought to exploit people and the planet and also in white supremacist romanticisation of space and place.
And whilst the Black Lives Matter is rightly focussed on anti-black racism in the West, given the global dimension of climate disaster and the rise of oppressive nationalism across the world, it is important to connect the struggle for environmental justice with anti-racism on a global level. Indeed, one of the most encouraging features of the Black Lives Movement is its inclusive and international nature.
[Gurnam Singh is an academic activist dedicated to human rights, liberty, equality, social and environmental justice. He is an Associate Professor of Sociology at University of Warwick, UK. He can be contacted at Gurnam.singh.1@warwick.ac.uk]
* This is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
A senior Sikh lawyer has been retained to serve on a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) panel.
Baljit Singh Sidhu has been tapped again to serve on the agency’s Consultation and Prevention of Corruption Panel, known by its Malay acronym (PPPR).
A partner at Shukor Baljit and Partners, the seasoned criminal litigation lawyer first joined the panel in 2016. The following year, the then Prime Minister Mohd Najib Razak appointed him for another two-year term.
Baljit is the SSU Kelab Aman president and a member of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) disciplinary committee.
His letter of appointment, along with 11 others, was signed by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin.
Members of the panel, chaired by former Public Service Department (JPA) director-general Borhan Dolah, serve from 1 June 2020 to 31 May 2022.
The other members are former mediamen Manja Ismail, Freddie Fernandez and Chamil Wariya, Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM) DG Prof Dr. Azizan Baharuddin, Universiti Malaya economics professor Dr Edmund Terence Eric Boniface Gomez, Majlis Belia Malaysia president Jufitri Joha, Lembaga Penduduk dan Pembangunan Keluarga Negara former DG Dr Siti Norlasiah Ismail, Pertubuhan Ekonomi Wanita dan Kebajikan chairman Norita Che Ali, Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) chief activist Nadzim Johan, Ketua Aktivis Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) and Skop Productions Sdn Bhd Md Yusof Md Aslam.
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The present leaders running Singapore are expected to prevail when the nation goes to the national polls on 10 July, predicts political scientist Prof Bilveer Singh.
As the nation prepares for an election under the cover of novel coronavirus pandemic, he believes that a ‘strong leadership’ will likely be returned to power.
“I think we will be able to get our act together quickly and come out stronger… The ruling party is safe till 2030 from any major challenge,” he told Asia Samachar.
Bilveer is the deputy head of the NUS Department of Political Science and author of ‘Is the People’s Action Party Here to Stay?’ released last year. On the political front, he has also authored ‘Understanding Singapore’s Politics’ (2017) and ‘Politics and Governance in Singapore: An Introduction’ (2007).
While PAP is in an enviable position, Bilveer cautioned against overestimating the power of social media.
In an interview with a Singapore portal called Kopi, he explained that in times of crisis such as now Singaporean-style pragmatism will ensue.
“We would rather forgo time for check and balance, accountability and transparency if it means securing our bread and butter as quickly as possible,” he told the portal. He added that this was especially so in the climate of fear and unemployment which Covid-19 has created, with many living on government handouts during the circuit breaker.
So, what prompted the book, Is the PAP Here to Stay?, which was published last year?
“No political party has survived as long as the PAP and these are rare political creatures. The longest prior to the PAP was the BN/Alliance that collapsed in 2018. Hence the dying question whether the PAP would collapse soon. I have been interested in these types of political parties, all the more interesting that the PAP is today the longest governing party in non-communist Asean,” he told Asia Samachar in a response sometime in the middle of last year.
He then said that he had started writing the book in 2015 after the Workers’ Party got into trouble over its town council, but then somewhat lost interest. “Then PH came to power and my interest got rejuvenated,” he said.
PH refers to Pakatan Harapan which created history when it unseated the Barisan Nasional (BN) in a surprise victory in the 2018 polls and saw the return of Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the prime minister, with Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister in-waiting. In February 2020, it imploded spectacularly, paving the way for a new set of political arrangement led by Muhyiddin Yassin.
BN’s fall naturally resonated in neighbouring Singapore.
On how long does he see PAP surviving the Singapore political landscape, Bilveer noted that the first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew had said in 2011 that one day the PAP will fall while former DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam had said no political party has lasted more than 70 yrs in power. That puts the marker somewhere at 2029.
