The CHC Saga

There has been lots of news and coverage on the above case as the matter has been brought to the court in Singapore. It is probably one of the biggest news in Singapore now as it involves the extremely sensitive topic we have in Singapore, that is - religion. There has already been more than enough coverage on the media on what this case is about and I will not go through the details here. It is in a nutshell, about pastor Kong and a few others who have allegedly misused large amounts of money (millions) to promote the career of pst Kong's wife - Sun Ho's music career. These money belong to the church and was allegedly misused by the accused. There are just a few points I would like to make and that is, in accordance to the hearings, we are now in a time where the prosecution makes their claim. Therefore, these few months will be a time where the prosecution makes all sorts of claims. be it true or false or how the judge is going to pass the verdict, it is still very much unknown. however, this is also the time where media coverage is at it's widest. few months or even weeks after this time, there will be some other cases that draw the attention of the media and the general public and everyone will forget about the CHC saga. So damage is being done now and it is hard to reverse whatever information the public has received until now. I do know some of the accused individually. I have also seen members of the church posting posts/entries wondering "what if Pastor and gang really took the money?" "What if they are really guilty?" And I must say that in times like this, it is only natural to doubt. I dare say a good percentage of CHC church goers do have this thought coming through their minds. what if the pastor they have been listening to all these years turn out to be a crook? Well, ministry workers and especially Christian leaders getting into trouble with the law and facing allegations especially when it come to finances is not uncommon. In the US, there have been many cases, you just need to google and there will be a lot of such cases. I have once seen a video of people accusing Pst Benny Hinn of some financial stuff as well. back in Singapore, it is also not the first time we have "charity" being questioned about their financial status and usage of money. Remember NKF, Ren Ci? And if I am not wrong, a church is considered "charity" in the context of Singapore. The question is that will the CHC case be the last? and from NKF to Ren Ci till today, what have we done to prevent future happenings of such cases? what have the CoC done to "safeguard the monies of the public"? The only ones who are benefiting are the lawyers and media people, perhaps they get to sell more papers. however, how much taxpayer's money is gone wasted because of all the investigation and court hearing? hey, the fact that an email dated many years back can be used as evidence means there is a poor chap who has to go through each individual email, letter by letter to search for evidence. probably some bloke working in CAD had that job. poor thing! As a society as a whole, it is also not useful, not productive. we should do what we can to prevent such possibility of allegations from taking place. it is for the greater good of the society, the people managing the money (religious leaders/charity organization heads, etc) and the public as well. I mean, have we not learnt enough lessons from Renci and NKF? How many more do we need? back to the Chc case, as mentioned earlier, I do know some of them on a closer level than the average joe. If the hypothesis that Pst Kong and company indeed planned all these and is after the money is true, then there will some serious lack of planning on their end. firstly, it is the timing. pst kong is in his 40s and the rest are even younger. Many of the accused have school going kids. they are not even close to their retirement age. As for City Harvest church it is still new and has greater potential to expand further. It will be foolish to try to siphon money out now. if you were to consider that one can only commit such events once, it will be in their interest to commit such deeds maybe 10 - 20 years later. Where there is more money to draw and there will be less risk as their children will all grow up etc. Therefore, my view is that it is unlikely, if they were really good at planning to plot this out and execute this at this time. Secondly, I have been to wedding dinners with some of the accused and have chatted with them. I believe in the integrity in the church's leaders. for my own wedding, I even gave a red packet to the leader who helped out in my wedding (it is a custom in Singapore for that). However, he rejected it. saying that as a new couple, I needed the money more. Well, back then, I really do need the money. I have seen this same behaviour over and over again. it is always about giving, sharing, caring. putting others first. thirdly, the accusation is that they used the church's money inappropriately. I attended some meetings and they did ask if it was ok to allow them to use the money for investments. I am not an economist, but I do know that there is a constant drop in the value of money over time. That is due to inflation. meaning, a dollar today will not be worth a dollar tomorrow. The very least to allow it to earn some interest so that the impact of inflation will be defrayed. we are not a church made up of rich businessmen unlike some churches in Singapore. Therefore, we will need more time in order to accumulate the money required for any big project, be it a mission trip or a church building project, etc. bit by bit, we saved. if we do not allow investments be made, then we are really loosing money. therefore, a decision was made and consensus given that they can use it. however, I cannot remember when was that meeting held, there has got to be some minutes of the meeting out there. More importantly, not everyone in the church went for that meeting. As you can imagine, it will be hard to determine who is really part of the church and who is not. Someone who attends the church regularly is considered a member?how about a visitor? A very regular visitor? The Church defines an executive member as someone who had the right to vote in those meetings. Therefore, the executive member is the one who has a voice in such meetings, not any member. It is a tough stand to make as we always want to be seen to be inclusive, but for administration purpose, we have to be exclusive on this one... Lastly, I know it is a tough time for all the accused and witnesses during this trial period. the kind of pressure they face from the media and from their family members. this can happen to anyone. in this modern society, it can happen to anyone. Be it guilty or not, it is not for us to judge. in closing, I remember a former colleague of mine once said "Kenneth, if you do the right thing, you will be able to sleep well at night". I am sure they can all sleep very well at night....

