Bolje da ljudje sprašujejo, zakaj nimam nobenega spomenika, ko bom umrl, kot pa zakaj ga imam.

LATEST UPDATE:

ST Kinetics has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between itself, King Long Singapore and Brickston Transport Services which will see Brickston becoming Singapore’s first bus company to trial a fleet of King Long low-floor city buses fitted with ST Kinetics’ hyPower hybrid electric technology.

Why private operator Brickston seems to be so keen in getting these low-floor city buses remains a question though, since it currently deals mainly with coach charter services such as worker transport. It could be just a way to reduce costs (since the hybrid bus has proven to be able to save up to 30% in fuel consumption) or the start of bigger things to come – like bidding for public bus services when the industry is opened up in the near future.

View the press release here.

ST article photo, scanned by Lau Kai Guan.

THE DIESEL-ELECTRIC BUSES CONSUME 30% LESS FUEL AND ARE DISABLED-FRIENDLY

JUST a week after a taxi operator rolled out Singapore’s first hybrid taxis, two green buses are set to hit the roads here.

The buses, which run on a combination of diesel and battery power, are said to use up to 30 per cent less fuel than conventional ones.

As a result, their tailpipe emissions, which are harmful to the environment, will also be cut.

The buses, assembled in China, were the result of a joint venture led by ST Kinetics, a Singapore engineering company better known for its military vehicles.

ST Kinetics teamed up with two other companies to make the hybrid buses: Chinese bus-maker King Long, which supplied the chassis, and ALP Energy, which supplied the lithium battery management system.

The latter is owned by Singapore-born businessman Lim Loong Keng, who is now a Canadian.

ST Kinetics is currently in talks with two bus operators about running trials for the buses.

The Straits Times understands they are SMRT Corp and Brickston Transport, a company whose main business is ferrying factory workers.

ST Kinetics hopes to convince the two firms of the buses’ viability during the trial, and hopes they will order more such coaches in future.

Brickston’s owner Colin Gan, 50, is already swayed by the prospect of lower running costs. ‘First and foremost, it can save fuel. And then it’s also green.

‘I’ve told them, if everything is set, I’m prepared to take 10 coaches.’

An SMRT spokesman would say only that the firm was ’studying the feasibility of adding eco-friendly alternatives, including hybrid buses, to our bus fleet’.

ST Kinetics has dabbled in so-called ‘alternative energy’ vehicles in the past. Since 1997, it has invested more than $80 million in start-ups dealing with such vehicles in the United States, China and South Korea.

Last year, it had a commercial breakthrough when it delivered a fleet of hybrid baggage tow trucks to Changi Airport. In electric mode, the trucks were found to be suitable for the enclosed, air-conditioned areas they often operate in.

The two hybrid buses will be the first diesel-electric vehicles to ply public roads here. The hybrid cars and taxis here are petrol-electric.

Besides their green credentials, the buses also comply with the latest government requirements for public buses – they provide wheelchair-accessibility, for example.

The one drawback of the buses: Cost. At $500,000 apiece, they are between 25 per cent and 30 per cent more expensive than conventional buses.

Bus operators The Straits Times spoke to cited this as a potential hurdle to adopting the vehicles. The uncertainty of the new technology is another, they added.

However, ST Kinetics general manager Mah Chi Jui pointed out that the vehicles’ lower fuel costs mean long-term savings for the operators.

A bus company would take just three years to recoup the extra money spent on a green bus, he said.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s biggest bus company, SBS Transit, said it is also exploring the possibility of buying hybrid buses.

The company has some experience with green buses – SBS Transit already runs 12 compressed natural gas variants here.

In addition, its parent group, ComfortDelGro Corp, owns London public bus operator Metroline, which is currently trying out five hybrid buses there.

A ComfortDelGro spokesman said the London trials have been successful.

Between them, SBS Transit and SMRT operate close to 4,000 buses. There are another 2,500 or so private buses with 35 seats or more. The vast majority run on diesel.

- The Straits Times, page B1, Saturday November 14 2009

Betcha many fans’ hearts jumped and secret smiles were all around when they came up the escalator at Dhoby Ghaut’s North East line today… Riiiight?? And I can truly vouch seeing these posters made the day for them!!

NEW MOON will be in Singapore 3rd  December!!!!

And the reason for it all?

This!!!

Don’t stare too long – later ‘kena’ DAZZLE, then you know!

We have sumore and will add later! We love the fact that each clan have their own poster, they look so AWESOME – and of course more reason to collect!

Click here to see where New Moon’s ‘invasion’ of Singapore began!

Finally, after weeks of procrastination, I finally decided to write a letter to SMRT regarding their bus services, after what happened this monday. Here is the letter:

To whom it may concern,

-

I am a regular commuter of SMRT Buses and I would like to raise some concerns that I find rather disturbing, both as a consumer and as a Singaporean.

-

I would like to bring your attention to the morning service of 171. As a regular commuter on this particular service, I have encountered a few problems pertaining to it. Firstly, I realised that the first bus that is bound for Yishun reaches Bukit Panjang area arrive at rather peculiar timings. The First bus arrives at opp Pending LRT at 6.20am daily, but stops by Blk 604, which is around 3 bus stops earlier, at 6.44am. This came as a rude shock to me when I decided to board at Blk 604 instead of the usual Pending LRT bus stop. As a result, I paid a high price for it when I have to take a cab to my destination. I do not fully understand how the arrangement is like, but I find it perfectly logical to assume that the bus would arrive at Blk 604 at an earlier time then at Pending. No information regarding any alternative arrangement other than the logical one is made known to the public too, as I have checked the SMRT Bus eGuide online.

-

Secondly, I believe that Bus Captains have a heavy responsibility in ensuring that their buses arrive on time. This is because many people from all walks of life depend on public transport to arrive for work and school on time. It is not an over-exaggeration to liken the role of public transport to the blood circulatory system of a body, and when there is a delay in delivery of blood, major health threats may occur. Since the public has come to trust the Bus Captain to deliver his service on time, and tweaked their lifestyles to adapt to the regularity of the bus service, I believe the Bus Captain should not disappoint the public.

-

However, that is not the case in Bus Service 171. I have encountered at least 2 events of late buses within the past 3 months, and each time, there is no explanation or word of apology from the Captain. In one of the encounters, I got to know that the bus made a wrong turn resulting in a delay when I overheard a conversation between two commuters. This infuriated me, not because of the technical error of the Bus Captain, but because of his poor attitude, having not offered any apologies or explanations. A second encounter, on the 9th of November, confirmed my doubts about the Captains’ poor attitude. The bus was late, and when we finally saw the bus, it stopped 200m away from the bus stop for a minute for no reason, and moved off only after a second bus overtook and picked us up. I see no reason, official or personal, for the bus to stop as the bus is already behind schedule.

-

Hence, in view of the abovementioned problems, I suggest that SMRT relook into the planning of morning services to prevent confusion of the arrival timings, and urge Bus Captains to display a greater sense of responsibility. There are calls by the SMRT to “Go Green” by fully utilising Public Transport. There are also pledges made by SMRT to deliver world-class transport services. However, these calls will appear hypocritical and futile if public transport providers do not make the efforts to make public transport more reliable and the service providers more gracious.

-

Sincerely,

Mr Kan Wing Kiong

Betcha many fans’ hearts jumped and secret smiles were all around when they came up the escalator at Dhoby Ghaut’s North East line today… Riiiight?? And I can truly vouch seeing these posters made the day for them!!

NEW MOON will be in Singapore 3rd  December!!!!

And the reason for it all?

This!!!

Don’t stare too long – later ‘kena’ DAZZLE, then you know!

We have sumore and will add later! We love the fact that each clan have their own poster, they look so AWESOME – and of course more reason to collect!

Click here to see where New Moon’s ‘invasion’ of Singapore began!

Okay, it is still quite a long way. But seeing two of my friends ORD-ing today made me feel like I’m ORD-ing soon too.

Today was a pretty good day. as we were given early release by our warrant officer at 11.30 a.m. for helping out with cleaning the mortar. Okay I shall leave out the reasons and stuff in case I divulge any sensitive information which might lead to a court marshal. However it did not start off well in the morning.

First, I left my camp pass at home, and released it only when I was at the LRT station.

Second, when I reached the bus stop at Pending LRT after retrieving my camp pass, the bus was late.

I hate late buses. It disrupts the commuter’s way of life. Late buses make commuters late, resulting in diminished job prospects, loss of income and punishments (in the case of NSFs and students).

Imagine that the bus service provider promises that the frequency of the bus is 10 to 15 mins. You have learnt to trust this information as you have been using this bus service since forever (okay maybe not forever, but half a year is reasonably long enough). You tune your daily routines in order to meet this timing. You trust that the bus will not disappoint you. But when you reach the bus stop, you were duped. You thought to yourself, okay, maybe he is a new driver. But 2 months later, the same thing happens.

Alright, maybe it is the traffic. Maybe there was a jam somewhere along the way.

But hey, where do you get traffic jams at 6a.m. in the morning?

Finally, you saw the bus. “171″ shines brightly right in front of you. And then, the bus stops 200m before the bus stop. For no apparent reason.

You are anxious. You are frustrated. You feel betrayed. And now, this nonsense has just made things worse. The bus froze there for a whole minute.

A second 171 comes along, overtook the first bus, and picked us up. At this point in time, the bus which froze started moving, proving that there is no damage whatsoever that could have stalled the bus 200m away from the bus stop.

This is not the only issue I have with buses. The other day, I decided to take the same service 3 bus stops earlier. Naturally, if the first bus arrives at the usual bus stop at 6.20 a.m., one would expect the first bus to arrive 3 bus stops before at an earlier time. However, as I found out, that was not the case. To my horror, the first bus stated on the information board was at 6.44 a.m.

Utter disappointment. Shall continue with the issue about public transport again…

And rest assured that I will raise this concern to SMRT. (i.e. Complain)

When Premium 597 was launched, I laughed. It looked more like a desperate attempt by SMRT to break into the Toa Payoh market than anything else. SBS Transit was already, and still is, running Premium 535 which sensibly serves most parts of the estate that matters.

And so I am definitely not surprised to see it walking into history in a couple of days.

SMRT Premium 597 will make its swansong journey from Toa Payoh to Shenton Way this Friday, 13th November 2009. A wicked choice of date

To view the press release, click here.

A sneak peek at Southeast Asia's first Mercedes Benz Citaro. Photo courtesy of Ho Kok Pern.

Singapore’s bus enthusiasts got all excited this week after learning that the country’s second biggest public bus operator – SMRT Buses – has brought in what everyone has been wishing for: the award-winning Mercedes Benz Citaro citybus!

The Mercedes-Benz Citaro (or O530) is the current Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus mainstream bus intended for public transport, introduced in 1997 and replaced the Mercedes-Benz O405/O405N series. Manufactured in Mannheim (Germany), Ligny-en-Barrois (France) and Sámano (Spain), it features a low floor for easy access.

There is currently one unit resting within the Cycle & Carriage compounds in Teban Gardens. Word has it that it has been imported wholesale from Germany and is awaiting modifications to meet local specifications before hitting the roads. While there are no SMRT logos on the bus, one will definitely not go wrong guessing which company it belongs to from the common red, black and white livery already applied on its body.

Daimler’s press release confirmed SMRT’s order for 66 units of the bus, which features the BlueTec diesel technology already widely used in Europe.

BlueTec in Asia

Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) is the first company in Southeast Asia to put Mercedes-Benz urban buses with BlueTec 5 into operation in short-distance public transport. This means that the BlueTec diesel technology so successfully introduced by Daimler in Europe now also has a presence in Asia. And with an order for 66 Mercedes-Benz Citaro BlueTec urban buses that meet the stringent Euro 5 exhaust standard, the SMRT Corporation in Singapore is setting new benchmarks in Southeast Asia.

This is the third wheelchair-accessible bus model to be brought in by SMRT in the last two years. The first came in the form of Mercedes Benz OC500LEs in Gemilang bodywork, with the second being Singapore’s first Chinese public citybus – a Yutong ZK6126.

Further details with regards to this bus will be posted on this website as and when updates stream in.

You may read more about this bus here.

Nedaleko mého domova se nedávno objevil tenhle nápis. V zásadě má pravdu, leč datem se poněkud minul s dobou.

Stravična poruka iz naslova samo je jedna od poruka koje su egipatski klerici odaslali svojoj pastvi u razdoblju od 2. do 11. siječnja 2009. Još neke od poruka su (prepričano):

• “Čekaju vas crnooke djevice”, uz objašnjenje da je to neka specijalna sorta “čiji smijeh zasjeni sunce i mjesec, a pljuvačka im može zasladiti oceane, te uz opasku “Bilo bi lijepo da naše žene uče od ovih”,
• “Volite smrt!”,
• “Mučenik ne osjeća ubod mača, te bombe i rakete” (baš me zanima što bi slučajno preživjeli mučenici rekli na ovo),
• “Vrhunac sreće za oca nego da odgoji mučenika, te ga žrtvuje na bojnom polju džihada za Alaha!”,
• “Svaka majka trebala bi odgojiti i odhraniti sina (kćeri tko šljivi, to nisu ljudska bića; op. Charon) – svojim mlijekom – za ljubav džihada za Alaha, za Raj”,
• “Moramo učiti djecu da je smrt za Alaha naš najsvetiji cilj!”,
• Nakon malo trućanja o tome kako je najveća sreća Raj i, naravno, smrt za Alaha, “…zato želimo izmijeniti kulturu edukacije naše djece. Edukacije ne smije ići kroz ljubav i tetošenje.” Onda malo truća kako su to divne stvari, ALI “još je ljepše učiti djecu da mrze naše neprijatelje”,
• Jedan kaže da kad se probudi ujutro, broji nove mučenike da bi saznao hrpu “dobrih” stvari, među kojima bih istaknuo “da bi znao koliko je sreće u Raju i na Zemlji”.

Evo Vam cijeli filmić:

Nevjerojatno je koliko mržnje, kao da je to najnormalnije, na državnim televizijama, može izroniti iz ustiju predstavnika “religija ljubavi”… i da je to prihvatljivo, jer “to je njihova vjera”.

ESPLANADE MRT STATION TO HOUSE 40 RETAIL OUTLETS

Commuters will get more than connectivity when the train pulls in at the Esplanade MRT station.

Scheduled to open next year as part of the Circle Line Stage 1, the station will boast a shopping area called Esplanade Xchange.

There are similar shopping areas at Raffles Place and Dhoby Ghaut stations, with the most recent opened at Choa Chu Kang in January last year.

The Esplanade station will house about 40 shops spread across 2,000 sq m – or slightly less than half a football field – of retail space.

SMRT said it aims to have a good mix of retail and food and beverage shops.

The station, with a floor area of 19,000 sq m, is the largest of all the Circle Line stations.

It will have four entrances: at Suntec City; One Raffles Link; the War Memorial Park; and the former Singapore Armed Forces Non-Commissioned Officers Club.

There will also be three underpasses, linking commuters to Raffles City, Marina Square and One Raffles Link.

SMRT is marketing the retail space and will call for tenders later this year.

But Singapore Polytechnic retail management lecturer Sarah Lim said retailers will find it “quite challenging” to draw the crowds unless they can “provide something completely different” like unique food or retail offerings.

They may also need to position themselves as a niche shopping area like the Heeren, which caters to the younger shoppers.

“Their main competition will be the Orchard Road area where the buzz is very strong with new mall offerings and a number of buildings being upgraded,” she added.

While noting that there will be constant human traffic in the area, she pointed out that Raffles City and Suntec City are already established malls.

Without proper “positioning and branding”, the Esplanade Xchange could just become a thoroughfare for people heading to shops in these other malls.

SMRT said there are plans for 700 sq m of shops at some of the 10 other Circle Line stations opening next year, including the Bras Basah, Promenade, Nicoll Highway, Stadium and Paya Lebar stations.

Since Ms Saw Phaik Hwa became SMRT’s chief executive in 2002, she has pushed hard to make good use of its space in stations for retail purposes.

For its first quarter ended June 30, SMRT’s operating profit for retail space grew by 12.9 per cent to $12.5 million.

- The Straits Times, Home, page B2, Thursday October 1 2009

An artist's impression of the new Orchard Xchange and Esplanade Xchange along the North-South and Circle Lines respectively.

And Esplanade Xchange will not be the only new Xchange along Singapore’s premier shopping belt. Orchard MRT station – which has long been suffering under the construction work for the new ION Orchard shopping mall – will soon be home to a new Orchard Xchange, though slightly smaller at 1,600 sq m.

The future Jurong East Xchange shopping mall at the Jurong East MRT interchange station.

The lack of commercial spaces in Jurong East Central (the nearest established mall now is IMM which is quite a distance away) will be addressed with the MRT station’s refurbishment into Jurong East Xchange. Taking into account the current open space in front of Popular Bookstore, it is not surprising that the whole area can be converted into a more productive 2,500 sq m worth of retail space.

SMRT has also just opened up its retail spaces in Esplanade Xchange for tender. And they have apparently learnt their lessons well from the Dhoxy Xchange experience. At least half the space available in Esplanade Xchange has been set aside for food and beverage, with six bigger units offering alfresco seating areas. The others will be for smaller take-away food stalls. It goes without saying that food stalls tend to fare better than retail, especially when the mall takes up the less busy areas of the MRT station as in the case for Dhoby Xchange.

Traffic has started to increase steadily at Dhoby Xchange, which made it to the news for resembling a ghost town populated by angry loss-making shop owners.

However, it is highly unlikely that Esplanade Xchange will flop the way of Dhoby XChange. Given that it is blessed to be connected with so many busy buildings nearby, it should in fact be just as successful as Raffles Xchange with its constant flow of shoppers. Never mind that many would probably be just using the station as a bypass to their intended destinations.

And if you dig deeper into the company, you would have found out that there are already plans for even more commercial spaces to be developed in existing stations, including Woodlands. But whether or not another Xchange will emerge remains to be seen.

What matters most from all this though, is that both parties stand to gain. SMRT’s rental earnings would definitely continue to skyrocket, while the typical commuter now has more retail options even while on the move.