“I think, eventually, it will depend on the new PAP leaders getting their act and keeping unity, how well the opposition is united and public perception. I think the PAP will remain in dominance for another 10 years safely, after that the triangular dynamics of the PAP, Opposition and Electorate will determine the political future of Singapore,” he said in the same earlier response.
Since the publication the 302-page book on the PAP, Bilveer agreed to answer some questions, with the election looming in the back.
Q: From time the book was published, any major changes in the landscape in Spore politics?
Since the book, Is the PAP Here to Stay? was published in July 2019, three important developments have taken place:
a. The consolidation of the 4th Generation leadership under the current Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.
b. The need of Singapore, a trading state, to respond to the worsening US-China trade war and as Singapore is a close trading partner to both, it has suffered in terms of a dip in trade with both and the world as a whole.
c. The most profound impact has come from COVID-19, where Singapore was first hit in Jan 23, 2020 and since then, it has affected every aspect of the republic, with lockdowns, called circuit breakers, in place. I think this has been a very frightening experience for all and the worst is yet to come, especially in terms of economic freefall and we will probably face the worst issues relating to unemployment, retrenchments, joblessness, under employment, etc, in turn having a political, economic, social-cultural and even foreign policy-defence-security impact as far as ties with the outside world is concern; it is going to be a dog eat dog world and as a small state, it will face severe limitations and challenges.
Q: Anything that you didn’t predict taking place?
Knowing the PAP, I was sure the 4G leaders would consolidate and emerge centre stage; but I think no one really expected the US-China trade war to escalate the level it did; and most profoundly, COVID-19 hit us and everyone like a bolt out of nowhere. Of all the unknown unknown, I think COVID-19 was the main one even though we had been through SARS and H1N1 and MERS, as well as being familiar with the Ebola threat. Yes, COVID-19 changed everything as no one was really prepared for its scale, gravity and impact.
Q: What was say was your most spot-on prediction?
A: I knew the GE was coming and I thought it would happen late last year; still, the GE was coming but no one thought it would happen in a COVID-19 terrain. This has been bad for the government as there is much unhappiness, but also good for the government as it was able to demonstrate how good it is as a crisis government and leader, all the more, with a deep pocket that has already forked out S$100 billion as part of its counter-COVID-19 measures.
It is always difficult to predict things in the social sciences, all the more, when the US is in a election year and you have an unpredictable leader like Donald Trump. We are entering a world of great uncertainties and where past models of responses may not be enough and may not apply.
I think we are at a generational crossroads; those who get it right will move forward well, those who don’t will pay a very high price. Hence, Singapore being small, a strong leadership, which will likely be returned to power on 10 July, Polling Day, a largely united people, a strong sense of urgency, discipline and survival, I think we will be able to get our act together quickly and come out stronger, with a people and the new leaders strongly in a political compact that will last, easily for 10 years. The ruling party is safe till 2030 from any major challenge.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
PATH DA BHOG & ANTHAM ARDAS:5 July 2020 (Sunday), from 3pm to 5pm, at Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya, No 4, Lorong Utara B, Off Jalan Utara, 46850 Petaling Jaya| Malaysia
Also remembered by siblings, in-laws, nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces and host of relatives and friends
Cremation was conducted on the 23.6.2020 at the Nirvana Crematorlum Shah Alam
The Sahej Path Da Bhog and Antham Ardas will be held on the 5th July 2020 (Sunday) from 3pm to 5pm at the Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya, No 4, Lorong Utara B, Off Jalan Utara, 46850 Petaling Jaya.
In view of the RMCO, the family will comply with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as set out by the relevant authorities for places of warships, immediate family and relatives will be prioritised.
We, the family, thank all relatives and friends for their kind assistance during the time of bereavement and tor the presence, support, comfort and prayers.
Our father dedicated his life to his family and lived a blissful and yet a simple life. He passed on 3 weeks shy of his 90th birthday. The family would like to celebrate his life and we thank Waheguruji for give him to us. His guidance and numerous stories that instilled intrinsic values will be treasured as wonderful memories that will forever be cherished.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
SASKAAR / CREMATION:01:00 pm on 02 July 2020 (Thursday) at Fook Lu Siew Crematorium. Cortege leaves residence at No. 8, Lorong Seroja 6a, Taman Emas, 88200, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, at 12pm | Malaysia
KALEH AYE NANAKA SADHEY UTH JAYE
ਘਲੇ ਆਵਹਿ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਸਦੇ ਉਠੀ ਜਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
RETIRED SERGEANT DARBAR SINGH S/O LATE SDR KARTAR SINGH
(18.10.1947 – 1.7.2020)
Age: 73 years old.
