20150809_Singapore NDP 50th Golden Jubilee Reflection

9/8/2015 Singapore Celebrates her 50th Golden Jubilee !



This video was done after our fireworks outing on 1/8/2015 NDP preview and the actual Riverwalk on the NDP 9/8/2015  itself after the parade.

The night skyline of our little red dot is pretty impressive. Been reflecting on the past 50 years that had gone by so quickly and this video is dedicated to the many 1965 babes like me , born in such a time like this on a little island of barely less than 800 sq km.  Must admit that I am blessed :- not born during the WW2 / the Japanese Occupation and also not in the countries like ME where wars and news of unprecedented atrocities are also now erupting.

So on 1/8/2015 sat, my hubby & I decided to catch that part of the S$7mio fireworks that were 'burned' in stages over the weeks leading up to the actual celebration.  Being a Jubilee year, the fireworks budget was at its all time high - so might as well enjoy it, right?

But alas the road leading to Rhu Cross was badly jammed.  Guess, many were of the same mind - trying to catch a glimpse of the money going into ashes in split seconds.

Interestingly, as we detoured, we found an obscure road in Fort Road which was kind of under construction.  So obscure that few cars and people were there ! And it was a different view! Away from the maddening crowds!

The patience paid off.  We enjoyed the 10min fireworks display.  Strangely enough, we found ourselves being so patriotic and the spontaneous singing of our national pledge was recorded live as we watched that awesome display of colours.  And the best joke was that we could remember the pledge!

On 9/8/2015, we decided to be home watching this Jubilee 50th NDP.  And before the whole program kicked off, I managed to video this awesome display by our Black Knights fly past with the "50" formation! So shiok! So Loud! They came out of 'nowhere' from afar and before I knew it- they were over our apartment! So exciting! It was a WOW! WOW ! WOW! Fantastic IPhone video ! Thanks to late Steve Jobs who Wowed too at his deathbed!

We decided to take a stroll down from the RiverWalk at South Bridge road after the parade.  So we started this cool night stroll among the throngs of people (unfortunately, many were FT and tourists?) down the Singapore River towards Fullerton Hotel, headed towards the Merlion Park and Esplanade and back via the new Capitol Theatre- St Andrew's Cathedral.

What fascinated me was the rainbow coloured bridge at South Bridge Road. 

So picturesque!  And so the one hour stroll ended in a big loop from 9:15 to about 10:15pm.

 

The video was in the making before the NDP rally on 23/8.  The song "Home" was chosen because it was Kit Chan's last performance for this NDP.  It was a song popularised way back in 1998?  Beautiful chorus and words done by Dick Lee.

 

Strolling down this newly cleaned up Singapore River brought back fond memories of the days of old. Reminded me of the river in the last book of the Bible in Revelation 22 - that the river of the water of life............flowing down the middle of the city's main street! No more curse in the new city. And we need not drink our NeWater too! How cool Thank God!  Ah...looking forward to be Home Truly.  We are merely non-permanent citizens here on the 'first' world nation. Merely pilgrims on the earth that is passing away due to global warming, nuclear poisoning, man's weakness in not saving the greens but for the exploitation of economic trade offs.

Reflections of this "River Walk" of life

Lives of our 2.4 million true blue citizens here on this red dot varies.( The remaining 3 mio plus came from all over the globe ?).  Some are doing well but some are not. To those who are above the average, life would be a breeze.  But if somehow if you are one of those falling behind, everyday would seem to be a storm.  Taking the easy way out of this place by committing suicide might seem to be the solution as seen from our known statistics of 400 plus of such deaths each year on this small red dot. (about 1 suicide a day)  Such is life. Not sure if the stats include that of foreign nationals.

Strolling down this river on our Jubilee National day brought a mixed bag of emotions in my heart.  Faces along the riverside. From all walks of life and nationalities. At the end of the day, how do you view your life?

If it is satisfactory - give thanks.
If it sucks - please do not take the easy exit way out.

