Nice things come in simple packages

Even as the year comes to a close, it’s not too late to visit the Centenary exhibition of the Singapore Anglican Diocese at the St Andrew’s Cathedral Welcome Centre. Titled “His Glory, His Name, His Honour”, the FREE exhibition features the history of how the Anglican movement in Singapore progressed from being subsumed under the Indian order to become an independent Diocese with 26 churches and 6 overseas deaneries all over Southeast Asia.





Among the most interesting exhibits are the Charters signed by Queen Victoria, the historical timeline of Anglican movement in Singapore and the historical artefacts they found in an archaeological dig before they built the St Andrew’s Cathedral Welcome Centre and the basement annex. It was really fascinating to think of how Christianity was brought to this part of the world by the guns and diplomacy of the British colonialists. In any case, I am pretty sure along the way there were more than a few kind hearted missionaries (as compared to the shrewd British businessmen and politicians) who didn’t mixed their religion with politics.

Most inspiring was the simple but elegant portrayal of the selfless missionary work done by the Anglicans in the past 100 years, including setting up schools, orphanages, hospitals and hospices. Although they continue to serve society today alongside sectarian establishments, but one can only wonder the importance of their work during the pre-independence where such social services were lacking. I will let the pictures do the talking.

The Death Penalty and Yong Vui Kong

There are a few things running around in blogosphere and although they seem to be one issue, it’s really better to treat them as separate and argue their merits separately. Lumping them together will only dilute the message:

1) Those who are anti-death penalty in all circumstances
2) Those who are anti-death penalty for drug related offences
3) Those who are anti-MANDATORY death penalty for drug offences
4) Those who pity Yong Vui Kong and hopes that he will be spared

Personally, I am mixed on such a grave issue, but precisely because of its graveness there appears to be no room for fence-sitters. Honestly, I think the strong deterrence factor of the death penalty does have its merits especially in today’s chaotic world. Naturally, deterrence is not the only factor in the low number of violent crimes/murder/kidnaps/armed offences that we have in Singapore. A lot of the credit has to go to the effective police force because the strongest deterrence is to know that the likelihood of getting caught is high. I dare say, almost gingerly, that, at least in the case of Singapore, a strong judicial system in tandem with an effective law enforcement agency has resulted in a safe and peaceful society.

Even the Christians ourselves are not agreeable on the death penalty – some say “Thou shall not murder” whereas others say “Thou shall not kill”. In actual fact, there are numerous mentions of instances in the Bible whereby certain offences, like murder, incest, adultery and even stealing (kidnapping to be precise), warrant the death penalty, but on the other hand, we have Jesus admonishing us to “turn the other cheek” and “may he who has not sin cast the first stone”. Was Jesus’ conduct, or at least the retelling of Jesus’ conduct, meant to accentuate his benevolence? What’s the Lord’s stance on death penalty? Is it as written in Romans 13:3-4 – He (Govt) is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath – does it apply to secular societies like ours? But if we return to one of the key text of Christianity, i.e. The Ten Commandments, it clearly says that certain crimes are punishable by death.

So is the death penalty applicable drug trafficking? Considering the adverse effects of drugs and that drugs are highly addictive, I would say that any proponent of death penalty in drugs offences would have many supporters. Some might even argue that the destructive effects of drugs are equivalent to murder (overdose and AIDS), adultery and abducting away loved ones. From government’s point of view, the death penalty and effective enforcement are cornerstones which have kept Singapore relatively free from drugs and its gang-related activities, so why change something that is working.

If that's the case, how can we refine it? Would an increase in weight of narcotics that warrants the death penalty be more humane? Or would it dilute the harsh message that Singapore wants to send out? It seems to me to please neither camp. How about a minimum age for traffickers that can be sentenced to death? That would only make drug bosses use younger mules.

One way of refining the law would be removing the mandatory death sentence and I support this motion. In fact, most of those hanged in Singapore prisons are drug traffickers and Yong Vui Kong would unlikely be the last sad tale behind bars. With its removal, the judge can exercise discretion and compassion when sentencing, whereas currently the judge’s hands are bounded and would have to pass the death sentence if the offender is found to be guilty. Unless their refusal to remove mandatory death penalty stems from the desire to be necessarily draconian and to exonerate the judges from the burden of discretion and making precedence.

