Will not solve their abuse
The recent spate of domestic maid abuse cases that led to the threat by the Indonesian government to temporarily halt sending their domestic helpers to Malaysia is a blow for our reputation as being friendly, kind and hospitable particularly to foreigners.
To demonstrate its grave concern for the welfare of these foreign workers, the government had introduced a number of new regulations for potential employers, the latest being the compulsory weekly one-day rest for all maids. Its motive for introducing the compulsory day off may be good and commendable but it is not the main contention in the issue of maid abuse as most would agree that adequate rest must be given to the maids. However indiscriminate enforcement of this rule may create unnecessary inconvenience and disadvantages to the majority of employers who are considerate and caring for their maids.
Maid abuse by employers is a serious offence that must not be condoned whatsoever but it must be remembered that the vast majority of Malaysian employers treat their maids reasonably well and take good care of their welfare. We know that there are many employers who treat them like members of their own families, being caring, kind, considerate and humane. These employers must be given some leeway to manage their maids in the way they see it as best for them. By implementing a blanket one-day rest rule for all maids the good employers may be unfairly punished whereas the errant ones may find their way out to escape the effects of the law.
It is very sad that many of our maids are lured into the country with false promises. Many are made to believe that they will be employed as factory workers and not as domestic maids. They react with anger and resentment when they realize the truth on landing on our shores. They just wait to escape at the slightest opportunity they get. Who will take the financial and legal responsibility if these maids run away?
It must also be remembered that the vast majority of our domestic maids come from very poor socio-economic background with low literacy rate. Many of them are ignorant on managing their meager income and I am afraid that by allowing them day off will result in overspending leaving with no savings when they leave the country on completion of their contract. Many employers go out of the way to act as financial advisors to help their maids to save as much as they can while they are with them.
Giving them a day off and allowing them full freedom to go will only be subjecting them to unnecessary risks like robbery, assault, rape and cheating. Some of them could easily be lured into immoral activities that expose them to all forms of diseases, drug abuse and crime which the employer can least afford to be involved. As an employer is directly responsible for the safety of his maid, it would be grave injustice if a good employer is dragged into such problems of his maid which is no fault of his. Wouldn’t it be better if the employer is allowed some freedom and discretion to provide what is best for her?
Education not compulsion is the key to overcome the problem of maid abuse. The maid and the employer must be educated on their rightful roles and duties. They must be educated to realize that they should be engaged for mutual benefit and the terms of their employment agreement must be adhered to strictly at all times. A rest day may be given if the maid chooses to have it but she must remain in the vicinity of the watchful eyes of the employer. However if she opts for monetary compensation then it should be granted if the employer needs her services on the rest day.
Human Resources Ministry must conduct an in depth study into the issue of compulsory one-day off rule before implementing it indiscriminately. It should get the feedback from the employers, maid agencies and other relevant bodies before coming to any conclusive decisions. Although there are advantages and disadvantages of enforcing such a rule, there seems to be more negative repercussions than positive ones.
There are good and bad employers so are domestic maids. What is important is to ensure that the majority who are good should not be punished because of a few bad hats. The latter be it employers or maids must be sought out and punished in accordance with the laws.
Over sixty years ago Mahatma Gandhi said “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. Today it may be more apt to say that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its citizens treat their fellow humans regardless of race, creed and social status.
Dr.Chris Anthony
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Father's day 2009 : A tribute to Uncle Paul
The final journey
As I reached the crowded hospital ward, I saw Uncle Paul lying on his bed semi-comatose, gasping and on nasal oxygen. He looked so thin and emaciated that I could hardly recognize him. I held his hand firmly and called him but there was no response whatsoever from him. Then all of a sudden he took a deep breath which was his last. Uncle Paul died peacefully in front of me. It was as though he had patiently waited for me since his admission for a serious lung infection 3 days earlier. I cursed myself for not going to see him earlier.
Uncle Paul was an elderly gentleman whom I had the privilege of being befriends over the last 2 years or so, having met him on a number of occasions recently. Uncle Paul had journeyed through life for the past 87years until his demise on 15 May 2009.His vast experiences in his life added further to the many lessons I have learnt in my own. I hope a brief description of this wonderful person will enrich your own experiences in dealing with those around you.
I always believe that every human is a marvelous creation of God, who is a chest of knowledge and experience waiting to be tapped. Uncle Paul is undeniably such a marvelous creation of His.
In a world that is so materialistic, so competitive and so advanced in technology, when we are so busy toiling to make ends meet we have very little time for old people like Paul who have nothing valuable to contribute to our advancements. We fail to realize that every human, regardless of race and religion, young or old, rich or poor is a chest of treasure and knowledge for us in life to be tapped for our own benefit and the benefit of those around us.
