jackywongto

The author of that article is spot on when he said that these people started off with very humble aspirations. somehow, through the successes they have and the amount of $ rolling in.... some things becomes a bit more greyish... like I work so hard for the organization, why can't I take 1st class flight when our org can afford it. not that it is wrong .... but it becomes a bit debatable.

http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/06/02/what-next-for-city-harvest/ First NKF, then Ren Ci, then Youth Challenge. And now City Harvest Church. The reaction online to our Yahoo! Fit-to-Post story about 17 City Harvest members, including founder Pastor Kong Hee, being investigated for misuse of funds has been nothing short of staggering. In less than a day, over 2,000 remarks flooded the comments section, many applauding the move to audit the church’s finances. Some defended the church while proclaiming their faith in its leadership and a rare few were downright nasty and insensitive. It is obvious the probe has touched a raw nerve, and rightly so, because religion is and always will be a touchy and delicate subject in the multi-racial, multi-faith context of Singapore. So before I continue, let me first say this — let us not jump to conclusions: Pastor Kong Hee and his staff are innocent until proven otherwise. But it’s clear something is amiss. Reports of the largest mega-church in Singapore (over 32,000 members) having amassed millions of dollars in reserves started to raise eyebrows years ago. From a small church which started in 1989, City Harvest now boasts a 14,000 sq foot office in Suntec and its own $47 million building in Jurong West. It has 45 affiliate churches in Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Australia with a total of 48,000 members. It employs 154 full-time staff and has 15 committees overseeing all its operations. The Straits Times reports that it spent $40 million alone in the last financial year. Despite the much publicised fact that Kong Hee, 46, hasn’t been paid a salary by the church since 2005, the Pastor and his pop-star wife Sun Ho continue to attract their fair share of detractors. City Harvest member Wayne Chen, 31, told the same paper that the Pastor is ”humble, caring and family-oriented” and always emphasises “family values and loving God and people”. Yet others criticise his wife for her celebrity lifestyle, and daring dress sense. But what the startlingly similar scandals involving the NKF, Ren Ci and Youth Challenge have taught us is that excess often leads to temptation. By all accounts, the leaders of all three non-profit organisations started off humbly and upheld genuinely noble ideals, until money — more than they knew what to do with — quickly led them down the path of greed, materalism and corruption. In July 2005, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation, T. T. Durai, was arrested for making false declarations on NKF’s accounts. Lurid details of first-class air travel, a fleet of luxury cars at his beck and call, a $600,000 annual salary and even a golden tap in his private office suite emerged. During a much publicised trial, it was revealed in court that NKF had amassed $262 million in reserves. A year later in 2006, Youth Challenge, which sends students overseas to do humanitarian work, came under fire for poor management practices and was subsequently voted for closure. Its leader, Vincent Lam – a former police officer who set it up in 1985 to keep aimless youths off the streets — was found to have an extravagant annual pay package of nearly $250,000 - 56 % of the charity’s total income. He resigned a year later. In March this year, Youth Challenge folded. In 2008, Reverend Ming Yi, the chairman of Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre, was charged with forgery, conspiracy and misuse of funds. He allegedly approved million-dollar investments for Ren Ci, but the funds included loans for himself. Stories of BMW cars, lavish condos and excessive splurging were revealed in court with the monk defending his lifestyle as that of “a modern monk”. Just last week, his jail sentence was reduced from 10 months in jail to just six. And now, City Harvest Church, which recently invested in a whopping S$310 million stake in Suntec City Convention Centre. In its 2009 audit, it was found to have S$103 million in reserves. From March next year, CHC will be renting a convention hall from Suntec Convention Centre which will include a 12,000-seat main auditorium, 10 meeting rooms, a multi-purpose hall, theatre and concourse on the top floors. Benjamin Tan, 26, who makes regular contributions to his own church, told Yahoo! Singapore, ”When it comes to religious organisations like City Harvest, the money they receive should be more than enough to cover the maintenance of the church. I see no need for a reserve fund, or the investment of excess.” “The role of religion is the worship of God, not a tool or vehicle to make money,” he adds. Another senior church leader agreed, saying the sums of money being reported made him uncomfortable. “Money is meant to flow through the church. There is no need for it to amass so much money because the Bible teaches us that, at the end of the day, we must have faith that God will provide,” he said. Others disagree. A 22-year-old City Harvest churchgoer, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Any organisation that wants to do anything on a large scale needs a large amount of finances, be it charity work or even day-to-day administration.” “City Harvest Church needs such a large amount of funds partly because it runs one of the largest community service organisations in Singapore – City Harvest Community Service Association (CHCSA),” he explains. The CHCSA sent teams to Banda Aceh after the 2004 tsunami as well as sent medical and relief teams to help in the Haiti earthquake in January this year. Whatever the reasons behind the financial complications in these organisations, one thing is certain — it is often the needy and those who really depend on them for prayer, food, treatment and life’s basic necessities who suffer the most. Ren Ci Hospital, for example, suffered a severe plunge in donations from S$9.3 million in 2007 to just S$1.1 million in 2008. A drop in NKF donations also saw the organisation dipping into its reserves to keep its commitments to Singaporeans suffering from kidney failure. Perhaps even more damaging is that instead of celebrating the many success stories by these charity and religious bodies which so often go un-noticed, the general public begin to question and doubt. “Do my tithes or donations really help the needy?” “What’s my money being used for?” “How much do they already have in their offers?” So, tell us, just how much money is needed to run a charity or a religious organisation? Is it right that they be run and financed like a private corporation? Or is the concept of a simply-run, no-frills church an out-dated model in this day and age?

