I read about the fiasco involving Pastor Rony Tan, who denigrated Buddhists in his sermon when he had a Q&A style sharing session with an ex-monk. I also watched the clips on youtube.
I am not a Buddhist but I am offended by what he did and said. It was shocking how he mocked Buddhism and even more shocking how the hundreds of people in the congregation laughed along at his comments. I wonder how many more times such things have happened, and how many more religions could have been made fun of on stage…..
It was magnanimous of the Buddhist and Taoist head monks to accept his apology and have tea with him. They really have big hearts.
But that does not negate the fact that Pastor Tan’s comments were hurtful, insulting and could potentially sow ill-feelings between people of different religions. The fact that he is a religious leader, that it was said on stage (for show) and recorded as a video clip publicized on the Internet aggravates the matter. I am surprised that he was only interviewed by the ISD. Personally, I think he should be charged under the Sedition Act. Judging from the past cases of people charged under the Act, I see no reason why he shouldn’t be charged. As for those who were in the congregation, I wonder how they can sleep at night having been complicit in the process of denigrating other people’s beliefs…..
Apart from Rony Tan’s case, the three teenagers making fun of Indians on Facebook etc, I am increasingly reading very racist or xenophobic remarks from Singaporeans on websites. One may have grievances against foreigners, minorities or what nots but that does not justify making immature, rude and down right bigoted comments about others. It is amazing how globalization is opening up the world but sadly, this may sometimes result in more closed minds.
I cherish the racial and religious harmony that we have in Singapore. It is not something that happened by chance and we should never leave such things to chance. Heavy policing may not solve the problem but some policing is necessary – not just by the authorities but also by society. This may sound like a cliché, but looking at the many cases of racial and religious problems in the world, we should all play our part in maintaining the harmony that we have.
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The chapel at my school in Massachusetts, USA, where all religions come together.
Khartini is the C, M and I in CMIO. She is 1/4 Chinese, 1/2 Malay and 1/4 Indian. She is bad at Math but managed to figure these portions out with a family genealogy and calculator. Some people call her multiracial, but she prefers to be known as rojak.
She was a print journalist and an educator, and has dabbled in broadcast journalism, mountain climbing and wakeboarding (albeit in a sitting position). She has also been a clown for a day, no kidding.
She is in her 30’s and volunteers actively, including at weekly Meet-the-People Sessions.
She speaks and writes fluent English and Malay, knows pasar Mandarin and can speak some French to save her life. She recently completed her Masters in International Relations degree in the United States under a Fulbright Scholarship & a Tan Kah Kee Postgraduate Scholarship.
She loves books, and books love her.