Passed away peacefully at 10:12 am on 01 July 2020 (Wednesday) at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (1).
Saskar /Cremation: 01:00 pm on 02 July 2020 (Thursday) at Fook Lu Siew Crematorium.
Cortege Timing: Cortege leaves residence at No. 8, Lorong Seroja 6a, Taman Emas, 88200, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, at 12pm.
Deeply missed and always remembered by:
Wife: Gurmej Kaur D/O Late SDR Dara Singh
Children / Spouses:
Dr Paream Kaur / Dr Harjinder Singh
DSP Amanjit Singh / Lydianna Peter
DSP Rajvinder Kaur
We would like to offer our sincere appreciate and thanks to all the doctors and staffs at HDW Level 3, Gastro and Medical Ward Level 4 and Urology Ward Level 8, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (1), especially to:
Dato Dr. Raman, Dr. James and team (Gastro and Medical)
Dr. Shankaran and team (Urology)
Dr. Wong K.W and team (Nephrology)
Dr. Justine, Dr. Loh and team (HDU)
Dr. Chin, Dr. Arjun and team (Medical Ward)
Contact:
Rajvin 016-649-5050
Aman 016-820-7007
| Entry: 1 July 2020 | Source: Family
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
In general, most of us have little or no understanding of the importance of the name and how it has influenced our personality and character. Our parents were very cautious as the Punjabi proverb “nau vaddeh teh darshan shote” meaning the name portrays something great but is not reflected in the actions. Thus, the Punjabi belief is a given name drives the character of the person and transforms behavior and actions. In accordance with this traditional belief most parents name the child with words that have a positive meaning.
This old belief has been verified through research using accepted scientific measures. Social scientists believe that names produce a Dorian Gray effect, influencing personality, how we’re perceived, and even physical appearance. In psychology, the Dorian Gray effect refers to the various ways internal factors, such as personality or self-perception, influence physicality. A name “is like an elongated shadow attached at our heels,” Mavis Himes writes in her new book The Power of Names. Our surname defines us in relation to our parents, customarily the father and in the Sikh religion to our spiritual parents the Gurus and to the family of enlightened persons collectively called the Khalsa Panth.
Guru Nanak Sahib met a young child named Bura from the village of Katthu Nangal. The sakhi as in Sikhan di Bhagat Mal by Bhai Mani Singh tells of this young boy offering a bowl of milk to Guru Nanak Sahib. In the conversation that follows, the young boy request to be absolved from birth and death. He had seen soldiers mow down all the crops ripe as well as unripe and came to the realization that there are no restrains from death. Guru Nanak Sahib Ji recognized the wisdom in the boy and changed his name to Buddha meaning an old man. This blessing not only changed the young boy it made him the most wise and enlightened Sikh of the Guru. Later known respectfully as Baba Buddha Ji. Baba ji was not only full of wisdom he dedicated his whole life in the service of the Gurus and had the unique honor of being the person spiritually capable appointed by Guru Arjan Sahib ji to carry Pothi Sahib on his head into Hari Mandir Sahib during the First Parkash in 1604. Baba ji was also appointed the first caretaker or Granthi of Hari Mandir, Amritsar.
In 1531, another great person belonging to a family of jewelers and the head of a sect worshiping idols made his way to Kartarpur. Motivated by Bani from Asa Ki Vaar pauri, 20 which he heard from Bhai Jodh, Lehna rode on a horse to meet Guru Nanak Sahib. The first meeting blew the mind of Lehna ji as he wi tnessed the humility, love and simplicity of Guru Nanak Sahib. It was commitment, acceptance and total attachment instantaneously for Lehna. This commitment led to a change that transformed Lehna through learning and action, earning the blessings and acceptance of Guru Nanak. In 1539 Guru Nanak Sahib appointed and installed Lehna as the second Guru of the Sikh faith. That event also witnessed a name change and Guru Nanak Sahib blessed him with a new name Angad. The blessing was a result of the total transformation and Lehna reaching a state of realization through committed action in accordance with the principles established by Guru Nanak Sahib. Guru Angad Sahib then continued to remove the barrier of ignorance in the general public through a program of literacy and spreading education as well as focusing on health and wellbeing.
