http://www.cantbustme.com/surf.php?...IwRG93biUyMFNvdXRo##38;sec=Insight Down South
Where money holds sway
INSIGHT: BY SEAH CHIANG NEE
The large salaries paid to the elite is pushing many Singaporeans towards an unhealthy chase for the dollar.
THE trial of a high-living Bud_dhist monk who owns three properties and loves luxurious cars has shown how far Singapore has fallen under a money culture.
It is the latest of an ongoing debate whether this affluent city is over-paying its leaders in government, big business, big charities and religion.
Even priests and monks, who should be the last people to be involved, are not spared, the latest being one of Singapore’s top Buddhist monks.
He is Venerable Shi Ming Yi, who ran a popular and successful Buddhist hospital and medical centre for the poor.
As CEO and chairman of Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre with assets of S$47mil (RM112mil) , largely on public donations, he was paid a whopping annual salary of S$192,000 (RM461,000).
The saffron-robed monk, aged 47, is facing charges over an unauthorised loan from Ren Ci’s coffers to his ex-personal aide.
He is accused of embezzlement and fraud, which are serious charges. But for a monk who has taken the vow of worldly abstinence, it is more like a bombshell; and for Buddhist followers, too.
The furore is even being played out outside the court-room, focused on his CEO-type salary that allowed him to live a lavish lifestyle, which critics say is unbecoming of a monk.
He had spent large amounts on branded goods like Montblanc and Louis Vuitton and stays at luxury hotels such as St Regis and The Regent, charged to credit cards.
Singaporeans have learned that Rev. Ming Yi owns three properties in the posh Orchard area as well as an expensive car (including a BMW in Australia two years ago.).
“All this is totally against Buddha’s teaching,” a critic exclaimed.
Another blogged: “Any monk that takes money as his private or personal income should be de-robed. Monks have taken a vow to give up material wants except for basic needs.”
The Christian faith, too, is not excluded by society’s grip of the money culture.
The majority of religious leaders of all denominations live frugally on moderate incomes.
The big organisations involved in large fund-raising could provide the exception.
A few are paid like CEOs because their efforts rake in large amounts of money from followers.
One of the richest is the New Creation Church, known for its fund-raising abilities, and was reported to have paid one of its leaders more than S$500,000 (RM1.2mil) last year.
The church had an income of S$55.4mil (RM133mil) and total assets of S$143.36mil (RM344mil) last year.
In just one day alone it pulled in S$18mil (RM43mil) for the building of its new premises.
Singaporeans are reminded of the notorious National Kidney Founda_tion charity scandal four years ago caused by its brilliant fund-raising CEO.
T.T. Durai was the very person who had helped it grow into a S$260mil (RM625mil) charity to provide subsidised dialysis treatment for needy patients.
Durai’s salary of S$600,000 (RM1.4mil), which was hidden from the public, was considered excessive by many of its two million donors.
He lost the job in 2005 when he was found to have spent the charity’s funds on luxury items (including a gold tap for an office) for personal use. He also gave misleading information to lure more people to contribute.
Recently, a public outcry arose when government-controlled Capita_land, South-East Asia’s biggest property company, gave its CEO Liew Mun Leong S$20.52mil (RM49mil) for 2007’s enlarged profit.
The timing was terrible; the company’s profits were reeling.
Continue on next page......
Where money holds sway
INSIGHT: BY SEAH CHIANG NEE
The large salaries paid to the elite is pushing many Singaporeans towards an unhealthy chase for the dollar.
THE trial of a high-living Bud_dhist monk who owns three properties and loves luxurious cars has shown how far Singapore has fallen under a money culture.
It is the latest of an ongoing debate whether this affluent city is over-paying its leaders in government, big business, big charities and religion.
Even priests and monks, who should be the last people to be involved, are not spared, the latest being one of Singapore’s top Buddhist monks.
He is Venerable Shi Ming Yi, who ran a popular and successful Buddhist hospital and medical centre for the poor.
As CEO and chairman of Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre with assets of S$47mil (RM112mil) , largely on public donations, he was paid a whopping annual salary of S$192,000 (RM461,000).
The saffron-robed monk, aged 47, is facing charges over an unauthorised loan from Ren Ci’s coffers to his ex-personal aide.
He is accused of embezzlement and fraud, which are serious charges. But for a monk who has taken the vow of worldly abstinence, it is more like a bombshell; and for Buddhist followers, too.
The furore is even being played out outside the court-room, focused on his CEO-type salary that allowed him to live a lavish lifestyle, which critics say is unbecoming of a monk.
He had spent large amounts on branded goods like Montblanc and Louis Vuitton and stays at luxury hotels such as St Regis and The Regent, charged to credit cards.
Singaporeans have learned that Rev. Ming Yi owns three properties in the posh Orchard area as well as an expensive car (including a BMW in Australia two years ago.).
“All this is totally against Buddha’s teaching,” a critic exclaimed.
Another blogged: “Any monk that takes money as his private or personal income should be de-robed. Monks have taken a vow to give up material wants except for basic needs.”
The Christian faith, too, is not excluded by society’s grip of the money culture.
The majority of religious leaders of all denominations live frugally on moderate incomes.
The big organisations involved in large fund-raising could provide the exception.
A few are paid like CEOs because their efforts rake in large amounts of money from followers.
One of the richest is the New Creation Church, known for its fund-raising abilities, and was reported to have paid one of its leaders more than S$500,000 (RM1.2mil) last year.
The church had an income of S$55.4mil (RM133mil) and total assets of S$143.36mil (RM344mil) last year.
In just one day alone it pulled in S$18mil (RM43mil) for the building of its new premises.
Singaporeans are reminded of the notorious National Kidney Founda_tion charity scandal four years ago caused by its brilliant fund-raising CEO.
T.T. Durai was the very person who had helped it grow into a S$260mil (RM625mil) charity to provide subsidised dialysis treatment for needy patients.
Durai’s salary of S$600,000 (RM1.4mil), which was hidden from the public, was considered excessive by many of its two million donors.
He lost the job in 2005 when he was found to have spent the charity’s funds on luxury items (including a gold tap for an office) for personal use. He also gave misleading information to lure more people to contribute.
Recently, a public outcry arose when government-controlled Capita_land, South-East Asia’s biggest property company, gave its CEO Liew Mun Leong S$20.52mil (RM49mil) for 2007’s enlarged profit.
The timing was terrible; the company’s profits were reeling.
Continue on next page......
