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, raunchy music videos 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.
Check out how it raised funds for the impending
move.
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?
ksoon
on June 2, 2010 at 3:00 am
If we are to say that CHC is innocent until proven otherwise,
then why are they linked to other fraud cases like Ming Yi, NKF,
Youth Challenge?
If the journalistic ethic codes are to be applied here, I guess
the media is just not putting them at a fair and just platform but
a off-balanced one, no?
Quoting quotes from both parties (for & against) does not
make your piece a balanced writing. You could say you are fair by
asking opinions from both sides, but obviously, NOT balance. By
trying to deny their work on the community, well that’s a fact. Why
not try to find out how many people they have helped? Instead of
suggesting how many luxurious cars they bought – which, could be
not true. None of the facts and figures are cited from the reliable
sources anyway so why not, do your homework first before anything
is posted up?
I am concern, at how the media reporting their news nowadays, no
longer just reporting the information, but sensationalize it,
painting pictures, suggesting things that might not be true and
misleading because media holds the power to shape opinion. What is
the reason for all this? Just so that people would come to your
website more? Or simply because you hold something against the
issue.
Perhaps this is just another platform for people to write
whatever they want, forfeiting the real role of journalist/media.
What a pity.
KT on
June 2, 2010 at 6:52 am
Agree with PAul and Relak Brudder, Church is not a charity
organisation, they dont go around asking for donation. In fact it
is the duty of Christian to tithe. In fact, Pastor Kong always
talks about dont give if you are not happy because GOD loves a
cheerful giver.
Just wonder if i willing to give my son money and he squander it,
what can i do ? Can i go to COC or CAD to report him ?
Telf
on June 2, 2010 at 7:25 am
Let us not forget that the people donate to the Church or any
other organisation voluntarily. Money is needed to expand the
Church and extend welfare to people less fortunate. Some money has
to be kept in reserve but nobody can possibly say how much is
enough. If the 310 million was just given to poor people then it
would be a one off thing whereas building a future will create more
help and charity in the long term. A poor man cannot help a poor
man!
Frontier on June 2, 2010 at 7:28
am
It is clear that somethings are not right, if not the CAD would
not have arrested 17 people an grill them form more than 18hours,
and taken 400 boxes of evidence away for investigation. If church
is not a charity organisation what for do they need so much money
to buy suntec and a 47 milllion building?
purpleluv09 on June 2, 2010 at 7:28
am
Totally agree that this article is outright biased. Please don’t
point fingers without knowing what’s going on. By the way, the
people who tithe and donated did not make noise. So why are the
public so concerned, i wonder.
RK on
June 2, 2010 at 7:31 am
KT on June 2, 2010 at 6:52 am
Agree with PAul and Relak Brudder, Church is not a charity
organisation, they dont go around asking for donation. In fact it
is the duty of Christian to tithe. In fact, Pastor Kong always
talks about dont give if you are not happy because GOD loves a
cheerful giver.
Just wonder if i willing to give my son money and he squander it,
what can i do ? Can i go to COC or CAD to report him ?
————————————————
When you give it to your son, it’s your son’s, so let him
spend.
When you give tithing to your church, it’s your church’s, so let it
spend.
Remember, it is your church’s money ok, not your pastor’s.
But even if you let your church spend your money in anyway.
Remember that churches have other standards governing them.
Your son can spend your money on booze, but a church can’t.
So different, how to compare?
Clara
Ho on June 2, 2010 at 7:54 am
Has the final judgment been passed? As if you know what is
going, talk so much only you people. ZZZZZZZ
WY on
June 2, 2010 at 8:23 am
You Guys Need To Understand that nothin gis comfirmed and you
simply can’t say “another NKF” case!I’ve attended CHC since 2004
and I have seen our money being put to good use! After reading
comments like : Stupid Church, stupid pastor etc. I am really very
mad at these people! What proof that you have that CHC is Guilty??
None Right? So don’t start talking rubbish if you don’t have any
proof!And Btw, we people voluteer to donate and the Church DOES NOT
FORCE US TO DONATE!
Sophie on June 2, 2010 at 8:41
am
It’s not confirmed that Pastor Kong really did that yet. God
says we shouldn’t judge people based on just this. We aren’t the
judge. God is. Maybe all this is part of God’s plan. Maybe a
misunderstanding to raise people’s awareness of Christianity. I
dunno. I believed in Pastor Kong. He’s a great pastor. He and Sun
Ho spent over 20 years of tremendous effort jus to build CHC. He
won’t just throw these efforts into the drain just like this. It’s
cos of his calling from God to build the church. I believe he won’t
disappoint God. There must be a reason behind this incident.
Something uncovered. Something yet to be found. God works in
mysterious and mighty ways. According to my pastor, Pastor Kong
prayed earnestly for a bigger area at suntec and because God
recognises his prayer, it became priority prayer and God really
grant him the wish and encourage him to grow the church even
further. He is and always will be a respected pastor.
paser
on June 2, 2010 at 8:49 am
the result is not out yet so the people who are talking nonsence
better stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
will keep chc in prayers!!!!!!!!!!!!!I know God is a good God So
CHC havr faith and we will overcome this situation!!!!!!!!!!
penthopia on June 2, 2010 at 8:56
am
Let god be the JUDGE? What crap talk. In real world right now….
the government is the judge. If you are bad people, God will punish
you when you died or when you are not around in this world. Pls
wake up and stop dreaming. Right now…government is the real GOD.
Judgement is by them. Dig that?
bird
on June 2, 2010 at 8:57 am
under investigation = test from God
convicted = forgive and forget
acquitted = praise lord
so easy!