Wherever one may originate from , be in here, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China etc , may we always be reminded of who truly is the Founding Father of the land we were born. And who we are. Where we came from. Where we are going to. Different parties running for the political service in the nation will have their own manifestos.  Despite the fact that Singaporeans barely constitute 50% of the current total population now, may we pledge our allegiance not to the party but the patriotism of the country in which we were born and bred. National pride that diminishes not. Yet, exhibiting courtesy and grace towards all men regardless of nationality, social background or age.  For we are all in the same globe -merely pilgrims on different face of this earth.  Waiting for the highest reward of receiving the eternity fulfilled in our hearts as penned by the late King Solomon. The real manifesto that Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount : The Beatttitudes.  Let that be our attitude as we row along this river of life always! Human party policies may fail due to imperfection and the iniquities of the heart. But the Creator Father who made the heavens and the earth - He fails not. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

*******************************************************************************

Ecclesiastes is one of the 24 books of the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible. Written by King Solomon - son of King David on his investigation and search for the true meaning of life.

American novelist Thomas Wolfe wrote " Of all I have ever seen or learned, that book seems to me the noblest, the wisest, and the most powerful expression of man's life upon this earth - also the highest flower of poetry, eloquence, and truth.  I am not given to dogmatic judgements in the matter of literacy creation, but if I had to make one I could say that Eccelesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever know, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound"



Ecclesiastes 3New King James Version (NKJV)

The God-Given Task

⁹ What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰ I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
¹² I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³ and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

¹⁴ I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
¹⁵ That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past.

Injustice Seems to Prevail

¹⁶ Moreover I saw under the sun:

In the place of judgment,
Wickedness was there;
And in the place of righteousness,
Iniquity was there.

¹⁷ I said in my heart,

“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,
For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

¹⁸ I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” ¹⁹ For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. ²⁰ All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. ²¹ Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?^{[a] 22} So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

 

Everything Has Its Time

 

3 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

² A time to be born,
    And a time to die;
A time to plant,
    And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill,
    And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
    And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep,
    And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
    And a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones,
    And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
    And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to gain,
    And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
    And a time to throw away;
⁷ A time to tear,
    And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
    And a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love,
    And a time to hate;
A time of war,
    And a time of peace.

 

20150808_Bukit Timah Trek & The Green Corridor

On 8/8/2015,  0800 Hours, we decided to trek up Bukit Timah Hill!

For many of us, it was a first time for us to do this.
Guess, it was due to the sudden interest in 'mountain' climbing following the recent Mt KK earthquake?

And it rained cats and dogs that we had to postpone the 'climb' by going the the Rail Mall for breakfast first.  Well , the rain did subside and up we went.

Most of the trails were closed for repair and so we could only do the shortest climb using the steps shortcut. So it ended fast and furious!

But we were not disappointed that we decided to go to the quarry thereafter. It turned out to be the most memorable part of the trek!  There were 2 Czech guys who were doing a documentary on the Green Corridor in Spore.  They were looking for someone who had done this trail and wow, EC foot the bill! Sporting chap agreed to do the interview and so we took the video of this action.  There were no rehearsals at all. No NG takes.  It was spontaneous and quick and that day we saw a star born right in front of us! LOL. 

So what is this Green Corridor? Bet some of you may be clueless? Ever seen a Lemur? No idea? Watch this 'educational ' youtube of our star and crew on that day.  Coincidentally, just a few months earlier , 3 of us did a bike trip from Ghim Moh area up the Green Corridor to the base of Bukit Timah Hill and we rode along the Bukit Timah Road back home. It was from 11am to about 2 pm in the scorching hot sun! But it was fun. Tiring but interesting. So this part of the Green Corridor is embedded in this video too.

The Green Corridor!

20150802: The LRT & TNT Rule of Christian Living : Controversies?

