The holy month of Ramadhan meets more than a billion Muslims tomorrow. Ramadhan is the month when Muslims seek Allah's blessings and forgiveness. It is the month when the gates of mercy are open and evil spirits are chained. The next thirty days will test Muslims all over the world as they abstain from food, water and any other activities or behaviour that could nullify the fast, during the period of time when the sun rises till it sets. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and every Muslim is obliged to fast during Ramadhan unless they are unable to do so due to medical reasons.
A Muslim who satisfies the following conditions must fast during Ramadhan:
1) Sane, normal, and not mentally ill
2) Reached puberty
3) Is able to do so, not badly sick or weak
A Muslim is excused from fasting during Ramadhan only if:
1) he or she is sick
2) he or she is travelling (musafir)
3) he or she is old and very weak
4) she is pregnant and/or breast-feeding the baby
Besides abstaining oneself from eating or drinking, a Muslim is also not allowed to do certain activities which could nullify the fast (from the period of time after the sun rises till it sets) such as:
1) Sexual intercourse
2) Engaging in activities that could cause the ejaculation, such as masturbation and watching pornographic videos
3) Taking injections or abusing drugs
4) Smoking
5) Menses
My non-Muslim friends often ask me if fasting affects our ability to study or revise our work as we may be hungry and thirsty. Well, we Muslims actually treat the fasting month as the perfect opportunity to revise our work. We will use our breaks or recess time to study instead of eating ot drinking in the canteen. Besides that, we usually stay at home during the day instead of going out. We spend the time at home completing out revision. In fact, Ramadhan is perhaps the best time I can fully focus on my studies while returning to Allah in repentance. I believe spirituality can affect the effectiveness of our revision sessions.
So have I ever skipped a day of fasting? Well, I guess I did so a couple of times when I was still a child:
TPJCian Magazine will cool down this September. There will be less posts. Read the full update tomorrow.
Muslims To Embrace Fasting Month Tomorrow
Teachers' Day Concert: Reader's Review
Blogged by Goh Chong Han Wayne (08A04).
Edited by azhar.
I shall start with the student performers. All of them did well, let it be those accompanied with their guitars or the ones who shone with their vocals. One group even performed with a saxophone, clarinet and harmonica. It showed a variety of instruments and got the crowd interested initially. However, the level of interest seemed to deteriorate soon enough when the vocals entered - the song was sung in Chinese. Perhaps this is something the councillors can consider in the future, as it would perhaps be better if everyone could understand the lyrics. Nevertheless, it was evident that a lot of effort was put in for the performance.
In my opinion, the second performer, Fym, was the best student performer during the concert. She had the best voice and was the most original performer who sung (and played) her self-composed song. I thought it was a bit queer with how certain words were sung. Nonetheless, it was definitely a great rendition of the song and I think she deserves special mention. A group of students also delivered their own Teachers' Day version of a Westlife song which had the crowd burst into laughter. The other solo performer, Mark Chan, was not bad as well.
TPJCian Magazine interviewed Fym on how she felt performing on stage. Below is her verbatim reply:
Ermmm...feel on stage you mean? I was feeling a lil' excited actually, cos it's the first time i spent my teachers day in this way...hahah. but just felt that i need to express my gratitude to the teachers beyond just giving flowers and gifts like every other years before this. cos they've really sacrificed, alot, like staying in library & holding remedials till 8-9pm for us...without much complaints, yet we're the ones complaining...
The game show was probably the main attraction for the concert. The host did a terrific and professional job, pulling jokes out of his hat which had the crowd in giggles. The game was very well planned and the teachers who played were outgoing and helped enliven the event. However, I think the game show took a little too long maybe? The questions were interesting, and I learnt a thing or two during the course of the event.
As the councillors entered the hall with candles in their hands, some of us soon realized where our 50 cents went to. It took quite a long time for the candles to be given out to all the teachers while the councillors were singing and I soon found myself thinking whether such a gift was appropriate for Teachers' Day. I mean, what would they do with the candles? Pushing the assessments aside, I'm sure it's the thought that counts. Isn't that true? :)
When I looked behind, I was honestly very shocked at what I was seeing; students leaving the hall even before the concert ended. I felt a sense of sadness - not for me, but for the teachers who witnessed their very own students leaving on their special day while the concert was still on. It was truly a disappointment.
Nevertheless, it was a well executed concert and a very memorable one indeed. I give it a 3.5/5 stars.
Teachers' Day '08: The Review
I think the ending of the concert was rather draggy. The 23rd Student Councillors had to repeat the song they sang twice. The movement of the councillors to present the lighted candles to our dear teachers was not smooth too. I could see a whole pack of student leaders crowded on either side of the hall at any one time. The audience got impatient and some started to leave the hall through the back door. The ending was just messy.