Also noteworthy is the fact that drug trafficking is not the only mandatory death penalty offence in Singapore. Murder is another one and we often find that prosecutors seek a lesser charge than murder, for e.g. culpable homicide or manslaughter. Perhaps for a surer conviction due to the lack of evidence, but it is also because different sections of the penal code can be applied to the same act. Are such lesser charges options applicable to drug traffickers who are young/caught in extenuating circumstances?

Finally, for those who sympathize with Yong, although he has another chance with the Court of Appeals, his chances are very slim indeed. After the refusal of clemency from the President, who had consulted the decision with the Cabinet, it seems very unlikely that the courts would rule very differently. If you will, join me in a prayer for Yong and may Yong and his family be strong come what may. It’s sad to see such a young life wasted because of careless youthful exuberance.

I ALone

Was re-listening to some of my old cds and came upon one of my most cherished albums during school days. Throwing Copper by Live. Hah, I think I was pretty much a grunge head back then. In fact, I have the cassette and the CD. Anyway there is this particular song titled "I Alone"...I was struck by its lyrics and how different it means to me now as before. Back then it was just a love song, like how that someone just make you think utterly depressing thoughts. But there I was lounging in my chair that I came to understand the full meaning of the song (at least to me it felt that way). Ed Kowalczyk, the Live frontman, was actually talking about his relationship with God and the pastors.

"It's easier not to be wise and measure these things by your brains,"..."it's easier not to be great and measure these things by your eyes"...cause' God knows better and he may have something else lined up. How can measure his greatness using our human senses?!

"And the greatest of teachers won't hesistate to leave you.."...Religion and Truth must be sought and practiced by oneself, the teachers and pastors can only guide you so much. Ultimately we are all chained to fate - we have to be responsible for our own study and subsequent actions. Religion and our relationship with God though framed by the Church and community is very much a personal one...we will receive the Judgment one day.

And of course, the I Alone in this is actually God...he do the things he does not to struck fear in us but to show us the right way and in doing so love us and safe us. FEAR IS NOT THE END OF THIS!

================================================
I Alone - Live

it's easier not to be wise
and measure these things by your brains
I sank into Eden with you
alone in the church by and by
I'll read to you here, save your eyes
you'll need them, your boat is at sea
your anchor is up, you've been swept away
and the greatest of teachers won't hesitate
to leave you there, by yourself, chained to fate

I alone love you
I alone tempt you
I alone love you
fear is not the end of this!

it's easier not to be great
and measure these things by your eyes
we long to be here by his resolve
alone in the church by and by
to cradle the baby in space
and leave you there by yourself chained to fate

I alone love you
I alone tempt you
I alone love you
fear is not the end of this!

oh, now, we took it back too far,
only love can save us now,
all these riddles that you burn
all come runnin' back to you,
all these rhythms that you hide
only love can save us now,
all these riddles that you burn

I alone love you
I alone tempt you
I alone love you
fear is not the end of this!

Archbishop of Canterbury meets The Pope

This is one for the photo album. A historic meeting between the two leaders after the Pope had invited disaffected Anglicans to the Catholic Church. But it's positive to see these two great men talking in the face of increasing secularism in our societies despite of their differences (think women bishops and same sex marriages). King Henry VIII and Martin Luther must be rolling in their graves. Hah.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury has held his first talks with Pope Benedict XVI since the Roman Catholic Church's unprecedented invitation to disaffected Anglicans, with the Vatican saying the two sides still want to press ahead for closer relations.

Archbishop Rowan Williams and Benedict met privately for 20 minutes on Saturday in what the Vatican called "cordial discussions" as part of what has clearly been a difficult visit by the Anglican leader.

The Vatican said in a brief statement that the two leaders "turned to the challenges facing all Christian communities" and the need "to promote forms of collaboration and shared witness in facing these challenges".

Referring to the recent overture for traditional Anglicans upset over the ordination of women and gay bishops to become Catholics, it said the talks reiterated "the shared will to continue and to consolidate the ecumenical relationship between Catholics and Anglicans".

Pope gifts Archbishop gold cross and denies 'poaching' converts

The Vatican said the Pope presented the Archbishop with a gold bishop's cross as a gift.

There was no immediate comment from the Anglican side and the Vatican declined to elaborate.