A video my coursemates and I did 6 years ago in NUS...

Greetings from Panama

Greetings from Panama. Am here cos the wife is here on a work trip and since I can buy discounted tickets, I've decided to tag along, afterall, the lodging is paid for already. I am also currently serving notice with my currently employer, so might as well clear my leave now. we were in Europe for a few days and indeed it was a wise choice as it helped us to cope with the jet lag better. the time difference between Panama and Singapore is 13 hours. It really doesn't matter if it is ahead or behind cos all i know is when my friends in Singapore are awake, I am asleep. It's good to travel on discounted ticket as the price I paid is some 120 euros to get to Europe and about the same price to get here from Amsterdam. the downside, is that it is on standby basis. If the flight is full, I don't get on. When leaving Singapore, that happened. So I had to go via Frankfurt instead. Well, the wife is sleeping in the room now and I am boiling some porridge for dinner later. It is about 6pm local.  We are in a service apartment.

Panama. Have always read about the Panama canal during Secondary Sch Geography lessons. interesting enough, I am just about 20km from where it is now. Will plan to visit the canal proper when we have the time. On the flight in, we saw many ships lining up to cross the canal. that is from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Suddenly all my geography came back. Hahahha. the Canal was built by the US military. That happened many years back and this canal is so important to Panama. I've got a feeling Panama is the city to spend money for the rich and famous in the latin American region. The place has nothing much really and is not that touristy. However, there are many tall skyscrapers and they are mostly vacant as of now. We will be here for a week and a half before going back. For me, I am entertaining myself with whatever I can find. hahaha.

back home in Singapore, the trial has begun. of cos we hope things will turn out well, but I kind of sense that it is a test of how serious Singaporeans can be towards religion. Should we publically display our support? a part of me say yes, a part says no. Why yes? Because we believe in them. why no? My supporting them, are we sabotaging them as the authorities will deem them as overly influential? Man, this is like the Jesus situation. Not an easy move.

Back to my life, I am now going to join another airline. One that is pretty controversial. I am enjoying my time in my present company but well, there are always room for improvement. Often, it is about looking at what you have and then think about what you can offer and then consider if the company is the best fit. Let's see how things pan out. I believed and therefore my decision. Is it the best move? Only time will tell.

In KLIA

Am currently in KLIA. staying here for 2 days before going to Penang for another 2 days. That's 1 week gone. And so, that is how I spend my time. It may sound fun and I do agree it is, but at the end, after calculation, I actually put it more hours than a regular week in the office in Singapore.

OK, enough of me. This week, church has seen some real drama. With CoC wanting to remove 8 individuals from the church. Well, since the beginning of the investigation, I guess this is the day that we all hoped will never come. What they did, is it right, is it wrong, it is not something I want to comment on the blog but I believe there is good in every situation and God's plans are higher. Let/s see how things develop but I can say this is a tough time for all of the 8 individuals. And if you are from another church reading this, you may wonder what has it got to do with me. The answer is that this case not only involves the 8 individuals. It actually speaks of the atmosphere of religious acceptance in Singapore. And if you are a Christian in Singapore, this concerns you as it can potentially shape how churches are run in this island. So, the decision is a big thing. For the 8, it can mean that they will no longer be allowed to be employed by any charity organization in Singapore. This means a loss in income and literally, a suicide in their career. So what is the next step? migrate to another country? Somewhere that will accept people doing good deeds?

I shall not continue else I'll probably say something that is not politically correct and get myself into trouble with the law.

Talking on career, I will be making a bold move in my career in the next few months. Forever thankful to the blessings of God. I pray it will be fruitful. I shall not reveal too much as yet as nothing has been confirmed. but certainly, some changes are in the pipeline. I'm excited and looking forward to it.

For the past few days, I've been learning about respect. Being respectful to other is something not easy. Really need to be very confident to do so. In fact, is it due to the lack of confidence that resulted in a lot of disrespect and that is why we have racism etc. Racism is funny if taken well but it definitely is a bad thing. There's no doubt about it. Ok, got to go back to my lamb shank that I ordered. Then going for meeting number 4 for today alone. It is a tiring trip like all duty travels. I am but just a piece of sugar cane and the company is squeezing me dry...

In Osaka

Taking some time off during my work trip in Japan now to blog. It's been a while and since I have some time in between flights, I'm back at the hotel using the internet.

Japan is an amazing place. It is my 2nd time here and based on the behaviour of the people here, you will know that this is indeed a very different land. People are very or shuld I say extremely polite and humble. Courtesy is a must. What amazes me is the taxi fares. It is extremely expensive. fares running up to hundreds of Sing Dollars is not unheard of. What I cannot understand is why in some countries in Asia, we have taxi drivers loitering at the airports and once you are out, they swarm you and try to get you to board their cab. However, I also noticed that most advance or civilised countries, do not have the above symptom. I was in Phuket recently and the same occurred. In Cambodia, the same. Especially when you are fair in skin colour and with blond hair, they will swarm around you as if honey to bees. Thinking you will give them a big tip i suppose. Such actions disgust me and I prefer the likes of Japan, Singapore, Hongkong etc where by there is some form of a system to allow fair competition.

This trip to Osaka, I was very involved in the operations and from it I learnt a few valuable lessons too. Was introduced to someone who spoke English very well and was really impressed. A good help especially in a land whereby I do not speak the native language and can hardly communicate with the others. I trusted him with the instructions and deligated a lot of work to him. When the rubber meets the road, I realised that he is someone who cannot deliver. All talk, no action. At the end, it is the quiet Japanese who actually put in the thoughts and process in place to get the job done. It is really great to se them so passionate about their job.

So the lesson learnt is that very often, the person who speaks the least is the hardworking one. The one who talks the most, produces the most smoke. Always check their work...

Gone Flying

It's been a while since I've last blogged and probably that is because I've been busy lately. Busy with work that is and have been flying about.

Just did a calculation. From the start of the year to date, I've covered more than 60,000kms. I've got a few more trips coming up this month, including to Vietnam, Manila, Japan, etc. By the end of July, I would have flown around the globe aprroximately 2 and a quarter times along the equator. The world is indeed an awesome place and that is because we've got an awesome God who created all that. From the various natural sceneries to those man-made ones to the diverse culture. Beautiful...

Phyysically, it is tiring and there are times when you do not even need to unpack as the next trip is just a couple of days away. Having mentioned all the trips I've been on this year, I noticed all but 1 flight was on an Airbus airplane.

Since this is a blog about the passion on aviation, I'll mention a bit about the difference between Airbus and Boeing, the 2 largest makers of commercial airplanes. For Airbus, generally, the maintenance cost is more expensive. Why? Cos their manuals require them to have a complete change of equipment when there is any damage or faults. However, for Boeing, one can just change by small parts. The layman way of saying it that for Boeing, one can just change a faulty screw and have it replaced. however, for Airbus, one needs to swop the entire part around. That is the general case, not too sure how the B-787 will be like. Therefore, if you are taking an old aircraft, an Airbus one will probably be more reliable. I'm sure they are all safe, but just an Airbus one will probably not give as much issues as a Boeing one....

2 cities

Was traveling lately and before I went to China, I had the opportunity to watch a documentary entitled "Secret Service" at home. It was on Discovery Channel or NGC and they were talking about the assassination of US President Ronald Reagan. That programme was done by US and it was saying how the training of the Secret Service ultimately led to the prevention of this assassination. How that agent in the grey suit made himself looked huge and took a bullet for the President. There was another agent who pushed the President into the car and brought him to safety. The documentary was about how great the Secret Service was and how wonderful their training was and so on. Then a few days later, in a hotel in China, I saw a similar programme and again, it was about the same assassination. This time, it was done from a Chinese perspective. There were apparently 3 reporters at the scene and thus, there were 3 videos of the incident all from different angles. They reviewed the tape and here is what they concluded. After the shooting, there was chaos especially when it comes to sending the assissin to the lock up. The first patrol car that came in cannot be used and they had to go to another patrol car. There was a women from across the street who ran to the scene and looked at the injured man and thought he was her husband and screamed and was talk to leave alone without any one supporting her. How did she manage to get so close to the crime scene in the first place? There was no crowd control. There was also a live gun just at the head of the injured lying on the floor. That was many minutes after the shooting. If there was an accomplice, that was the end of everyone. Another point they raised was the presence of the Uzi. What was the Uzi there for? and the guy who jumped around with the Uzi in hand really looked commical. There were other points raised such as the fact that they had to ask around for a hanky as first aid dressing. Basically, poor planning and poor training. So very clearly, two different cities had 2 different versions of the story. It amazes me how often the same situation can generate different versions of it. More often than not, I see Western people being very confident. Or should I say, the lack of humility. Look at the reality shows. How when they lose, they will put the blame on others and say that it is this, it is that, and it will never be because they were not good enough. For a Eastern person, they will always be humble. Like the Taiwanese who will always say "Wo hui jia you!" Meaning I will put in the effort. Or Japanese contestants who will say I will train harder the next time etc. In my opinion, the best is still a good balance between the two.