The monk who became the
face of Ren Ci
Venerable Ming Yi's stunts turned him into an instant star and Ren
Ci became a well-known charity
Straits Times, The
(Singapore)
Singapore
November 8, 2007
Author: Ho Ai Li
IT WAS in 1994 that a young Buddhist monk took over the chronic
sick unit at the old Woodbridge Hospital and Ren Ci Hospital and
Medicare Centre was born.
The monk was the Venerable Ming Yi, then 33 and abbot of the Foo
Hai Ch'an monastery in Geylang East, which assumed responsibility
for the 174-bed unit.
He said he decided to act after hearing about the plight of the
chronically sick from Member of Parliament Yu-Foo Yee Shoon.
Today, Ren Ci, which means compassion in Chinese, is a household
name in the charity sector with an income of $30 million for the
financial year 2007.
Its premises at Jalan Tan Tock Seng and at its Buangkok View base
provided care for 119 nursing home patients and 295 chronic sick
patients, as of September.
Ren Ci remained relatively low-profile through the 1990s, despite
fund-raisers at the now defunct Neptune Theatre in 1995 and a 1999
stunt show at the National Stadium featuring the late Taiwanese
stuntman Blackie Ko and actors like Andy Lau and Eric Tsang.
Things changed when it held its first televised fund-raiser over
Channel U in 2003 and raked in $6.5 million from TV viewers who
phoned in their donations.
The Venerable Ming Yi became the instant star of the show when he
performed a daredevil stunt, abseiling down the 45-storey Suntec
Tower Two during that maiden TV charity show.
His performance had TV viewers calling in to donate at least $1
million and he was the talk of the town.
Since then, Ren Ci has held a TV fund-raiser every year, with the
Venerable Ming Yi's stunt being the most anticipated
highlight.
He immersed himself in a container filled with 1,000kg of ice in
2004, then balanced on a five-storey structure for nearly two hours
the following year. Last year, he walked across 20m-long, 15cm-wide
parallel beams suspended outside the 66th floor of Republic
Plaza.
In March this year, he tried to pull himself up the 23-storey City
House building in Shenton Way using a rope and pulley but had to
stop at the 17th floor when he was in danger of hurting
himself.
These shows and other fund-raisers brought in about $11 million in
the 2005 financial year and about $12 million the following year
but takings declined to $9.78 million in the 2007 financial
year.
But at the same time, Ren Ci has seen its income soar from another
source - tax-free donations, which rose from $1.98 million in
financial year 2005 to $8.8 million in financial year 2007.
In the wake of the National Kidney Foundation scandal in 2005,
there was discussion about the Venerable Ming Yi's pay as Ren Ci
chairman and chief executive officer.
He quashed talk that he earned more than $10,000 a month, saying
that he was just a volunteer and that his salary was taken care of
by his monastery.
The only period when he accepted a salary from Ren Ci was while his
monastery was being restored. For four years, he received $12,000 a
month but donated $6,000 back to Ren Ci.
He said it was Dr Ong Seh Hong, then clinical director and chief
operating officer (COO), who was the highest-paid staff member at
Ren Ci, drawing a monthly pay of $14,000.
Dr Ong, an MP for Marine Parade GRC, stepped down as COO last year
but remains in the key management position of clinical
director.
The Venerable Ming Yi has remained the face of Ren Ci, and has
attracted attention and some controversy over the years.
An old boy of Raffles Institution, articulate in English, and
equipped with a master's degree and PhD, his seemingly worldly
image puzzled some who noted his jetting about and being seen with
celebrities in Hong Kong.
Last year, he told Shin Min Daily News that he flew economy class
on study trips to other hospitals. But if believers invited him
overseas and provided first-class air travel, he would not
decline.
'If a believer invites you for a meal and takes you to a good
restaurant, does it mean I can go only to the foodcourt because of
my Ren Ci links?' he asked.
Ren Ci has about 300 employees. Its long list of patrons, advisers
and other supporters reads like a who's who of current and retired
politicians and civil servants and people in the private sector as
well.
Its website names its key officials as the Venerable Ming Yi; Dr
Ong; director of nursing Lim Joo Hong; director of the CEO's office
Susan Yeow; and assistant director of the clinical director's
office Puah Swee Lin.
Next year was due to mark a major milestone for Ren Ci with the
opening of its new 277-bed Ren Ci Hospital, in Irrawaddy Road, next
to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
It also has an upcoming fund-raiser - the Thousand Hand Guan Yin
charity concert to be held on Nov 16 and 17.
The Venerable Miao Quan, the charity's corporate affairs
administrator, told The Straits Times last night that the event,
like Ren Ci, will carry on even as the Ministry of Health's (MOH)
probe gets under way.
'We feel that what we do is very open and transparent,' she
said.
'Like our financial statements, they are all available to the
public. Whatever the MOH wanted, we have given. The public will see
that.'
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Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited
