SINGAPORE: Although the Saudi government gave the green light to an increased number of Singaporean pilgrims for Hajj, more and more younger Singaporeans are placing the pilgrimage on their bucket list.
Singapore is a multicultural nation nestled between Malaysia and Indonesia in the Malay Archipelago. About 14 percent of its 5.89 million population are Muslims, the majority being Malay-Muslims.
This year, the Singapore Pilgrims’ Affairs Office (SPAO) had its annual pre-departure briefing on July 7, whereby 900 pilgrims from Singapore will be performing Hajj.
The briefing was aimed to “prepare pilgrims to meet the challenges of the Hajj.”
The number is a jump from last year’s 850 pilgrims, with 90 percent of them first-time pilgrims.
From Hajj registrations to the appointment of Hajj travel agencies, the SPAO is the one-stop hub for Singapore’s Hajj affairs under the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), a government body that handles Muslim concerns in the country.
Traveling to Makkah for Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, but unlike the other pillars, it is only mandatory for those who can afford it. A typical Hajj package costs between $8,430 and $5,128.
As one of the most expensive cities in the world, Singapore has an average household income of S$6,600 per month, the highest in Southeast Asia. Most Muslims in Singapore enjoy the conveniences of a modern city.
Affandi Salleh, the chief operating officer of SSA Group, wrote a coffee table pictorial book to showcase the emotions of people who performed Hajj. He had performed Hajj twice, in 1983 and 2017.
“Ten to 20 percent of the pilgrims are younger than 40,” said Salleh, adding that going for Hajj has helped him “to have a spiritual balance in life.” Salleh wrote his book especially for those who have not performed Hajj yet or have no chance to go to Makkah and Madinah.
“In my opinion, yes, the young Singaporeans, even from 1983 till now, want to perform their Hajj. Starting from young does give you a sense of closeness to God. In my first trip in 1983, I was only 23 and unmarried,” he said.
Despite applying for Hajj, Hidayah Amin, an author and publisher of Helang Books, has yet to get called for Hajj because of the strict quota system where they give priority to the elderly first.
However, she has performed Umrah twice. “Once was with my parents during my late teens and the second time was in 2015 during Ramadan,” said Amin.
An increasing number of young Singaporeans go for Umrah because of the relatively low cost in comparison to Hajj. A person would only need to fork out $3,500 for a trip.
“It’s cheaper than Hajj and one does not need to be on the Hajj visa. Hence it’s easier to go,” said Amin.
Muslim Singaporeans in the civil service who are performing Hajj or Umrah can take a month’s unpaid leave.
Most Muslim Singaporeans have a higher purchasing power and spend more during Hajj. They also tend to stay in luxury hotels nearer the Grand Mosque.
“Singaporeans have higher spending power to perform Hajj. Most of these people save their money for these trips. It is not cheap compared to the neighboring countries,” said Salleh. He spent around $1,400 on souvenirs and gifts during his last Hajj trip.
“My package included a stay at the Hilton, which I consider luxurious,” said Amin. Most Umrah or Hajj packages take care of everything, including accommodation.
“I think most Singaporeans prefer hotels that are nearer the mosque. And these tend to be more expensive than those further away,” she added.
Meanwhile, Siraj Aziz, a writer, recently performed Umrah and sees going for Hajj as a “rite of passage.” He said going for pilgrimage is more and more appealing to the younger crowd, especially for exploration of self and religion.
“Not in the near future. Maybe in five to 10 years?” said Aziz regarding Hajj. He is a young man just starting a family. “I’m not that stable and secondly due to the quota system it may take a while.”
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Despite bigger quota, more young Singaporeans are dreaming of Hajj
Despite bigger quota, more young Singaporeans are dreaming of Hajj
- The number is a jump from last year’s 850 pilgrims, with 90 percent of them first-time pilgrims
- A typical Hajj package costs between $8,430 and $5,128
Beetles block mining of Europe’s biggest rare earths deposit
ULEFOSS: As Europe seeks to curb its dependence on China for rare earths, plans to mine the continent’s biggest deposit have hit a roadblock over fears that mining operations could harm endangered beetles, mosses and mushrooms.
A two-hour drive southwest of Oslo, in the former mining community of Ulefoss home to 2,000 people, lies the Fensfeltet treasure: an estimated 8.8 million tons of rare earths.
These elements, used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronics and defense industries, have been defined by the European Union as critical raw materials.
“You have rare earths in your pocket when you carry a smartphone,” said Tor Espen Simonsen, a local official at Rare Earths Norway, the company that owns the extraction rights.
“You’re driving with rare earths when you’re at the wheel of an electric car, and you need rare earths to make defense materiel like F-35 jets,” he added.
“Today, European industry imports almost all of the rare earths it needs — 98 percent — from one single country: China,” he added.
“We are therefore in a situation where Europe must procure more of these raw materials on its own,” he said.
In its Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) aimed at securing Europe’s supply, the EU has set as an objective that at least 10 percent of its needs should be extracted within the bloc by 2030.
No rare earth deposits are currently being mined in Europe.
- ‘Rush slowly’ -
Due to environmental concerns, Rare Earths Norway has already been forced to push back its schedule. Now it aims to begin mining in the first half of the 2030s.