We also witness Guru Amar Das extending the process of blessing and changing the name of Bhai Jetha to Guru Ram Das. Orphaned at the tender age of seven with the only support being given by his maternal grandmother Bhai Jetha received the support and guidance of Guru Ram Das to become a knowledgeable, enlightened and accomplished music maestro and leader. The business skills he acquired, in the formative years watching his father, laid the foundation for him to develop from a small-time trader at Basarke to a merchant in Govindwal. His strategic move to a newly developing town on a trade route provided him the opportunity to grow both in knowledge, skills, spirituality and leadership. The name changed to Ram Das carried recognition of capabilities and ability to develop and strengthen the growing Niara Panth.
Another Guru who had the blessing of having the name change was Guru Tejh Bahadur. Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji changed the name of his son after the battle in Kartarpur from Tegh Mal to Tegh Bahadur. Gur Hargobind Sahib Ji in recognition of Tegh Mal’s skills, which had been developed by Baba Buddha Ji, and valour in the battle named him Tegh Bahadur. This battle continued in life and Sikhs stand up in pride as Guru Tegh Bahadur become the first martyr defending human right and the rights to religious freedom.
These were individual name changes that had tremendous effects on individuals and their contribution to humanity. The greatest transformation of a whole society happened in 1699 on Baisakhi. Guru Gobind Singh changed the names of the five beloved and added Singh to their names and all females were given Kaur (princess). This is the first time in human history all humans adhering to the principles established by Guru Nanak Sahib ji had a single surname, Singh for the male and Kaur for the female. A point to note is that the five beloved – the panj pyare – had only Singh added not Khalsa to their name. The name is a reflection of the equality to be practiced. It also bonded all into a society of brave and regal persons caring and sharing as members of a family of humanists. Collectively, the Nirmal Panth established by Guru Nanak Sahib was now given the name of Khalsa Panth.
The history of name changes and the transformation of followers is amazing. The result was it filled them with moralistic values transformed into actions that have left its mark on humanity. The feeling of being called Singh or Kaur fills one with a sense of pride and appreciation and is the single most motivator to do a good, serve and perform actions that brings changes to individual lives and transform society. Live in the blessings of the surname showered upon all of us, while retaining our parent given name, which in most cases is derived from the first alphabet of the hukumnama at birth. Live the Blessings, as a name hold the power to change character and influence personality.
Paguman Singh, a retired senior official of a Malaysian-based social security organisation, has been involved in Sikhi parchaar for more than three decades. He now resides in New Zealand.
* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Sikh community members in Colorado and around the country are calling for hate crime charges in Jefferson County, two months after a Lakewood store owner was run over by a driver and told to “go back to your country” during a brutal assault that left the man hospitalized for months.
On Tuesday, 29 civil rights organizations and interfaith groups signed a letter, urging First Judicial District Attorney Pete Weir investigate the April 29 assault on Lakhwant Singh as a hate crime.
“For us to be even able to address hate as community, that hate first has to be acknowledged,” said Nikki Singh, the Sikh Coalition’s policy and advocacy manager. “Not only will we hopefully get justice for Singh, but it sends a much larger message that hate is wrong. It doesn’t just affect one community, it affects lots of communities.”
Around 11 p.m. that day, Eric Breemen, 36, walked into Two Angels liquor store in Lakewood and started knocking over items on the shelf, Lakhwant Singh’s wife told investigators, according to an arrest affidavit.
As he was damaging the store, Breemen repeatedly told Singh and his wife to “go back to your country,” Nikki Singh said. When Lakhwant Singh went outside to take a picture of Breemen’s license plate, the man allegedly struck Singh with his car, running him over with both the front and rear wheels, the arrest affidavit said.
Breemen has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, among other charges, in connection with three alleged assaults that day, including Singh’s. He has not been charged with a bias-motivated crime. Breemen, who remains in custody, will appear in court July 24 for a preliminary hearing.