Thanks Bino. I stand corrected. Recall this Grotech thread from AM and it is very much targeted at SPS. Hence my misconception : http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=71287

They actually looks very nice when they are juvenile and tiny. Love the electric blue lines. One of my favourite fish when I just started out this hobby. Unfortunately it will morph to plain black when it grows to adult.

hey hi bro. Yours is a 3x2x2? yup it can be real back breaking sometimes scaping these deep tanks. Thats why I love my nano so much... haha. seems like you have quite a number of flat rocks. try getting more arcing ones or round cavy types. That will help to break the "bookshelf" look a little. question: you joined in 2005. This is your 1st marine?

Indirect sunlight is ok. not direct pls. It is also good to place the tank where there is good air ventilation. If you are going to put your tank next to your bed, some setup might have water gushing sound from overflow, pump vibration sound or skimmer bubbling sound .. these sound might not be audible in the day with ambience noise but in the dead of the night, they can be real irritating especially if you are a light sleeper. Do note that tankset selling in pasar malam has a total length of 3.8FT (43")(L) X 1FT (11")(D) X 1.2FT (14")(H) so it is not just a 3 ft length. It would also be good to invest in a chiller. If you are not, then at least you will need a fan to blow across the length of the tank at the water surface to maintain temp at about 29 deg cel.

The small tiny red one : Eviota Pellucida? Henry brings them in quite often. but put inside your tank.... maybe you will not be able to locate it

looks like a very well thought of sump. very compartmentalized and skimmer is far away from the return pump. a couple of queries. 1) +1 with Wilson on the vent hole/s in the sump. I think the work is not completed when you took the photos. 2) hmmm yours is a 3 feet width tank. Would side doors make your access to the inner part of the sump easier? 3) The orientation of the sump is also not rightly placed yet right? I notice there is a hole on the sump. That is for the main tank return piping which should be nearer to the back of the cabinet. 4) Your skimmer height seems quite high too... is it difficult to remove the collection cup? Or u will be using waste collector?

Hi Firestarter, yeah my yellow wrasse does the same. Sometimes, he just flicks the sand for whatever reason. Same thing for my leopard wrasse. If you have small frags of zoas, it is better not to place them on the sandbed. But the damage is not as bad as jawfishes. They just flick and go.. So it is usually in different spots.

actually I am thinking of trying to keep the blue metallic mushies again... very nice. I just re read your post and saw your sea cucumber comments... haha......

I dislike having protruding lightset leh.... hmmmmm....... maybe I will get the 1 ft T5 and if they are not strong enough, will ask Sherman to DIY a LED using that casing ....

kekeke.... kiko. you are the only one that talk sense... the rest of them are nuts.... wahahahah...

all your gems are hidden.....

wow ... everyone posting awesome photos today and you have been very busy my friend.

Guys, let's shoot for 19 June. a week earlier.

yeah.. awesome photography....

We miss you bro!

very nice yumas... purple, green, pink, orange....

where did RB come into the pic...? confirm in our tcss pm tml.

yeah... see which day you off next week, let me know then we can meet for lunch!

dunno leh... will check back with the grp tml morning.... no idea what is planned for tml. i might take leave if you guys are onz.

still say our tank has all the nice stuff.... yours too bro! and that bunch of bams bams..... wow.... so densely populated.

yeah.. did my memory fail me or did I just see a lot of new additions...... very nice... hey any update on your KR92?

wow thanks for sharing Mossrope! enlightening,.. will always make sure I get the brown ones

wow Wilson, you fish pics is so well taken........ I need to go and practice more. All your fishes looks so nice.... the percs are beautiful, the kole has nice eyelashes, clown goby looks so radiant, ...