Its so-called “invisible mine” project is intended to limit the mine’s environmental footprint. It plans to use underground extraction and crushing — as opposed to an open-pit mine — and re-inject a large part of the mining residue.
But the location of the mineral processing park, where ore extracted underground would be handled and pre-processed, has posed a problem.
The company had planned to transport the minerals on an underground conveyor belt emerging above ground behind a hill, in an area out of sight from the town and largely covered by ancient natural forests, rich in biodiversity.
But experts who examined that site found 78 fauna and flora species on Norway’s “red list” — species at risk of extinction to varying degrees. They included saproxylic beetles (which depend on deadwood), wych elms, common ash trees, 40 types of mushrooms, and various mosses.
As a result, the county governor formally opposed the location during a recent consultation process.
Adding to concerns was the fact that disposing of waste rock would take place within a protected water system.
“We need to start mining as quickly as possible so we can bypass polluting value chains originating in China,” said Martin Molvaer, an adviser at Bellona, a Norwegian tech-focused environmental NGO.
“But things should not move so quickly that we destroy a large part of nature in the process: we must therefore rush slowly,” he said.
- ‘Lesser of two evils’ -
Faced with such objections, the municipality has been forced to review the plans and take a closer look at alternate locations for the above-ground part of the mine.
While there is another less environmentally sensitive zone, neither the mining developers nor the local population favor it.
“We accept that we will have to sacrifice a significant part of our nature,” local mayor Linda Thorstensen said.
“It comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils.”
Thorstensen supports the mine project, given the small town has seen jobs and young people move elsewhere for decades. It is “a new adventure,” she said.
“A lot of people live outside the job market, many receive social welfare assistance or disability pensions. So we need jobs and opportunities,” she said.
In the almost-empty streets of Ulefoss, locals were cautiously optimistic.
“We want a dynamic that makes it possible for us to become wealthy, so that the community benefits. We need money and more residents,” Inger Norendal, a 70-year-old retired teacher, told AFP.
“But mining obviously has its downsides too.”
A two-hour drive southwest of Oslo, in the former mining community of Ulefoss home to 2,000 people, lies the Fensfeltet treasure: an estimated 8.8 million tons of rare earths.
These elements, used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronics and defense industries, have been defined by the European Union as critical raw materials.
“You have rare earths in your pocket when you carry a smartphone,” said Tor Espen Simonsen, a local official at Rare Earths Norway, the company that owns the extraction rights.
“You’re driving with rare earths when you’re at the wheel of an electric car, and you need rare earths to make defense materiel like F-35 jets,” he added.
“Today, European industry imports almost all of the rare earths it needs — 98 percent — from one single country: China,” he added.
“We are therefore in a situation where Europe must procure more of these raw materials on its own,” he said.
In its Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) aimed at securing Europe’s supply, the EU has set as an objective that at least 10 percent of its needs should be extracted within the bloc by 2030.
No rare earth deposits are currently being mined in Europe.
- ‘Rush slowly’ -
Due to environmental concerns, Rare Earths Norway has already been forced to push back its schedule. Now it aims to begin mining in the first half of the 2030s.
Its so-called “invisible mine” project is intended to limit the mine’s environmental footprint. It plans to use underground extraction and crushing — as opposed to an open-pit mine — and re-inject a large part of the mining residue.
But the location of the mineral processing park, where ore extracted underground would be handled and pre-processed, has posed a problem.
The company had planned to transport the minerals on an underground conveyor belt emerging above ground behind a hill, in an area out of sight from the town and largely covered by ancient natural forests, rich in biodiversity.
But experts who examined that site found 78 fauna and flora species on Norway’s “red list” — species at risk of extinction to varying degrees. They included saproxylic beetles (which depend on deadwood), wych elms, common ash trees, 40 types of mushrooms, and various mosses.
As a result, the county governor formally opposed the location during a recent consultation process.
Adding to concerns was the fact that disposing of waste rock would take place within a protected water system.
“We need to start mining as quickly as possible so we can bypass polluting value chains originating in China,” said Martin Molvaer, an adviser at Bellona, a Norwegian tech-focused environmental NGO.
“But things should not move so quickly that we destroy a large part of nature in the process: we must therefore rush slowly,” he said.
- ‘Lesser of two evils’ -
Faced with such objections, the municipality has been forced to review the plans and take a closer look at alternate locations for the above-ground part of the mine.
While there is another less environmentally sensitive zone, neither the mining developers nor the local population favor it.
“We accept that we will have to sacrifice a significant part of our nature,” local mayor Linda Thorstensen said.
“It comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils.”
Thorstensen supports the mine project, given the small town has seen jobs and young people move elsewhere for decades. It is “a new adventure,” she said.
“A lot of people live outside the job market, many receive social welfare assistance or disability pensions. So we need jobs and opportunities,” she said.
In the almost-empty streets of Ulefoss, locals were cautiously optimistic.
“We want a dynamic that makes it possible for us to become wealthy, so that the community benefits. We need money and more residents,” Inger Norendal, a 70-year-old retired teacher, told AFP.
“But mining obviously has its downsides too.”
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