The Sikh Coalition, and other organizations, believe the incident should be considered a hate crime due to the comments made in the store, as well as Breemen identifying Singh as an “older Arab” in his police report, Nikki Singh said.
The incident has galvanized the Sikh community across the country, as people have flooded the district attorney’s office with calls demanding justice.
Read the full story, ‘A Sikh business owner was told to “go back your country” before being run over by a car. Now the community is demanding justice’ (The Denver Post, 1 July 2020), here.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Pritam Singh on a walkabout – Photo: WP Facebook page
By Asia Samachar Team | SINGAPORE |
Pritam Singh, one of the two Sikh candidates running in Singapore’s general elections, is all set to give “a good fight” in the quest to inject “some semblance of balance” in the nation’s Parliament long dominated by a single political party.
Pritam leads the the Worker’s Party (WP), the only opposition party with a presence in the nation’s law making body before it was dissolved to pave the way for the July 10 elections.
In a televised party political broadcast today (2 July), the WP secretary-general said that votes to the opposition party would count in three ways: raising critical issues, put the spot light on national governance and the financial burdens on Singaporeans, and stopping ‘a tiny number of people to control everything’.
WP is running with the slogan Make Your Vote count.
Hitting out at the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) led by Lee Hsien Loong, son of former premier Lee Kuan Yew, Pritam said: “Since 2015, we have brought up topics in Parliament such as the GST test balloon, the Keppel Offshore and Marine scandal and the constitutional amendment on the Reserved Presidential Election, amongst many others.
“Not a single PAP MP filed a parliamentary question on the corruption disclosures at Keppel Offshore and Marine. Only Workers’ Party MPs did. As for the GST, we pressed the Government to reveal its expenditure and revenue projections before making Singaporeans pay more.”
Pritam is one of 191 candidates from 11 political parties and one independent candidate in the running. In 2015, his party managed to win 39.3% of total votes casted against 60.7% for PAP.
The other Sikh candidate in the running this time around is Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) chief media officer Harminder Pal Singh, who ran unsuccessfully in the two previous general elections.
In 2015, there were four Sikh candidates. Joining Pritam and Harminder Pal then were Gurmit Singh from the WP and Sukdeu Singh from Singaporeans First (SingFirst). Only Pritam managed to win a seat.
In the 2011 general elections, the two Sikhs to contests were veteran lawmaker Inderjit Singh from the PAP and Harminder Pal.
Pritam Singh at a Worker’s Party rally in General Election 2015. He has been made chairman of the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Amanpreet Singh, left, Kamal Bassi, centre, and Harpal Singh, right, with the Dashmesh Culture Centre stand in front of planters in the centre’s new garden space. It will provide some produce for the Sikh temple’s kitchen, which hands out hot vegetarian meals to those that need it as part of the Sikh tradition of Langar. – Photo: Dan McGarvey / CBC
Dan McGarvey | CANADA |
A new vegetable garden being built at the Dashmesh Culture Centre in Martindale is designed to bring the local community together in a safe COVID-friendly outdoor space this summer.
The garden at the back of the Sikh temple is for people of all backgrounds and cultures, say the centre’s leadership, who have worked with the Martindale Community Association on the project.
“We thought it’s a good platform for our elders and new generation to get together and learn about the plants,” said Amanpreet Singh, president of the Dashmesh Culture Centre.
“Everyone is welcome here, and during COVID-19 we have a place where everyone can be together and still keep their social distance,” he said.
The garden is growing everything from herbs to cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, spinach and baby radishes, and is being tended to daily by a crew of Sikh seniors.
The food the garden produces can be used by the local community and in the centre’s kitchens, which provides free hot vegetarian meals to anyone in need seven days per week.
“Everyone can take it, can use it and also we’ll use it in the kitchen, too, but it’s for the whole community,” said Singh.
“It was a great opportunity,” said Harpal Singh. “It gives us a lot of joy. With COVID there’s a lot of people sitting at home, and we saw it as an opportunity to teach the community about agriculture and involve people from the local area.
Read the full story, ‘Northeast Sikh temple builds vegetable garden to bring community together’ (CBC, 3 July 2020), here.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Businessman and local councillor Jasvir Singh Ram Singh will be taking on a new role.
Effective 1 July, Pahang Mentri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail has appointed him as a special officer for the Sikh community affair in the state.