Luckily this did not happen:
What they should have done is to assign each councillor to hold two to four candles. If there isn't enough manpower, they could have sought help from their seniors or CCA leaders. One more thing I have to add on is that instead of the whole bunch of councillors going to one side of the hall, they should have formed two rows and split up to the left and right as they approach the end of the red carpet. That can significantly reduce traffic congestion.
The game show 'Are You Smarter Than A TPJCian' was pretty well done. The host did a terrific job and the audience enjoyed his sense of humour. However, I think there are major technical errors when the game was about to commence. The stage curtain was opening and closing as if it was 'drunk'. The stage crew who was responsible to control the stage curtains should be fired for that. He or she is lucky that the host was able to pull a joke or two to cover the blunder.
Nevertheless, the performers did a fabulous job. The singers did what they are supposed to do - entertain the teachers. The second performer who took the stage, Fym, made a spellbinding performance with her very own composed song, Every September The First. The crowd was jubilant after she pronounced the final word of the lyrics.
The 'PostSecret' video was hilarious. Video quality was stunning, although I think they should have delayed the transition between any two photos a bit longer. The Student Council did an exceptional job for the video.
One more thing...I am very impressed with the courtesy that some councillors showed when they instructed us to leave the hall for the rehearsal. To be honest, quite a number of TPJCians I know were unhappy that they had to evacuate the hall. They rebelled but the councillors kept their tone low and kindly directed us to exit the hall. As a result, we cooperated. Good job, guys.
Special congratulations to Mr Malik for being shortlisted as a finalist in the President's Award For Teachers this year. He really deserves it and I hope he wins it ultimately.
Overall, I give an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Readers, what do think of this year's Teachers' Day celebrations? Do comment below and participate in the poll.
It's E-Learning Day!
An original content brought to you by TPJCian Magazine.
During E-Learning day...
A Message To JC1s Taking The Promotional Exam
Original content brought to you by TPJCian Magazine.
A trip by an EV team member to Tampines Junior College...
Why Singapore Needs More Babies
Bigger baby bonus, longer maternity leave and higher tax relief. These are some of the new and improved measures designed by the Singapore government to tackle the plunging birth rate. The issue received extensive media coverage and Singaporeans gave mixed opinions regarding the solutions proposed. So why the huge fuss? I will explain two critical reasons in this post - economic and social.
Singapore is facing an ageing population now. In about ten to twenty years time, many workers will reach the retirement age. A fresh group of workers are needed to occupy the vacant job positions. Furthermore, companies and factories located in Singapore rely heavily on the country's manpower. The economy will slow down if there is a shortage of skilled labour supply in the future. Since the population is mainly made up the white-haired (in the future) who depend on their Central Provident Fund (CPF) balance, the demand for goods will start to decline. They are most likely to save for the future, then use it to purchase goods. An economic slowdown begins.
Besides this, Singapore is also an export-driven economy. This means that the country depends on foreign countries to exports its locally-produced goods to drive the economy. Many companies outsource to Singapore due its pro-business environment and skilled workforce. Without the next generation of young workers, the factories in Singapore may suffer a low productivity rate. The older workers are not skilled enough to use the new and advanced technologies invented in order to increase productivity. The producers need fresh graduates who are ready for work. Retraining can help solve this problem, but the costs incurred are just too costly for small or private firms. With low birth rates, a shortage of skilled labour emerges and factories may start looking elsewhere for the better and more productive workers. Producers are not able to enjoy economies of scale and cut costs, leading to high prices. Singapore will find it more difficult to compete in the global market. If this situation do happen, the country's export-driven economy suffers and the balance of trade continues to deteriorate.
Social reasons are also contributing factors that push the government to solve the low birth rate problem fast. Singapore's population may fall tremendously if the birth rate continues to go south. However, the economy needs to be continuously fuelled with productive workers. Thus, the government may have to turn their heads to immigration. So what is the problem with immigration? The government struggled to maintain racial harmony during its first years of independence with the presence of racial riots and more. It is still improving its legislation to suit the cultures and beliefs of the three main races here - Chinese, Malay and Indian. Our leaders consistently remind us not to take the current racial harmony for granted; instead, we must put every effort to strengthen it.
An exodus of foreign workers to Singapore may complicate things here. For example, the Westerners are generally more open to racism. Racism is widespread in many Western countries which still practice complete freedom of speech and expression. They may bring along the culture into Singapore and perhaps challenge the legislation here. For example, anti-Muslim sentiments are still prevalent in Australia, especially among the youngsters. If the foreigners come with their families into Singapore, the intolerant behaviours may also be imported into the island. Preserving racial harmony may get more complicated than ever.