Since coming to Rome on Thursday, Williams has sought to downplay the implications of the Vatican's unprecedented invitation.

The Vatican says it was merely responding to the many Anglican requests to join the Catholic Church and has denied it was poaching converts in the Anglican pond.

But the move has already strained Catholic-Anglican relations and is sure to affect Williams' 77-million worldwide Anglican Communion, which was already on the verge of schism over homosexuality and women's ordination before the Vatican intervened.

Williams refers to 'elephant in the room'

In a speech at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Williams was gracious in referring to the Vatican's new policy, which he called the "elephant in the room". The policy was an "imaginative pastoral response" to requests by some Anglicans but broke no new doctrinal ground, Williams said.

He spent the bulk of his speech describing the progress that had been achieved so far in decades of Vatican-Anglican ecumenical talks and questioning whether the outstanding issues were really all that great.

Anglicans split from Rome in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. For decades, the two churches have held theological discussions on trying to reunite, part of the Vatican's broader, long-term ecumenical effort to unify all Christians.

But differences remain and the ecumenical talks were going nowhere as divisions mounted between liberals and traditionalists within the Anglican Communion itself.

The new policy allows Anglicans to convert to Catholicism but retain many of their Anglican liturgical traditions, including married priests. The Vatican will create the equivalent of new dioceses, so-called personal ordinariates, for these former Anglicans to be headed by a former Anglican priest or bishop.

Estimates on the number of possible converts has ranged from a few hundred to thousands.

Williams - the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion - wasn't informed of the change until right before it was announced.

It remains to be seen how the new policy will affect Pope Benedict XVI's planned trip to Britain next year. Saturday's Vatican statement did not mention it.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1137362/Pope-meets-Archbishop-of-Canterbury

New Video from Notorape.com

A Petition: No To Rape

This petition have been floating around for some time and somehow can't seem to gather much moss like the debates we had with the attempted repeals of Section 377A (or anal sex acts between consenting males). I have signed the petition as a Singaporean and as Christian; it is the right thing to do as women should not be expose to the fear of unpunished domestic violence and God had urged man and wife to treat one another with equal respect.

I will not attempt to rephrase the intention of this petition. It has been clearly and adequately put across by www.notorape.com and reproduced here:

The Penal Code currently provides loopholes to the offence of rape if the perpetrator and victim are married.

Section 375(4), known as the “marital rape exemption”, provides that non-consensual penetration by a man of his wife’s vagina, using his penis (“marital rape”), will not constitute the offence of “rape” except in limited circumstances.

Section 376A(5) provides a “marital rape exemption” whereby this offence is not committed by a man who uses his penis to penetrate the vagina of a girl who is under the age of 16, provided they are married to each other.

Every human being deserves the protection of the law from violence.

We propose the repeal of both Section 375(4) and Section 376A(5) so that the same penalties will be available to a court upon conviction of a perpetrator of marital rape, as with any other kind of rape.

Abolishing these exemptions will make the law consistent with criminalising violence to protect all individuals in Singapore society.

If like me, you agree with the advocators of this movement, please lend your voice by signing the petition. I believe that we can make a positive contribution here.

On a related note, Terence Lee of www.irreligiously.blogspot.com has questioned the Christian community on their involvement in the movement. Specifically, the involvement of certain personalities who have been rather forceful in their attempt to keep 377A. By and large, they have remained rather quiet in this discussion, perhaps not as important and perhaps not as sensational, but I think Terence Lee raised a valid by questioning their silence. He termed it "blatant hypocrisy"; I call it an obession on their part (with gays of course).

In any case, their silence notwithstanding, I hope fellow Christians will at least give the case of the petitioners a read and judge for themselves. It's only with the participation of fellow believers in such social issues that we can shape a better Singapore. The petition ends on 30th Nov 09. To God be the Glory.

Between a Cathedral and a Club

Haven't got much inspiration to write these few days, am feeling lethargic, maybe the crazy weather is getting into my bones. This article below caught my eye, a minor disagreement between a Cathedral and a dance club in KL, Malaysia. In land-locked, it won't be surprising if we had a similar problem. Fair enough, St John's Cathedral did raise some valid on how the club would disrupt the activities of church-goers, but this could also be an opportunity for the church to involve their church members and recruit more members. If this happened in Singapore, I hope we can solve it amicably and capitalise on the situation.