Even rival SBS Transit has not stood still. It has actively refurbished its larger bus interchanges such as Jurong East and Eunos to include new retail spaces. There is even a McDonald’s dessert kiosk at Hougang Central interchange. But its ability to develop retail spaces is limited, as the company does not operate any above-ground train stations with bigger spaces to experiment with. Almost all the remaining available spaces in its Northeast Line MRT stations have also been crafted out into shop units.

Even smaller bus interchanges have not escaped this ‘commercialisation of space’. Pushcarts and event space are always taken up by smaller retailers and entrepreneurs on short-term leases, squeezing into any possible space that is not obstructing commuter flow. While having the fruit seller at the bus interchange gives commuters the convenience of buying some last minute takeaways, it is an entirely different story if one is constantly approached by overzealous insurance company agents out to grab every single potential customer.

That is when you would really feel like grabbing a fruit and throwing it at the one approaching you with his wide smile.

Transport operator SMRT is on the way to matching bigger player ComfortDelGro in profits.

In the first half ended September 30,  SMRT posted a 21.9 per cent rise in net earnings after tax to $101 million – the first time it has crossed the $100 million mark at the interim.

This was on the back of a 0.5 per cent rise in revenue to $445.3 million, mainly from higher MRT ridership, which was boosted by the commencement of Circle Line Stage 3.

Lower energy costs, government budget measures and tighter control of expenses helped bolster the bottom line.

All of SMRT’s business units were in the black – even its long-suffering bus and taxi operations.

Buses turned in an operating profit of $3.05 million while cabs posted $1.89 million. They saw $4.5 million and $1.8 million in losses, respectively, in the same period last year.

Rental of retail space at SMRT stations continued to shine. The non-transit division reported an operating profit of $25.2 million for the six months, up from $22.6 million last year.

The group leased out more than 29,000 sq m of space. When the city stretch of the Circle Line opens in the middle of next year, SMRT will have even more retail space – the 2,000 sq m Esplanade Xchange.

Chief financial officer Lim Cheng Cheng said the group’s newly acquired Chinese transport firm, Zona, is expected to show material profit contribution in about five years’ time.

Chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa described the first-half performance as “a reasonable set of results”.

But she warned of choppier times ahead, saying profitability “will continue to be impacted by the fare reduction package ending next June, lower Jobs Credit, volatility in diesel prices and ramp-up costs” of the Circle Line.

The group’s contracted electricity rates will be 11 per cent higher in the second half.

Analysts do not expect SMRT to reap profits from the Circle Line any time soon. The orbital line will incur higher manpower costs but ridership is not expected to be commensurate.

However, some observers reckon the Circle Line, which links mature residential estates, will feed more people into its network.

The rail business continued to be the company’s main profit churner, accounting for $75.4 million of its total operating profit of $121.05 million.

SMRT shares closed one cent up at $1.68 yesterday.

- The Straits Times, Money, page C30, Saturday October 31 2009

Ni me strah umreti. Ni me strah srečati mojega Boga zdaj. Obžalujem le, da tu na zemlji ostaja toliko dela neopravljenega.

The promotions just keep coming one after another.

The latest by SMRT is the Ride Free with SMRT promotion which kicked off on 16 October 2009. This comes just after it ended the Go Green With SMRT campaign a few weeks back.

Similar to past promotions, all you have to do to qualify for the prizes offered is to simply ride SMRT trains, LRT and buses which will give you one chance per trip. Ride an SMRT taxi and submit your receipt to earn 3 chances per trip. And if you do not travel with SMRT often, just shop within the SMRT network as every $10 will get you one chance.

And if you want to increase your winning chances, simply register your ez-link CEPAS cards online at https://www.ridesmrtandwin.com/index.aspx!

The prizes this time round though are not as exciting as per previous promotions, but are more practical for the regular commuter. Two persons will stand to win six months free travel with SMRT every month and 10 others can earn $20 SMRT vouchers. The grand draw to be held in June 2010 will see four lucky people walking away with $1000 worth of SMRT vouchers and three years free travel with SMRT. That certainly beats a one-off overseas holiday prize! You may also want to try your luck at the seven monthly on-the-spot draws where $20 SMRT vouchers will be given away.

What is not widely known about these SMRT promotions though, is that they actually compete with other marketing campaigns by other transport operators worldwide. For instance, the last “Escape with SMRT” promotion managed to beat 60 other public transport marketing campaigns from Asia, Australia, Latin America, North America and Europe for a spot as a finalist in the 4th International Association of Public Transport (UITP) Marketing Awards. SMRT won the Best Printed Campaign award under the Public’s Choice category.

Ime Azrail , a.s., ne spominje se u Kur’anu, već se samo spominje Melek smrti, kako ga Kur’an opisuje u narednom ajetu:

“Reci: ‘ Melek smrti, koji vam je za to određen, duše će vam uzeti, a poslije ćete se Gospodaru svome vratiti.’ ” (Es-Sedža, 11.)

Međutim, postoji više meleka koji uzimaju duše, kako nam to Kur’an spominje u ovom ajetu:

“On vlada robovima svojim i šalje vam čuvare; a kad nekom od vas smrt dođe, izaslanici Naši mu, bez oklijevanja, dušu uzmu.” (El-En’am, 61,)

I ti isti meleki koji su zaduženi za uzimanje duša čupaju duše nevjernika i grješnika na vrlo težak način i bez ikakve milosti, što razumijemo iz sledećih ajeta:

“A da si samo vidio kad su meleki nevjernicima duše uzimali i po licima ih njihovim i straga udarali: ‘Iskusite patnju u ognju.’ ” (El-Enfel, 50.)

“…a da ti je vidjeti nevjernike u smrtnim mukama, kada meleki budu ispružili ruke svoje prema njima: ‘Spasite se ako možete! Od sada ćete neizdrživom kasnom biti kažnjeni…’ “; (El-Enam,93.)

” A kako će tek biti kada im meleki budu uzimali udarajući ih po obrazima i po leđima njihovim! ” (Muhamedd, 27.)

A kada dolaze da vjernicima uzmu duše i da ih usmrte, donose im radosne vijesti, kao što kaže Allah, dž.š., u Kur’anu:

“Onima koji govore: ‘ Gospodar naš je Allah’, pa poslije ostanu pri tome – dolaze meleki: ‘Ne bojte se i ne žalostite se, i radujte se Džennetu, koji vam je obećan. Mi smo zaštitnici vaši u životu na ovom svijetu, a i no onom; u njemu ćete imati sve ono što duše vaše zažele, i što god zatražite – imat ćete.” (Fussilet, 30-31.)

Knjiga: Džibril, A.S., Povjernik Božije Objave  // Autor: Mensur Abdul-Hakim Muhammed

To su dva meleka koja su zadužena za ispitivanje umrlog u kaburu njegovom Stvoritelju, vjeri, knjizi i poslaniku. Munkir i Nekir će ispitivati i vjernika i nevjernika, ali Allah će učvrstiti vjernika riječju, pa će znati odgovor, kako kaže u Kur’anu:

“Allah će vjernike postojanom riječju učvrstiti i na ovom i na onom svijetu, a nevjernike će u zabludi ostaviti; Allah radi šta hoće.” (Ibrahim, 27.)

Bera ibn Azib prenosi da je allahov Poslanik, a.s., rekao: ” Kada musliman bude pitan u kaburu, pa posvjedoči da nema boga osim Allaha i da je Muhammed Njegov poslanik, na to se misli u riječima Uzvišenog: ‘Allah će vjernike postojanom riječju učvrstiti i na ovom i na onom svijetu, a nevjernike će u zabludi ostaviti; Allah radi šta hoće.’ “

Također od Beraa ibn Aziba prenosi se da je rekao: “Išli smo s Božijim Poslanikom, a.s., na dženazu jednom ensariji, i kada smo stigli do kabura i ukopali ga, Božiji Poslanik, a.s., sjeo je, a sjeli smo i mi oko njega mirno kao da su na našim glavama ptice. U svojoj ruci je držao štap stružući po zemlji s njim, pa je podigao glavu i rekao dva ili tri puta: ‘Utječite se Allahu, dž.š., od kaburske patnje’, a zatim je nastavio: ‘Doista, kada rob vjernik bude pri kraju dunjaluka, a na prijelazu na ahiret, dolaze mu meleki s neba bijelih lica kao da su im lica poput sunca. Sa sobom nose kefine i balzame iz Dženneta i sjednu oko njega dokle dopire pogled. Zatim dolazi Melek smrti i sjeda pored njegove glave pa kaže: ‘ O ti dobra dušo, izađi uz Allahov oprost i zadovoljstvo.” Rekao je zatim: ‘ I ona izađe, kao što kap vode izađe iz čaše kad je neko pije, i meleci je ne zadrže u svojim rukama ni koliko iznosi treptaj oka, a da je ne stave u te kefine i balzame, pa iz nje izađe najljepši miris msika koji se može naći na dunjaluku, i onda se zapute ka nebu.’  I ne prođu ni pored jedne skupine meleka, a da meleci ne upitaju: ‘Ko je ova dobra duša?’ Pa odgovore: ‘Taj i taj’, nazivajući ga najljepšim imenima kojim su ga nazivali na dunjaluku, i tako sve dok ne stigne do sedmog neba, pa im Allah, dž.š., kaže:‘Upišite ovog mog roba u Ilijun (Knjiga dobrih) i vratite ga u zemlju, Ja sam ih stvorio od zemlje, u nju ću ih vratiti i iz nje ću ih drugi put oživiti.” Poslanik nastavi: ‘Zatim se njegova duša vrati u njegovo tijelo i dolaze mu dva meleka koja sjednu pored njega, pa ga pitaju:

‘Ko je tvoj Gospodar?’
On će odgovorit: ‘Allah, dž.š.’
Zatim će ga upitati: ‘Koja je tvoja vjera?’
On će reći: ‘Moja vjera je Islam.’
Zatim će ga pitati: ‘ Ko je onaj čovjek što vam je poslan?’
Reći će: ‘ To je Allahov Poslanik, a.s.’
Ponovo će ga upitati: ‘Kako znaš?’
Reći će: ‘ Učio sam Kur’an, pa sam čvrsto u njega vjerovao.’

Zatim će čuti glas s neba koji će ih zovnuti i reći: ‘ Moj je rob čvrsto vjerovao, opromite ga iz Dženneta, obucite ga odjećom iz Dženneta i otvorite mu vrata u Džennet.” Rekao je zatim Poslanik: ‘ Pa mu dolaze preljepi mirisi iz Dženneta, kabur mu se proširi dokle pogled dopire, i dođe mu čovjek lijepog lica, lijepe odjeće i ljepog mirisa, pa mu kaže: ‘Raduj se onom što ćete razveseliti, ovo je dan koji ti je obećan.’ On će reći: ‘ Ko si ti? Tvoje je lice lice koje dolazi s dobrim.’ On će mu dogovriti: ‘Ja sam tvoja dobra djela.’ Ćovjek će reći: Gospodaru, učini da bude Sudnji dan, da se vratim svojoj porodici i svom imetku.’ Poslanik zatim nastavlja: ‘ A kad bude nevjernik pri kraju dunjaluka a blizu ahireta, dolaze mu meleki s neba crnih lica noseći sa sobom najgrublje platno i sjednu oko njega dokle pogled dopire, a potom dolazi Melek smrti i sjedne pored njegove glave pa kaže: ‘ O ti zla dušo, izađi u Allahovu srdžbu i gnjev.’ Zatim mu čupaju dušu kao što se čupaju grebeni kroz mokru vunu, i kada je izvade, ne zadrže je kod sebe ni treptaj oka, a da je ne stave u grubo paltno, pa izlazi iz nje najgori miris lešine koji se može naći na Zemlji. Zatim se zapute ka nebu, i ne prođu ni pored jedne skupine meleka a da ih ne upita: ‘Ko je ova zla duša?’  Oni im kažu: ‘ Taj i taj’, nazivajući ga najgorim imenima kojima su ga nazvali na dunjaluku, i tako sve dok ne dođu do zemaljskog neba, pa zatraže da im se otvori i ne bude im otvoreno.’ Zatim nam je Poslanik, a.s., proučio oavj ajet: ‘Onima koji dokaze Naše budu poricali i prema njima se budu oholo odnosili – kapije nebeske neće se otvoriti, i prije će debelo uže kroz iglene uši proći nego što će oni u Džennet ući. Eto tako ćemo Mi grešnike kazniti.’ (El-E’raf, 40.) Potom će Allah reći: ‘Upišite ga u Sidždžin (Knjiga loših djela) na zemlji, i njegova će duša biti odbačena.” Tada je Poslanik, a.s., proučio ovaj ajet: ‘…a onaj ko bude smatrao da Allahu ima iko ravan – bit će kao onaj koji je s neba pao i koga su ptice razgrabile, ili kao onaj koga je vjetar u daleki predio odnio.’ (El-Hadždž, 31.) Potom njegova duša bude vraćena u tijelo, pa mu dolaze dva meleka i posade ga da sjedi, te ga pitaju:

‘Ko je tvoj gospodar?’
On će odgovorit: ‘Ah, ah ne znam’
Zatim će ga upitati: ‘Koja je tvoja vjera?’
On će reći: ‘Ah, ah ne znam.’