“I look forward to serving the community,” he told Asia Samachar.
In 2018, Jasvir Singh was reappointed as Bentong councillor for a second term ending in October 2020. He is also Gurdwara Sahib Bentong committee president.
The four other gudwaras in Pahang are in Kuantan, Mentakab, Kuala Lipis and Raub.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Nineteen passengers died in an accident on Friday as Shah Hussain Express rammed into Sikh yatris’s coaster bus in Sheikhupura, Dunya News reported.
Pakistan Railways spokesperson told that the collision occurred at a railway crossing located between Farooqabad and Bahali Wala. Several passengers sustained injuries in the occurrence.
Rescue 1122 teams reached the incident spot and shifted the wounded to hospital. It has been learnt that around 25 Sikh yatris were going to Gurdwara Sacha Sauda from Peshawar while the train was enroute to Lahore from Karachi, according to the report.
Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed took notice of the incident and summoned initial investigation report. The federal minister suspended divisional engineer and directed the concerned officials to take action against the responsible persons, the report added.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
How can lawyers can benefit from technology? What about holding virtual court or remote proceedings beyond the novel coronavirus lockdown?
Surveillance devices and security services expert Paramjeet Singh Sidhu will share some pointers at a forum today (4 July) discussing remote hearings and surveillance technology post the Covid-19 pandemic.
Paramjeet, the managing director of MVD International Sdn Bhd, is one of the four speakers at the online seminar.
Organised by the law school of Malaysia-based Taylor’s University, Malaysian Court of Appeal judge Lee Swee Seng will deliver the seminar’s keynote address titled ‘Reimagining courts as dispensers of justice after Covid-10 pandemic’.
In a nutshell, Paramjeet will argue that the virtual court or remote proceedings was not only a Covid-19 solution or rescue plan.
“Lawyers are familiar with technology and are already using it in areas likes e-filing, case management through video conferencing, and the CRS Court recording system. It works, and works well,” he told Asia Samachar.
In today’s presentation, he will delve on technical surveillance counter measures (TSCM) or anti-spy surveillance during witness testimony.
“It is not suitable for every case. Being in the technical field, I know technology, too, has limitations. But there are certain situations where remote hearings can work better. These are the cases for which technology can offer support,” he said.
Paramjeet, an avid badminton player at one time, was the former regional sales director of Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd and a senior manager of Honeywell Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
He is often consulted by clients for his expertise in high tech surveillance devices, penetration testing and security services for high end condominium projects, shopping complexes, universities and commercial buildings.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
I’m part of the Parlimen Digital initiative geared towards promotion of youth power in discussing pertinent issues regarding Malaysia’s development in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
I was blessed enough to be chosen from amongst 6,000 applicants as one of the 222 members of parliament. I represent the P064 Ipoh Timur parliamentary constituency.
In the application process, we were required to answer tough questions about Malaysia’s next step forward in battling the repercussions of the novel coronavirus global pandemic.
After being selected, we were asked to write a script in support or opposing two motions to be discussed at the seating. They were:
1. Dewan ini percaya bahawa perlu adanya pelan rangsangan ekonomi khusus untuk golongan belia.
2. Dewan ini percaya bahawa sistem pendidikan negara memerlukan pelan kesiapsagaan untuk krisis Covid-19.
Based on the scripts submitted, 50 members were selected to debate the motions during the online seating. I was fortunate enough to be selected to debate the economics motion. Initially, I found it to be a challenge to curate an entire speech in Bahasa Malaysia but I pulled through.
Overall, it has been an incredible experience. I had a chance to meet inspiring individuals with unbounded dedication to bring change for a better Malaysia.
Why I joined? I want my voice heard. It is important as we are the future of this country. We need to take initiatives for a better Malaysia. We must believe that we can collectively make this country reach unimaginable heights.
Catch Simraatraj making presentation (forward to 1:50:30) at the Facebook link here.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
“I’m shattered to see India quietly accepting China changing status of LAC [Line of Actual Control] in Eastern Ladakh,” (Rameshwar Roy, retired Indian Lieutenant General)
By Gurmukh Singh | OPINION |
Following the border clash between Indian and Chinese troops on 15 June 2020, Indian Prime Minister Modi is reported to have said, “no one had entered Indian territory or captured any military posts.” Yet, within hours of Modi’s comments, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted that the Galwan Valley belonged to China and the Indian troops had provoked the clash.
Pakistan, too, has moved large number of troops to its border with India. However, reports of the possibility of World War III being triggered by these events are rather alarmist. Other than achieving strategic border objectives, China has no reason to invade India – for the time being.
China’s expansionist strategy is global, multi-pronged, well-planned and almost unstoppable. It combines the strict and disciplined regime of communism with certain aspects of capitalism which can be exploited in the market place when the rules of fair competition are broken. It exploits to the full the uncertainties of softer democratic systems with changing politics and policies.
China’s border dispute with India goes back to 1962 war with India. Both countries continue to claim large territories along the 3,500 km (2,173 mile) Line of Actual Control (LAC) through high mountains, valleys and rivers. There have been many clashes along the LAC over the years before the more significant incident on 15 June this year.
According to India, Chinese soldiers had crossed over to the Indian side at many locations in early May. The Galwan River and Pangong Tso lake in the India’s Ladakh region have been mentioned. One reason given for the recent movement and fortifications on the Chinese side is the construction of a road by India near the Galwan valley “to narrow the gap with China’s superior network of roads that it built years ago.”
On the night of 15th June, the 16th Bihar troops had to fight with “sticks, bare hands, rocks and with weapons snatched from the Chinese.” According to earlier reports twenty Indian soldiers, including two Sikh gunners, died in the clash with many injured. Reports differ about casualties and there is very little information from the Chinese. The fight broke out when the Chinese started to erect structures just across the LAC in the Galwan Valley.
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar accused the Chinese of trying to erect structures in the Galwan Valley on the Indian side of the LAC. Naturally, the Chinese claimed the opposite. There is also a mismatch between the statements made by Jaishankar and PM Modi.
However, a BBC report gives some basic facts with the use of satellite images. These show the area near Patrol Point 14 where the clash took place on 15 June. An image taken in May shows no structures in the area overlooking the Galwan River. However, at a later date the images show Chinese construction at the same point.
There have been “angry responses from India’s army veterans and analysts who saw it as New Delhi ceding territory to China to avoid escalation”. That seems to be the ground reality as verified by satellite images.
Due to other incidents along the border, this incident raises the question of combat-readiness of Indian soldiers even though the Chinese casualties are not known. Regardless of isolated acts of bravery e.g. by a Sikh jawan, Gurtej Singh, the impression gained is that the Chinese were better prepared. The Indian soldiers were outnumbered and overwhelmed except for the timely support later by some Sikh jawans. They should have been alert to the dispute situation they were walking into.
In addition to their military strength, well-supported by logistics, the Chinese are known for their high efficiency in building large infrastructure projects including roads and bridges through mountainous terrain. They are known for their discipline, organisation and work ethics. In these respects, with few exceptions, the Indians usually show the opposite traits. Projects linger on for years in the centres of Indian cities blocking traffic and bringing travel and business to a standstill.
Chinese are at the forefront of innovation and over the decades China has been “successful in powering its economic growth and using its billion-plus population to its advantage.” China dominates the whole of South-East Asia, has trade advantage with Australia and has major investments in India and other countries.
The position of Sikh Indians: The Sikhs have been antagonised by the 1984 traumatic events and the injustices they have suffered since the partition of India. Victim families of Delhi-centred genocide await justice. State terrorism in Punjab and extra-judicial killings of Sikh youth in the following decade drove thousands of young Sikhs abroad. Sikh recruitment to the Indian army has been reduced as a matter of state policy.
Yet, the Sikhs are the friends of the people of India. Despite all the wrongs suffered by the Sikh nation, the Sikhs are likely to regard it as their duty and destiny to defend the borders of Guru Nanak’s Hindostan, the sub-continent, no matter what the cost or how unequal the contest due entirely to the political corruption and bankruptcy. And not because the state controlled media will now start singing the praises of the invincible Khalsa and the great sacrifice made by Guru Tegh Bahadur mis-represented as in defence of Hinduism! (See Guru Tegh Bahadur: The True Story)
India is in the grip of Covid-19. It cannot confront China and Pakistan at the same time. Despite brave military gestures, India seems to be at the mercy of China regarding the border dispute.