1 Cor 10:23-25 "Everything is permissible", but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" but not everything is constructive.  Nobody should see his own good but the good of others

The last 2 sunday sermons in church seemed to have ruffled some feathers.  Topics relating to prophesies, prophesying and what a believer believes - what is right and what is not. Questions that sometimes create a tension in the mind - should one do this or should not do? Where does one draw the line - albeit at times the line seems thin? Pertinent questions like participation in the usage of accupuncture, practice of yoga, martial arts , tattoo of all kinds, holding joss-sticks, eating of foods offered to idols (especially in our chinese culture) etc.

The bible is not a book that gives a list of dos and dont's in a straightforward manner in certain areas.  Else life would be easy , wouldn't it? Worth noting is that the Bible has stood firm over the years, crossing cultures (be wise in handling the so-called issues of roots due to the lack of knowledge and understanding) and generations.  So one has to understand that whilst cultures and generations might change, the moral attributes of the Word does not. 

However, there are some general guiding principals embedded in this Book  where every child of God can harness from.  Afterall, we are not made of robots but unique humans with free will as given by our Creator God. 

One of my favourite verses is that in 1 Cor 10:23 above.

I remember this acronym years ago ; The Dynamite Rule of TNT in our manner of conversation with one another. 

To avoid any explosives in the conversation, we apply this rule:-

T - Timely  {Is it timely?}

N - Neccessary {Is it necessary?}

T - Truth {Is it the truth?}

As long as we meet this 3 criteria - then we go ahead to speak it out. Else...KIV!

Hence likewise with regard to grey areas in our pligrimage on this earth, perhaps we can think of this acronym LRT instead!

L - Liberty ( Do we have the liberty or freedom within the authority given?)

R - Responsibility ( Do we exercise the responsibility to consider the good of others first instead ourselves? And not to stumble the weaker one?)
T - Testimony (What kind of testimony we intend to present to the others when we decide on the action taken?)

Thereafter in answering this simple questions, we hop on the train and move on this journey forward.



Reflections At the end of the day, we learn to be considerate at all times. Where the bible is silent or grey in such areas, we will have to be mindful we do not stumble others most importantly.  We avoid judging others in their actions. At times, we learn to be like Paul - surrendering our own rights for the sake of others.  

1 Cor 10:23-25 "Everything is permissible", but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" but not everything is constructive.  Nobody should see his own good but the good of others

Gal 5:1 "For freedom Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery"

Col 2:6 " Therefore , just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him"

Col 2:8 "Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy, that is according to human traditions and the elementary spirits of the world, and not according to Christ"

Taking the LRT? Let Go! Let God! Let's go!

20150725-Seek His Face -Late David Wilkerson

Ps 27:7 "My heart tells me to pray to you, and I do pray to you O Lord" [KJV]

In my previous blog on what happened 17 years ago, I chose the verse Ps27:7 from the NIV version which says " My heart says of you "Seek His face ! Your face , LORD, I will seek"

Kind of interesting in the different versions. One says seek the other says pray.


Whatever it was, while I was searching for an appropriate song on "Seek His Face" for the previous blog (Which is quite often for me to load up a nice song in blog for the similar topic), I found none.  Nevertheless, my eye caught this late David Wilkerson's sermon on "Seek His Face". It was about 40 min long so I just happened to listen to it tonight about about 10:30pm.

To my surprise, what I had blog earlier came hitting hard with similiar sharing by late David.  Coincidence once again? Well, it resonated in my heart with those terms of seeking His face, Facebook and technology that steal the time away from our Lord.

The sermon perhaps was one of the last sermon preached by this 79 year David Wilkerson at that time. He passed away in  in a car accident.

[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

A very good hear . Only 40 Min.  May the Lord stir the burden in our hearts once again to SEEK HIS FACE and to PRAY to HIM ! Oh what a sermon! Be Blessed! 

Leonard Ravenhill (late David's good pal's quote " Preachers don't pray"....regarding revival :)

20150722- 17 years exactly ago! Remember YHWH's goodness -Myanmar YWAM

Ps27:8"My heart says of you 'Seek his face! Your face LORD , I will seek'"

Where was I exactly 17 years ago on 22/7/1998 this date ?

