This was taken inside the Kai Yuan Temple in Quanzhou during my recent trip to China. The girls were tourists visiting the city.
1/13/2009
The Seng Han Thong Incident
With sentiments and emotions calming down, lets take a second look at the Seng Han Thong Incident and the reactions in the media. The main media's reaction was quite expected, shock and awe and condemnation. The reaction in cycberspace was distinctively different.
The immediate response to the incident showed a lack of sympathy, more of a it was coming and to be expected. Some went to the extent of rooting for it, that it was deserving. There was a kind of release of anger and frustration, not necessarily to Seng Han Thong in particular but to the govt as a whole.
The mood in several of the forums were very negative. Here we had an MP being set on fire and these people were taking it in their stride, like a protest against the govt. This is definitely an unhealthy development and would set the party thinking why? The oldies were the party's strongest supporters all these years. The violent act was conducted by an oldie. The reaction in cyberspace came from a bigger spectrum, from oldies to the youngies.
Could this be a little indication of bottled up feelings that need an expression and the incident was just it? Could more outlets for kpkb and letting off steam help to release the pressure along the way leading to less explosive actions? Suppressing expression of anger and frustration could only keep the feelings under the lid. When the heat gets too high, suppressing them will do more harm.
Maybe the new year angpow could soothe some nerves and let the incident pass quickly as another unfortunate incident, to be forgotten. It was a shocking incident that was totally unexpected in a first world country. Perhaps many of the people are still of the third world with their world habits and mentality.
We have yet to hear from the horse mouth the reason for the attack. The old man may have been a mental patient but that doesn't mean he will go round hurting people, otherwise, he would have been locked up. The million dollar question is why did he target SHT and not others? I don't buy the idea that he set SHT ablaze for not getting $100 angpow.
ReplyDeletei think the old man is just cranky. but why would he plan the attack on the MP? it takes quite a lot of work to buy the thinner, get the lighter, waiting and timing, and a lot of guts to do it in front of everyone.
ReplyDeletewe may not know the full story.
Attacking someone the way he did was totally out of order. However, like you said we need to hear the whole truth. Why did he attack the MP and not someone else? Was it a random attack or was it planned. There must be more to it than meets the eye. Will we ever hear the whole tooth? I doubt that.
ReplyDeleteYou will never know the full story or the whole truth...just like how Ong Chit Chung died of natural cause in his own home.
ReplyDeleteThe only truth will be those from the old media, but you must add a pinch of salt to it, otherwise, not so palatable lah!
ReplyDeleteU must understand that life is very difficult for many poor HDB Singaporeans, despite the appearance of wellness. Many are often struggling to make ends meet, and many cannot do so.
ReplyDeleteA part of Singapore is black and dark, a term in local dialect, to mean opaqueness and uncertainty in public affairs.
ReplyDeleteHope all is ok.
ReplyDeleteSweet, baby sweet. Damn good entertainment.
ReplyDeleteDisagree with me? Think I'm being insensitive? FIRE away! (wow an inappropriate pun)
This is a quote from the book The Wisdom of Confucius (page 39):
ReplyDeleteWhen a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are something to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honors are something to be ashamed of.
"Chinese New Year Ang Pow" -- it will be retrenchment .. retrenchment... retrenchment... we lost so much money and now jobs will have to go to cut costs.
ReplyDeleteOld man is MAD and a MAD person have low IQ. Give him a can of kerosene and he will happily carry it. Sane person selling kerosene can see old man is MAD -WHY sell him?
WHY no pictures of Seng Han Tong showing him "botak" ie hair got burned?
gangster mentality ?.
ReplyDeletethe man has suffered enough. let's leave him alone. we should look at the bigger picture, why is such a vicious thing happening here? maybe it is better not to tell the losers about ugly truths. they would not understand.
ReplyDeleteIt's no big deal lah, Red bean. The ah pek who attacked Seng maybe a mental basket case, but at least he is more enlightened than three quarters of the Singaporean population who still think very highly of politicians of all leanings. In other countries, politicians get shot, hacked or have shoes thrown at them during press conferences. Seng should thank his lucky stars he only got away with 15% burns.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the moral of the story is:
ReplyDelete"Don't give out money that don't belong to you."
Yeah, on a personal note, I feel sorry for SHT. On a wider scale, I think it's hogwash to take the money collected from people and give them in terms of angpow publicly as a political stunt.
C'mon, we are in a 1st world country. This tactics happen in developing countries. No wonder they get 3rd world country response.
Kaffein
PS I condemn the attack as I do not think any man should be a victim of such a ghastly assault.
hi kaffein,
ReplyDeletei have exactly the same feelings about the issue and poor seng han thong. no justification for hurting him.
you perception of collecting money from the people to return to them as angpow seems to slip out in many people's mind. they only see the giving and not the taking.
What I truly dialike is the spin that PAP must put on every happening under the sun,in happiness,in tragedies,in sadness and in horror.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't PAP,the house of wisdom,grow up?when???
Sinner-Spore
hi sinner,
ReplyDeleteremember maslow's 5th level of needs?
Once money leaves your pocket, it is no longer yours. That money for all intents and purposes, below to the Government. The ruling party of the day then has the power to spend that money in any way as it sees fit, usually for its own political benefit. That is the way politics works in all countries, so get off your high horses, take off your rose-tinted glasses and look at reality staring at you in the face.
ReplyDeleteYes,who do not know how politics work in all countries except the commies.?
ReplyDeleteBut do remember that in other countries,there is something called check & balances,thers is the 4th estate,etc,ect
Some people may not hv heard about it before,but I would not call this high horse lah,pardon.
Sinner-Spore
He missed out on $100 - now with life in prison - he will get three square meals and medical attention - what an exchange for a mere $100 - next time PAP will prepare more $100 ang-pows just in case many decide to seek free bed & breakfast in concrete hotel.
ReplyDeletecan this incident be taken lightly as a cranky incident or it is something real serious and we are seeing the tip of the iceberg?
ReplyDeleteIt is the start of a revolt against all bloody politicians. About time, I would say.
ReplyDelete