What are MOE's and Aware's positions?

The MOE had investigated and had banned the Aware CSE programme for the time being and is reviewing the contents from all the service providers of these programmes. MOE has also made its stand clear, that it follows the govt's policies of promoting healthy lifestyle with the family as the basic building block of our society. What the MOE needs to do is to clarify how the CSE programme was given the go ahead to be taught to school children. Was it an oversight or was it approved initially as acceptable until parents complained? As an oversight, it can be corrected by doing more due diligence. What is worrisome is that MOE could actually support such contents. Parents need an assurance that it is not. And MOE owes the parents who don't approved of the undesirable contents an explanation on how it came about. What is the true position of MOE on this? Similarly, Aware needs to publicise its position on the teaching of such material to school children. The Aware's content promotes homosexuality, anal sex and pre marital sex as normal. Is sodomy normal? Would Aware clarify where it stands on these issues? Is it for, against or neutral?

Mas Selamat – The Superman

We have heard it over and over again, Mas Selamat is a Superman. Not only that he could slip out of a heavily guarded detention centre, right under the noses of officers and guards, in broad day light, and disappeared for more than a year, terrorist experts are heaping praises on him, that he is an expert in terrorist acts, in making bombs, a determined man, a highly intelligent operator and what ever you can make him out to be. Basically he is smarter and more intelligent than any of the security officers we have in service. He is Superman! His latest exploit was to swim across the Straits of Johore, using improvised flotation gear. From what we read in the media, it was very likely that he strung together a pile of plastic bottles, tied probably with raffia strings or lallangs, and swum across the strait that was heavily patrolled by the coastguards in search of him. Ok, swimming across the 1.2km strait is no problem as school children could also do it easily. I definitely can’t. In the case of Mas Selamat, his comrade disclosed that he was a bad swimmer. Added to that, he has a bad leg that limps. So how could he swim across with such disabilities and handicaps. The obvious answer is that he had the help of some kind of propulsion. I think all he needed was to fart all the way and for an hour or so. That would take him across the strait. The only precaution he needed was to ensure that his farting was not too loud to be heard.

More transparency and less hostility

We have all heard calls for more inclusiveness and homosexuality is normal. It is also normal to teach children that homosexuality is an alternative lifestyle, and sexuality is normal, including pre marital sex. I have ventured into Catherine Lim's blog and read her article which suggested that parents should not imposed their values on their children. But is the Aware CSE programme imposing its values on children? The general impression I got is that many sophisticated adults, with many years of experience and widely read and travelled, assumed that children, in the early teens, are smart, well informed like them, and mature enough to make life choices on value loaded issues like sexuality, premarital sex, etc. And in her blog, there was one Beka who claimed to be a youth and very knowledgeable about such things, implying that all children are as knowledgeable and well informed as him/her. I asked him/her for his/her age as a 'youth'. From her post, I believe he/she will be a youth in her late 20s or 30s or older. There is no comparison to a child in her lower teens or pre teens. At those tender age, they are very vulnerable. Anyway, I got a few presumptious responses for my post in Catherine's blog that were clearly hostile and arrogant. Of course they called me presumptious, arrogant and ignorant. And I can clearly see where they are coming from. To be fair, to be transparent and open in our discussion over such 'normal issues' it is better that we know the background of the person speaking. I mean just the person's sexual orientation. This will help to make one understand why things were said in such a manner, and the values and experience that formed the basis of the positions taken. I am straight and hetero. I am normal. I do not feel ashame or any need to hide this information. And if the homosexuals do believe that they are normal, than they too should not feel ashamed to reveal their orientation. Then we can have a healthy discussion, with a better understanding of why the other is taking such a position. And this is a discussion between mature adults, not between arrogant and demanding individuals who only want others to see their points of view as the only right view. Homosexuality and heterosexuality are not something that we can ascribe right or wrong to them. Let's talk about them with some civility without getting emotional as if one who does not agree is an enemy and going after the other's lifestyle.

The Aware Saga and homosexuality

I do not want to belabour this event to give it too much credit. But I just want to touch on one aspect that the media and the white shirts would not want the people to see. The issue that most people have come to remember this episode is a Christian group gate crashing into a secular organisation, taking control of it and tried to impose its Christian values on the organisation. Is this what it was all about? Many unthinking people will believe so. And they rallied to this message to fight the 'Christian Talibans'. I didn't coined this phrase. And the church also dissociated itself from this group of Christians. The rest is history. Is this the real story or is this the whole story? One major aspect of this struggle that was swept under the carpet is the issue of homosexuality. This was scantily mentioned or ignored completely by the media and even the church and all the religious organisations. What is the stand of the media on this? What is the stand of all the religious organisations and civil organisations on this? Silence....No one bothers to talk about it either. The religious organisations, especially the church, has no stand, no view or opinion on homosexuality and imparting such values to our children in schools. This was not an issue at stake and not an issue for discussion. Now that the 'Christian Talibans' have been removed, would this homosexual fad be a topic worthy of discussion in our media?

Mas Selamat - A staged escape?

I am pondering over this theory, that the whole thing was staged. Ah, unbelieveable, far fetched? It is just a theory and let me piece the facts together including some possible reasons that this could be the biggest, carefully managed escape of our history. When Mas escaped, there was a confluence of mistakes or events to facilitate his disappearance. The gurkha soldier and the ISD officer appeared to be like school prefects, so amateurish to the point of being clumsy and inept. I would have very strong reservation to place my trust on these people to look after our security. They are professionals and professionally trained. So on these points, I don't believe that they were what they were made to look like. Secondly, the detention centre is not a school compound without any security or security officers guarding them. The so called slips and a CCTV system that was not functioning at the precise moment left much to wonder. The search after the escape was another laughable episode. I think officially they only found out that Mas had escaped long after he was gone. And mounting the search party was also long after he was gone. The search party arrived to search the wrong area, in the residential area and left out the MacRitchie Reservoir corridor completely. No tracker dog was deployed. So much for all the misses that could put a big dent on the credibility, capability and intelligence of our security personnel. I too don't believe that our security people are so silly. So something must be missing here. And the damages, the credibility of ISD and the reputation of Kan Seng were at stake. Were these a good price to pay for to stage such an escape? What could possibly happen? A chip was planted in Mas Selamat. So he could go no where and could be brought back at our pleasure, time and place of our own choosing. The benefits, to test how efficient such a chip works, and all the movements and contacts Mas could lead our security people to. Imagine watching him and his JI members in action like watching mice in a controlled lab environment! Then there were exercises that could be mounted, mobilising the people and security personnel in a situation that was as real as it could get. The gains of staging such an escape are tremendous. Now after more than a year watching him and seeing how he operated, and before he gets too dangerous, and with his contacts exposed, it is time to bring him back. By now, the whole JI operations could be an open book to the security people of Malaysia, Indonesia and us. Worth it isn't it? There are many clues that this could be staged. The April 1 arrest of Mas Selamat screamed April Fool. Possible? Just allowing my imagination to go wild. Let's wait to hear Mas Selamat's story.