Today, 22/7/15- I was surprised by a sudden meeting of someone whom I have not met for 17 years and today at Tanglin Halt during lunch - we came face to face!  A strange divine meeting as my colleagues and I were supposed to be on our way to Holland Village as originally planned.  But somehow through a certain prompting of my heart at the Bukit Merah flyover junction before Commonwealth Dr ,I suddenly blurted out that we should go to a different hawker centre to try out. This was the sudden change of course at the last minute.  Why I did that? Only God knows! And on hindsight, I deeply believed that it was the Holy Spirit who diverted our plan.

There I sat diagonally to this lady J whom I thought I found familiar. But the initial eye contact was 'non-reactive'. LOL.  It was later after lunch that I bumped into her again at the bread shop.  With courage I decided to ask if I knew her? And she asked me back "Are you Mui?"

So this meeting led us to a series of short chat and exchange of contact. And subsequently with a heavy heart got to know that she is seriously ill.

J was on staff of YWAM back in 1998 when I attended the DTS.  I had just quit my banking job.

The afternoon 'divine' change of lunch venue and meeting made me browse through my album and journal of my first and longest mission trip in that year 1998.

When it came to a page that showed  the date 22nd July,  I found this journal attached.

Well, well, so where was I , 17 years ago on this same date?

I was up north in Myanmar! In a little village where I was supposed to lead worship with lyrics written on mah-jong paper! And then there was a power failure of all the days. I freaked out. But it was a night to remember. Simply because the lights came on just when we sang the chorus "Shine Jesus Shine!"  Oh what a awesome God we serve!

(and I was in awe with my first witness of literal offering of first fruit at the altar in this church! Their form of tithes- so funny!)

Reflections

So today , I bumped into J, after 17 long years. Mmmm.....

Back in 1998, we do not have FaceBook or FaceTime.  FB was only started in 2004! Back then, our mission trips and stay were somewhat 'primitive' as compared to 2015 today. And there was only one phone in the lobby of the Greenhill Inn which we stayed in where all of us had to queue to make a call home to our loved ones. LOL!

I started to recall this trip 17 years ago. Time flies.

Our team of 7 - We have "aged" or 'matured' and moved on in our own separate ways. But one thing for sure - I recollected the Lord's goodness and faithfulness.  He changes not. He is the same , yesterday, today and forever!

So this verse in Ps 27:8 came to my mind. My heart says to seek His face.  That was what we set out to do in our mission trip in 1998. And to truly immerse in our devotions everyday, yes READING HIS BOOK! And it was in this process of learning to slow down in a closed up country then that we rested and saw His mighty hand. That was really the Facebook of our time. 

Unlike today FB which connects socially on friends- to -friends ; back then I was having a real FB time with the Lord. In today's technologically connected world, at times I felt robbed of time.  The emails, watapps, smses, FB , twitter etc - 24/7 kind of connectivity, have stolen my precious time. I have no FB (as I decided to deface it after initial first two weeks), but yet the watapps and the internet connectivity of news on that little gadget phone does rob me of time.  I FB with the Lord less and more with the world.  Time to disconnect to connect again!

But I doubt I can run away to Myanmar to escape and go back to the 'primitive' village.  Times have changed, They have opened up and is now as connected as anyone else in the face of this world ! Perhaps not totally with exception of some tribal villages but the world has kind of shrunk! Physical distance is no longer an issue.  Flight of few hours would bring us to a different country.  We talk and see each other through the PC.  Such is the world we are now living in.

17 years ago - what did we do there? Wow, quite a lot! Teaching in seminaries, sunday schools, helping at orphanages, prayer walking ...

And I "almost witnessed" a deaf and dumb miracle! Thanks to my lost and found guitar left in the taxi while on our last 6th week of ministry. But Rom 8;28 - the taxi driver returned my guitar in the fateful late evening and invited us to his home on another day to pray for his deaf and dumb son.  I was elated. Because that was precisely what I asked to see and God to show on my first mission trip. What audacity! LOL.  The Lord was kind enough to use the lost guitar to bring me to one deaf and dumb but we prayed and nothing happen. LOL.  Perhaps the Lord knows me too well. I was perhaps not ready to witness this for fear of collapsing with a heart attack:) But to be able to have this glimpse of an answered prayer was more than enough for me back then.  Today, I think I would be able to handle this better?