Punjab is close to the border and, as usual in Indian wars, Sikh soldiers are bound to be at the forefront in defending the border. That is matter of grave concern for the global Sikh community.
Gurmukh Singh OBE, a retired UK senior civil servant, chairs the Advisory Board of The Sikh Missionary Society UK. Email: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk. Click here for more details on the author.
* This is the opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
This is the third time Harmindar Pal Singh is offering himself as a candidate in Singapore’s general election. As with the last two, it is again an uphill battle against a very entrenched and dominant out-going political party.
As with his earlier two attempts, the 48 year-old member of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) is preparing to give his best.
“We’re doing this for one reason only: to be the voice of the people, to speak up on issues that no one else wants to talk about. There are so many bread and butter issues,” he told Asia Samachar.
Harminder Pal and his team will be contesting in the Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC) will see a three-cornered fight with out-going ruling party People’s Action Party (PAP) and the Peoples Voice in the fray.
In the 2015 polls, PAP won the seat with a whooping 73% of the votes, with SDA getting 27%.
On the expected uphill battle against the incumbent, he said SDA will not give in and will march ahead despite the ‘insurmountable challenges thrown at our path’.
In 2015, PAP bounced back from a lackluster showing in the 2011 polls. In 2011, PAP won 80 of the 87 seats with 60% vote share, its all-time low since independence in 1965. In 2015, it secured 83 out of 89 seats, garnering 70% of the ballots cast. The 2015 turnout was 93.56% among 2.46 million voters, according to the Elections Department. Voting is mandatory in Singapore, with few exemptions allowed.
Workers’ Party (WP), the main rival to incumbent PAP, won six seats in 2015, down from seven in 2011.
Harminder Pal Singh
With no electoral success so far, why is he still in the political arena. Speaking to Asia Samachar, Harminder, the SDA chief media officer, reflected on the Sikh ethos.
“From the Sikh perspective, it’s about caring for the downtrodden and the meek, giving voice to the voiceless. Our people may not be suffering under a tyrannical regime like how Sikhs suffered under the Mughals once upon time, but let me tell you something: there is still a lot of suffering out there.
“On the outset, the facade of a first-world country is superbly marketed and advertised. But, no-lah. The lives of people…they’re really, really, in pain,” he said.
Harminder Pal, who is seen as potential successor to Desmond Lim Bak Chuan as the SDA chairman, also spoke about the ideas of seva (selfless service) and sarbat dha bhalla (goodwill to all).
“These values has always been ingrained in us. These are principles on which I grew up, thanks to my parents and also to those people who used to run samelans (Sikh camps) which I attended in my younger days. These values guided us in our formative years.
“By running in elections, it’s an opportunity to serve back on a wider scale,” he said.
He noted that Sikhs are a small minority in Singapore, counting about 12,000.
“If we can contribute in the public arena, it will give the Sikhs a milder touch, [project] a more humane community in the eyes of the wider Singapore and global communities,” he said.
Asked if his party had been able to make a difference over the years, Harminder Pal said the party has made some headway.
“We have always being there for the residents of Pasir Ris Ponggol where we have focussed on for the last 13 years. We are there throughout the year, not just during the election period,” he said.
Among others, SDA has been running at least four food collection points in the constituency.
“It’s not just the free meals. Some of the elderly people live isolated lives, they look forward to this daily collection times. At times, when one of the regular ones don’t turn up, we do go up to check on them. These are on-going work,” he said.
The other candidate from the Sikh community in the current general elections is Pritam Singh, the secretary-general of the Workers’ Party (WP).
Harminder Pal Singhs on walkabouts as SDA prepares for Singapore’s 2020 polls – Photo: Supplied
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
Dr Devinder Singh joined the University of Miami Health System and Miller School of Medicine as chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery and professor of clinical surgery, effective 1 July.
He comes to UM from Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland, where he was the chief and medical director of plastic surgery. Previously, he was associate professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and was also on the part-time faculty at Johns Hopkins Hospital, reports
In 2011, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley appointed Dr. Devinder to be the only plastic surgeon on the Board of Physicians. The medical board is responsible for protecting public health through efficient licensure, effective discipline, and regulatory promulgation, according to an entry at the hospital’s website.
He specialises in advanced reconstruction after cancer surgery, including microvascular flap breast reconstruction and Mohs reconstruction of the face.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