Club too close for church's comfort

They fear that the new club will disrupt their activities and also the serenity of the church. -NST

Wed, Oct 14, 2009
New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Parishioners of St John's Cathedral in the city are not pleased that a new entertainment club is set to open in front of their cathedral.

They fear that the new club, which is located in Jalan Gereja, will disrupt their activities and also the serenity of the church.

The parishioners are also afraid that there will be a repeat of what happened several years ago when another club was operating at the same place.

The new club is located at the same lot where the popular 11 LA and Boom Boom Room used to operate in the 1990s.

The parishioners claimed that previously, some of the patrons were rowdy and they drank and urinated in public. Fights also broke out between patrons.

A member of the St John's Cathedral parish pastoral council, Leonard Teoh, 68, said the cathedral and its parishioners were against the idea of having a club in their vicinity.

"What we were told was that there was an application put in for a restaurant. We had no idea that there was going to be a club. This is our place of worship and there should not be a club here," he said.

"The location of the club is too close to the church. We have prayer meetings on weekdays and we are afraid that the din from the club will disrupt our activities."

Teoh said club patrons had also inconvenienced churchgoers when they parked their vehicles in front of the cathedral's entrance.

"There is also a grotto of Our Lady near the entrance of the cathedral where parishioners come to light candles and pray. We don't want people parking their vehicles there," he said.

Parishioner S. A. Fernandez said that activities at the cathedral would be disrupted if the club was allowed to operate.

"The main road leading into Bukit Nanas is very narrow. An entertainment club in Lorong Gereja will add to the massive congestion in Bukit Nanas."

One of the club owners, Brian Suresh, 34, said he and his partners were willing to sit down and work things out with the cathedral's committee members.

Suresh, who is a Catholic, said he understood the plight of the parishioners.

"We understand that previously some of the patrons were unruly but we can reassure the parishioners that they have nothing to worry about. We will adjust the volume of the music when there are church activities, especially during the midnight mass on Christmas and New Year's eve. We will also deploy our security guards outside the church to ensure our patrons don't park in front of the cathedral," he said.

Suresh said that the club's operating hours would be between 9pm to 3am.

"We will not exceed the stipulated time that was given by the local authority," he said.

Suresh said that he had sought a meeting with the cathedral members but they had refused to meet him.

"We have contacted the cathedral office to ask for an appointment, but they refused to entertain us. We just want to explain to them that our operations will not interfere with their programmes," he said.

In a statement to Streets, City Hall said that the club had been given a licence for its premises but it had not been issued an entertainment licence.

NEW STRAITS TIMES

Beyond me-personal-sphere

Had some spare time to surf today and read this interesting post from givemesometruth.wordpress.com depicting how a Christian can lose his head and the argument in quick succession. Alastair Su, the author, even gave a rather official name, ad hominem, or personal attack. It's always important to keep your cool when debating, more so when debating on issues that are inter-linked with socio-religious ideas/topics. If someone senses that you are emotional on a certain point, it is only natural to expose it or keep questioning it hoping that you would break. As Christians, we should not only quote the Bible but give concrete real examples of the Bible manifested in our real world. We should argue with logic, cause-effect, and demonstrate that faith is not blind and irrational. The opposite number might not agree with us but at least they can appreciate our method of argument or where we are coming from. It's nice to know that there are others out there who are trying to bring forth Christianity view points in the sphere of new media.

P.S. This other post by the same author on Salvation is also worth reading. Simple and direct. Acceptance is just the beginning and only through the constant perfection of God's work that we can truly earn our place with HIM.

Prayers for Dollah Kassim

I am real Lions Fan, one of those you see at the National Stadium shouting my lungs out for the national team, be it the Malaysian Cup in the good old days or the Tiger Cup in more recent times. Yes, I own a 'Die Hard' shirt. One of our football heroes and a personal favourite of mine Dollah Kassim has been in critical condition since the match against the Selangor Veterans on 3 Oct. If you would, like me, include 'Gelek King' in your daily prayers. I really hope that he will get well soon and wake up to his children staying by his bedside.