Yes. More than ready!

20150705- A Tale of 2 Gatherings 2 Speeches - The Amos Act

A Tale of Two Gatherings on 5/7/2015.... 

 Above at Sports Hub with more than 50,000 Christians gathered to celebrate the nation's 50th Jubilee year

Above elsewhere at Hong Lim Park, about 500 people gathered to garner the support of the release of a 16-year old Amos Yee who had been imprisoned in both the prison and Institute of Mental Health for over 50 days...

This is the text from the speech of this lady Jolene on 5/7/2015. And below the other excerpt from our PM. Have a read and compare the state of this situation that had caught the eye of almost the whole world now.

Red dot celebrated her Jubilee with more that 50,000 Christians huddled in the new air-con Sports Hub.  While there was another group of 500 folks gathered in the open field of Hong Lim under the scorching hot sun.  Many pastors were gathered at the Hub but there was only perhaps one pastor Miak who gave a short speech after Jolene's at HL . To my surprise he was one from the Free Community Church - the church that is controversial in the LGBT thingy. And he shared about how he got to know Amos last year when this young lad was moving from church to church as most people did in the norm. He ended sharing the fable of the Emperor's New Clothes.

A Day of Reflection after these 2 events that took place on a Sunday in this little sunny island aka beloved Red Dot:

Freedom is something many take for granted especially if one had not gone behind any bars or any mental institution. 

Such institutions rob the person of the basic right of liberty - simply your life is no longer your own.

I had the opportunity to be in Changi Women's prison for some supervision of equipment years back.  The squatting toilets had no doors! and you pee in the open for all to see.

And I too had a first hand witness of a late friend who was admitted to IMH@ Buangkok . Though hers was not at Block 7 for the worst case mental folks, it was already a bad experience for me back then - seeing the ladies "walking here and there aimlessly"  in the most spartan room. 

In both institutions, utensils or stationery stuff are tightly controlled for obvious reasons.

We have perhaps seen movies like "One flew over the Cuckoo" nest starring Jack Nicholson. The brain washing process. What is in the reel is actually real.

Last Sunday sermon on worship was well summarised in the word called "WILL". Worship is never about the songs we sing as we enter the 'so-called house of worship' in a church building.  The art of worship begins in the heart of the person who exercises the free will to do so regardless of where one is and how or what one is feeling or for the matter of fact how it is done. When Paul was imprisoned in the prison, the 4 walls did not deter him from exercising his will to sing praise to the Lord YHWH. And we read of his & Silas subsequent miracle release from prison as a free man-in both the body and spirit. (Acts 16)

Will - it is the mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decide on a certain course of action.
Conscience - it is an aptitude or faculty intuition or judgement that assists in distinguishing right from wrong.

This Amos Yee saga made me realised the importance of the term " Prisoner of conscience".  Something new to me in fact.  And as I reflected this after watching the news of this young boy's release after spending over 50 days more in both prison and IMH, his ruffled look and expressionless face seemed to bore the effect of the 'breaking of one's will' by the tactics used in such institutions.  It would take a while for sure for this young man to heal from this ordeal.  

 Nuggets to chew on...:- 

1. The 500 vs the 50,000 odd people reminded me of Gideon's warrior men where the Lord chose from 30,000 down to 300 men to fight the Midianite in Judges 7. The Lord did not allow Israel to boast on the strength of the army but He sifted and the separated only the few fearless men fit to fight the enemy!

2.  Like Amos, Paul in Acts 16, he threw the city into an uproar and was sent to prison cell with feet in the stocks. The earthquake came and caused the Jailor to fall in trembling asking what must be done to be saved. And despite that Paul and Silas could have ran for their life - they did not. What did Paul say to the officers " They beat us publicly without a trial even though they were Roman citizens,  and threw us into prison. And now they want to get rid of us quietly> No! Let them come and escort us up!" Paul was imprisoned wrongly!
{perhaps now the legal Advisor of Amos is now appealing to the High court on this decision ruling?)