Tada će čuti glas koji će ih pozvati i reci: ‘Moj rob je poricao, opremite ga iz Džehennema i otvorite mu vrata u Džehennem.’ Tada će do njega dopirati njegova vrelina i žestina, a kabur će mu se stisnjeti tako da će mu jedna rebra kroz druga prolaziti. Doći će mu čovjek ružnog lica, ružne odjeće i užasnog mirisa, pa će mu reći: ‘Raduj se onom što će te ožalostiti, ovo je tvoj dan koji ti je obećan.’ On će upitati: “Ko si ti, pa mi dolaziš sa zlom?’ Ovaj ćeodgovorit: ‘Ja sam tvoja loša djela.’ Zli čovjek će reći: ‘O Gospodaru, ne učini da bude Sudnji dan.’ “

Ovaj dugi, ali jako bitan hadis otkriva nam neke stvari s onoga svijeta i otkriva nam ulogu meleka, kad je riječ o čovjeku, od trenutka izlaska duše iz tijela pa do njenog ispitivanja od dvojice meleka u kaburu. a kabur je prvo boravište čovjeka na onom svijetu, i u njemu će čovjek znati svoje krajnje boravište: ili Džennet ili Džehennem.

Božiji Poslanik, a.s., kaže u hadisu: “ Dosita će ovaj ummet biti iskušan u kaburu, pa ako vjernik uđe u kabur, preuzmu ga njegovi čuvari i dođe mu melek pun prijekora, pa ga pita: ‘Šta si govorio za ovog čovjeka?’ Vjernik će odgovorit: ‘On je Allahov poslanik i rob.’ Melek će reći: ‘Pogledaj u svoje mjesto koje ti je bilo pripremljeno u Vatri, pa te Allah izbavio iz njega, a mjesto koje vidiš u Vatri nadomjestio ti je mjestom koje vidiš u Džennetu. ‘ Vjernik će vidjeti oba mjesta i povikat će: ‘ Pustite me da obradujem porodicu.’ Bit će mu rečeno: ‘ Smiri se.’ A licemjer će sjediti kad ga prihvate njegovi čuvari, i bit će mu rečeno: “Šta si ti govorio o ovom čovjeku?’ Reći će: “Ne znam, govorio sam kao ostali ljudi.’ Reći će mu se: “Nisi znao, ovo je mjesto koje je bilo tvoje u Džennetu, pa ga je Allah izmjenio mjestom u Vatri.”

A u drugom Hadisu Allahov Poslanik, a.s., veli: “Svaki će rob biti proživljen u kaburu onako kako je umro: ako je bio vjernik, bit će proživljen kao takav, a ako je bio licemjer, bit će proživljen u licemjerstvu.”

Knjiga: Džibril, A.S., Povjernik Božije Objave  // Autor: Mensur Abdul-Hakim Muhammed

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/ugly_commuters/266862/man_ignores_pregnant_woman_in_train.html

Pregnant woman says man ignores her in MRT, then female friend snatches seat

This man apparently ignored a pregnant woman who was standing near him in the train, and when he alighted, his seat was quickly taken up by his female friend.

STOMPer Priscilla, the pregnant woman, told STOMP of the incident:

“I’m currently 7 months pregnant. I boarded the train at Kallang yesterday (Oct 15) at around 6pm.

“Shortly after he alighted at Eunos, I thought I would get his seat, but without hesitation, that female friend just sat down, looked at me, took out her mobile phone and the rest needs no further explanation.

“As I was travelling alone, the pictures taken only show them in it without me.

“The information and pictures provided are genuine.”

Someone posted this on edmw, and I had a strong response to this issue that has been recurring over the past few years, and occasionally appearing on the Stomp website.

Here’s what I had to say about this:

Click to enlarge

if SMRT does so decide to leave these “priority seats” for the elderly and pregnant, then maybe a change in name would be good. Like “Exclusive seating zone”, or “If you’re not old or pregnant, you don’t sit here”. Simple instructions. Also, to go along with that, they might also want to make a rule out of it. “Elderly/Pregnant seats” – and $20 fine if caught sitting in one. Singaporeans, and I’m speaking of regular Singaporeans like myself would totally understand that. We’ll be facing a new situation then.

Something like this

I don’t think we want to go there. Do we?

Ďalší fanatizmus, snaha o ovládnutie sveta a argresia.

Yet another additional trip for Premium 531 in the mornings from 5 October 2009.

Singapore’s most successful premium bus service to date – SMRT’s route 531 – is set to gain yet another trip during the weekday morning peak period. Six buses will now start their trips from Simei Road between 0745 and 0810 hours at a frequency of 4 to 8 minutes, ferrying commuters to their offices in Suntec City and Shenton Way.

While demand has certainly been good (and maybe even increasing) in the mornings, the two return trips in the evenings will see no change. Then again, Premium 531 is still one of only a handful of premium bus services here to even have evening return journeys.

Click here for the press release.