Charities see Donations drop

Charities are seeing a big drop in donations. I don't think it's entirely due to the economic crunch because property launches and the stock markets are still buzzing. What the TODAY article failed to acknowledge is the bad publicity caused by many of the corrupted and pilfering charities. Yes, Singaporeans are disillusioned with the purported righteousness of charities. To me, that is sad, because there are many brothers and sisters out there doing good deeds and the money would make their mission so much easier. The article also talked about re-evaluating fund raising methods - lucky draw or lottery was one brought up. It sounds like TOTO/4D to me sometimes, I can;t quite put a finger on it besides admitting that it can quite effective. I am keen to believe that churches should get more enterprises and businesses involve - especially those of believers. The do-good spirit beckons as Christmas approaches.

TODAY ARTICLE

Title : Charities see big drop in donations, some urge rethink in fundraising methods
By :
Date : 05 October 2009 0622 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1009290/1/.html

SINGAPORE : A survey of 10 charities has revealed poor takings in the past financial year, with donations falling by as much as S$2.03 million.

While the economic downturn was cited as a reason, other factors include the end of fundraising drives held in other years.

But in Singapore, the Handicaps Welfare Organisation has bucked the trend, collecting over $171,000 more from the previous financial year.

A key to its success is its lucky draw fundraiser, which helped offset the drop in takings from flag days.

Charities interviewed by TODAY said the 'tin-can' method of the fundraising may not work as well as in the past, especially with growing competition among voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) for donor support.

Some have suggested going for more creative methods, such as lotteries similar to that run by the blind in Ireland.

For the charity sector, the government is one alternative source of funds.

Earlier it announced a $15 million contingency fund to help VWOs tide over the economic crisis.

About $9 million have so far been disbursed by the ministries of health, and community development, youth and sports. - TODAY

State of Play Up North

Surprisingly, at least to me, the churches up north are seemingly more active than those in Singapore inspite or despite of their majority Muslim population. A click of their website showed that they even organised a public forum on Malaysian's nuclear energy policy.

Straits Times last Saturday also ran an article on Council of Churches Malaysia and demonstrated how Christian organisations can participate constructively in civil society. The CCM has spoken strongly and righteously on several issues including the Shah Alam Section 23 cow's head protest, the death of Teo Beng Hock and Perak political saga.

Reverend Hermen Shastri of CCM puts it most aptly, "I think it augers well for moral responsibility. This is the responsibility of our faith." Already CCM have held dialogues with MCA and UMNO.

Although Christians only make up 9-10% of Malaysian population, I am sure they have much to contribute if they act responsibly and follow the examples taught in the Bible. The pandemic problem of corruption in many ASEAN states can be eradicated if citizens stop participating in it.

What about Spore where the Christian population is much more than 10%? Do we have a positive contribution to make to better Spore? With and In this blog, I say YES!

Between the Nerd n the Hustler

Someone read my blog and asked what I think about alternative journalism ventures such as Singanews or other online news portals. I told him I was a loner in school, you could either hang out with the nerdy kids (and I mean like serious nerds) and bore yourself out or create havoc with the hustlers and Ah Bengs...there weren't like simple cool kids, at least in my school there was a serious lack of it.

The mainstream media and (some of the) online so-called news website have that same dichotomy. Needless to say, MSM are the nerds! Hah. You just need to switch on Taiwanese news to understand what is really journalism. On the other hand, some of the online news website just go off on their on tangent and have their own agenda - not that having an agenda is wrong but it's just so annoying when one tints every article with that same bias viewpoint.

So I guess more opinions are good, the Spore market is small but hey, what's another online news portal. Anyway, that what internet and blogging is about - connecting and informing people.

TOC has posted Thio Li-ann's speech at the New Media Breakfast, while I don't agree with everything that she said, she did made some good points. Maybe that's fodder for the next post.

SINGANEWS-GUILTY UNLESS PROVEN INNOCENT

It’s peculiar how netizens are so quick to judge on Singanews – an online news portal that was soft launched in the Kum Yan Methodist Church on 9^th Sep 09. Singanews hasn’t even written a single word and people are fear mongering about a Christian conspiracy in public space. You can read about it in thevoiddeck and temasekreview as I had and I think they are not worthy of being reposted here.