3. The egg has been fried.  There is no way of the fried egg turning back to its original raw stage. Our PM urged us to "building trust and mutual confidence with other religious groups, between the groups as well as between the leaders, so that we can live harmoniously together and solve problems amicably and cooperatively together," he said.

"For this 50th jubilee year, let us make Singapore an enduring home, an endearing home, a home for all regardless of race, of language, of religion," he added.

Question : Can Red dot do now?  What do you  think?

Jolene Tan’s speech for #FreeAmosYee protest at Hong Lim Park, 5 July 2015

Some of you have probably seen that Amos Yee’s mother, Mary Toh, recently posted on Facebook making a heartfelt apology to her son.

It’s really not her who should be apologising to Amos Yee.

We – us, our state, our society – we are destroying a boy.

Don’t retreat to the law here. Think about what is happening to the human bodies and minds involved. The law isn’t something abstract. If we think about the law as somehow above humans, it will very quickly become inhuman or worse, anti-human.

So let’s stick to the basics, which are: we are destroying a boy.

The main question I want to ask today is, why are we destroying a boy? What good does it do to destroy him?

Let me explain first what I mean about destruction. The state’s decision to prosecute Amos Yee has inherently involved violence. First, arrest.  Then, imprisonment. Shackles. The terror and the powerlessness of not knowing how much longer you’ll be in there, with no company, no purpose, no activity, no relationships, no change.

It goes beyond that, we’ve heard: there were no nights and no days, just the same walls of the cell, 23 hours a day. The glare of lights that never go out.

Even aside from this case, this raises serious questions about prison practice in Singapore. When I worked in a prisoners’ rights organisation in the UK, one thing I learned was that remand should not be a punitive experience. Remand prisoners are either not yet guilty of any crime, or, in Amos’ case, are not yet found by a court to deserve a prison sentence. So, as a simple matter of fairness, when someone is in remand to prevent them from absconding, the conditions in prison should not be further punishing them. They should have better conditions than prisoners on sentence.

And whatever the type of prisoner, remand or sentence, being kept in a cell 23 hours a day shows severe failure in the prison system. This quantity of confinement is completely destructive of physical and psychological well-being of prisoners and of prisoners’ ability to later function in the community.

Given this, it is testimony to Amos Yee’s phenomenal resilience that he kept smiling and waving and eating bananas in the courtroom as long as he did.

But he isn’t any longer. Because it doesn’t matter how strong you are. No one can be ground like this by the gears of the criminal justice machine, trapped without sense or clarity, and hold out forever. Sooner or later it will crush you. It is crushing Amos now. He has already spoken of distress so deep he wanted to kill himself.

Just initiating a prosecution, just setting this whole machine into motion, had these severe consequences. So don’t doubt it: we are destroying a boy.

But it’s gone even further than this. We’ve heard – and the state has not denied – that the response to Amos Yee’s distress was to strap him to a bed for more than a day. Sure, that’s going to make him feel a lot better.

And now he’s being detained in IMH, in conditions which are not centred on his needs and which are also likely to hurt his well-being. I don’t want to speculate on the claims that he has poor mental heath or autism – things which in the public’s mind are now being wrongly conflated with criminality, stigmatising people with autism or mental illness further. I just want to point out that, whatever the truth about Amos Yee, shutting someone up in an institution is a very problematic way to respond to alleged mental health or autism-related needs.

Autism is not an illness. It is not something to cure or treat. And poor mental health is almost never improved by institutionalisation. Taking people out of the community against their will should always be a last resort. What’s happened to Amos Yee and how it’s being reported is sending the message to society at large that physical force, physical restraint, isolation against their will and general dehumanisation are how to respond to people with mental health needs or autism. From the viewpoint of public awareness for these communities, this is a disaster.

So we are destroying a boy. And we are hurting vulnerable people.

Which brings me back to the first question I asked. Why? Why are we doing this? What human purpose is served? Knowing that prosecution is in itself a tool which inflicts so much suffering, knowing that the criminal justice system has enormous consequences for anyone caught up in it – when and how can we justify its use?

This whole affair came from a few minutes when a sixteen-year-old decided to vent about parents, God and “The System”. Frankly, this kind of venting is part of the proper and natural order of things. There is nothing more ordinary in the world than indignant teenagers goading authority with the aid of tasteless sexual metaphors. There was no incitement to violence or hatred, no demonisation of anyone vulnerable. In terms of threats to human society or human welfare, Amos Yee’s video pretty much ranks up there with kittens clawing the curtains.

The fact is, this society is not of one mind about Lee Kuan Yew or political ideology – and it shouldn’t be of one mind. Politics, and political leaders, are there precisely as a way for us to peaceably navigate the fact of our differences. We are all different, we’ve had different lives, we’ve have different amounts of money, we have different hearts, different bodies, different needs, we want different things, we worship differently or not at all. We each want society to be set up in different ways.

The hope that underlies democracy is that we can commit to navigating those differences peacefully. Through dialogue. The hope of democracy is that, despite our differences, we all count equally, and will all have the space and the chance to discuss and negotiate and be taken into account.

Only if we speak openly about things can we figure out how, together, to make them better for everyone.

It is hard to shake the sense that we are destroying Amos Yee simply because he highlighted a political difference that has been deemed unacceptable by those currently in power. The fact is, many people do think that Lee Kuan Yew was, in Amos Yee’s words, a horrible person. There are many people who wanted – desperately wanted – to see the end of Lee Kuan Yew’s influence on society. And everyone should have the right to express their opinions about the country’s political leadership and directions, without being silenced by the criminal law. The prosecution of Amos Yee casts serious doubt on the protection of that right in Singapore.

Amos Yee gave voice to political differences about the leadership of literally the most powerful man in our history. He criticised the way that that man’s power shaped the society we live in. If we destroy him for this reason, then we strike at the heart of democracy itself.

Jolene Tan

******************************************************************************************************************************51,000 Christians gather at Sports Hub to mark SG50; PM Lee thanks community for helping build S'pore

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reciting the national pledge with the 51,000-strong crowd at the National Stadium at the Jubilee Day of Prayer on July 5, 2015. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

PUBLISHED

JUL 5, 2015, 8:54 PM SGT

17.3K 14 2 

Charissa Yong

SINGAPORE - A record 51,000 Christians from churches across Singapore gathered to mark SG50 and pray for the country at the Singapore Sports Hub on Sunday.

The Jubilee Day of Prayer event is the largest multi-denominational Christian event in Singapore's history, and is part of a series of events to mark its 50th year of independence.

Joining them as guest-of-honour was Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who got a warm welcome from those present as they waved national flags and cheered his arrival.

In a short speech, Mr Lee acknowledged that a jubilee year is a significant one of great celebration for Christians.He added that in the Old Testament in the Bible, a jubilee year is the 50th year at the end of seven sabbatical cycles.

"This is the spirit of the jubilee: togetherness, thankfulness and generosity that we must nurture and that will see us into the future. A future in which all our communities, including our Protestant community, will have full roles to play," said PM Lee.

He paid tribute to the Protestant community's contributions to nation building, particularly in education, where schools started by missionaries moulded young men and women of character, and in the social services, where the less privileged are served.

PM Lee also thanked the community for understanding Singapore's multi-racial and multi-religious context.

"I thank you for building trust and mutual confidence with other religious groups, between the groups as well as between the leaders, so that we can live harmoniously together and solve problems amicably and cooperatively together," he said.

"For this 50th jubilee year, let us make Singapore an enduring home, an endearing home, a home for all regardless of race, of language, of religion," he added.

The event was co-organised by the National Council of Churches in Singapore and the Evangelical Fellowship of Singapore. It was supported by the Singapore Baptist Convention, the Indian Christian Network, the Festival of Praise Fellowship, the LoveSingapore church network and the National Prayer Alliance.