Well, basically, they have problems with Singanews being softie launched in a church and sharing a stage with Thio Li-ann (she has death threats issued on her I think). They also have issues with the editorial being majority Christians and funding from individuals who profess Christianity as their religion (apparently it’s a crime to be a Christian online ;p). The Singapore parliament has many Christians and I don’t see netizens criticising MPs for pushing the Christian agenda/conspiracy in public. What about Christian editors in our major newspapers? Have you seen a Chritsian agenda being hawkered in the op-ed columns over the years? Have you seen Christian funded welfare organisations going around old folks and actively trying to ask them to give up their Buddha statues or Korans?

Simply put, they pick on one of the weakest kid on the block and gang-up against him, they find seemingly only circumstantial evidence and keep harping on it – repeating it countless times until they become the truth (age old tested tactic). Oh well, the people behind Singanews should have expected this when they decide to do their sofite launch (they could have ask their children how they behave online). A somewhat unwise move on their part, I think.

The Christian community is not homogeneous, and we don’t pretend to be one. There are just too many different groups and opinions out there (with regards to gays, abortions, proselytising etc). However, what we believe is listening and respecting others when they are speaking . Singanews may or may not represent what people termed as fundamentalists. Nonetheless, they should be applauded for having the will to organise and set-up an alternative news website, how many Singaporeans are willing to devote time and effort to such ventures? I hope they won’t stop before they even start. It would be a step backwards for the alternative online media.

A person must be understood and taken as a whole

A recent article TODAY article caught my eye and I have posted it below. Quoting research from NUS, it said that those who seek deep value in their religion and identify with statements like, "My whole approach to life is based on my religion", were more likely to engage in volunteer work. Surprisingly, only 6% volunteer with religious organization while most others volunteered with schools, charitable and non-profit groups.

This reminds me of PM Lee’s observation that religiousity is growing amongst Singaporeans and although religion is positive for individual and Singapore society, it could backfire if practiced aggressively. But no one bothered to ask him for the definition of an “aggressive” religion besides insensitive proselytizing. Can someone receive a good religion wholeheartedly including its beliefs and values but throw away the activism that comes along with it? To a true practitioner, religion forms his fundamental world view (including secular) and instead of nick-picking and trying to filter out the parts that are unpalatable, why not try to understand and harness this positive energy. Or maybe someone should start a checklist and tick those actions that would render religion a negative force?

Today Online

A flipside to the religious coin

05:55 AM Aug 29, 2009

by Neo Chai Chin

WARNINGS have been sounded over growing religiosity and the problems this could mean for the common, secular space in multiracial Singapore - but consider, also, a positive flipside to the trend.

New research by the National University of Singapore (NUS) shows that those who seek deep value in their religion, are more likely to volunteer their time to help their fellow man, regardless of his faith.

The finding, which emerged from a survey of 3,143 NUS undergraduates in May, was announced at Friday's launch of the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy (CSEP) at the NUS Business School.

Simply professing to a religion does not increase one's likelihood of volunteering, however. The survey found that those who participate in religious activities for extrinsic praise or rewards were not more inclined to volunteer - these were respondents who agreed to statements like, "I pray mainly to gain relief and protection".

In contrast, those who agreed with statements like "My whole approach to life is based on my religion" and "It is important to me to spend time in private thought and prayer", were more inclined to do volunteer work.

But their volunteering efforts do not appear to be church, temple or mosque-centric. Survey respondents who were active volunteers said they most often channelled their volunteering through their schools or charitable and non-profit groups.

Only about 6 per cent said a religious organisation.

And their volunteer work was most likely to support the education, social service, grassroots and youth sectors. Only 6 per cent said the religious sector.

Co-researcher and CSEP director Associate Professor Albert Teo said the encouraging findings "mitigate some concerns recently raised by politicians".

While some people may perceive the religious as "inward-looking", the results show they are "actually out to make a difference, and are helping people regardless of their religious affiliation".

The CSEP began work about a year ago, with the mission to advance research and education in philanthropy and social entrepreneurship.

It is currently working on case studies of local and foreign social enterprises, and developing a system to measure social value created by them.

Its preliminary research on local grant-making bodies revealed that 85 per cent of them contribute to educational causes, and 80 per cent to social welfare causes.

Just 17 per cent of them support arts, cultural and sports, while 13 per cent donate to causes outside of Singapore. But a shift towards these "non-essential" areas might take place in the next few years as the country matures, said Prof Teo.