In fact many of us today do not have the time even for our own aged parents, who have made us what we are now. We find so many excuses to send them away somewhere hoping they would be happier there than being with us. We pass the responsibility to others who may even be strangers, hoping that they can provide better care and comfort than us in our own homes. One such place is the old folk’s homes that are mushrooming all over the country due to the tremendous increase in demand. We may have no choice so do they as all old people will never opt for such a place if only they had a choice to be taken care in their own homes.
Uncle Paul stayed in one such home and he appeared happy to be in the company of fellow inmates. Fortunately he still received his monthly pension to pay for his maintenance at the home. His basic needs were taken care of reasonably well and he was regularly visited by his children, relatives and friends. Some visit him out of duty others out of courtesy but it was encouraging that there were a number of them who did so out of love for him as a fellow human, bringing him food and gifts he liked and missed most. Like all parents, he never blamed his children for sending him there, but we knew that deep inside he missed their continuous company. He missed his home, not just the building but the company of his loved ones.
He lost his wife 20 years ago when she died after a short illness and till his last days he missed her so dearly. At the twilight of life, as his physical and mental faculties began to fail him to fail him one by one; he had no permanent companion to cling on for support, solace and reassurance. That was the time he wished so badly that his wife was around to share the pains of old age. His eyes used to swell with tears each time he talked about the darling in his life. He used to repeatedly say, “if only my wife was around, I will not be here.”
I learnt a lot about the past from my meetings with him, about life at the time of the British and the Japanese occupation, his family and all his experiences over the past 86 years. As I myself grow older, and my children leaving home one by one, I seem to appreciate his experiences much more as they are becoming increasingly more relevant in my own life. I look around and see that many more leading such solitude lives without a shoulder to lean on for solace. Are we heading for such lonely lives in the years to come? Only time will tell but is frightening to think we may be so.
Punctuality
Among some of the things that struck me first on meeting Uncle Paul was his neatly groomed appearance and his punctuality. Every time I make an appointment to meet him he is ready waiting for me, neatly dressed in slacks, long sleeved shirt and polished shoes. According to his caretaker he used to wake up and get ready hours earlier and sit in the porch eagerly waiting for my arrival. He never failed to greet me as soon as he sees me. I could sense the warmth in his voice and the grip of his handshake.Depite his failing memory he would remember the details of children and never once failed to enquire about them each time we met.
His punctuality puts many of us to shame as we have very little regards for time and people these days. Punctuality is an indication of our eagerness to meet someone and it reflects the place we accord him in our hearts. I understand if we value somebody’s company then we would never be late to meet him as our minds will always be preoccupied with thoughts of that person. These days very few people value the true company of others unless they have something to gain and that may be the reasons why we are always late for appointments. We tend to value a person by his material possession not by the contents of his heart. We seem to have lost the human touch in our dealings with fellow men.
Living steadfast to his father’s advice
Another interesting thing I learnt from Uncle Paul was his attitude towards his late parents that was reflected in his advice to the youngsters of today. He remembered and cherished what his father had advised him when he was working in the government service as a young man.
He recalled his father’s strong stand against corruption. He remembered what his late father had told him, “If you are in dire need of money, you may borrow or even beg for it but never accept bribes however desperate you may be”.
He adhered to his father’s advised so strictly that he could not afford to own his own house and lived in government quarters all his life. At the twilight years of his life he did not have a place to call home and had to settle for an old folk’s home as his abode. It was the price he had to pay for being steadfast in submitting to his father’s stand against corruption.
Advice to the young
When asked for his advice to the youngsters of today, who have little respect for the elderly, he said, “They should honor their father and mother and everything else will be fine”. Reflecting on what he said and recalling the experiences with many, I realized how right he was. He may be old and senile but he pushed forward a point about a very important issue in our lives, honoring our parents, which I agree determines to a great extent whether we attain the happiness we all strive for. If we miss this important lesson then all our efforts to seek that happiness will all be in vain.
To honor our parents is not just providing food and shelter, but to show great respect for them especially for their pride, honesty and the principles for which they stood steadfast. Do the actions in our own lives reflect this honor that is due to them? We must always do things that uphold their pride and honor; otherwise we would be failing them.
We make many major decisions in our lives, like choosing our life partners; change of career, travelling to distant land, caring for our children, major illnesses and so on. Do we consult them, at least as a mark of respect, regarding these major changes in our lives? They may not be in a position to give us the physical or monetary help but I am sure they can give us something that all the money in the world cannot buy - advice based on personal experience. Unfortunately this invaluable commodity is the least we value these days.
Giving what they like
Often we give our elderly parents what we think they like, not realizing their true likes and dislikes. As children we believe that we are giving them the best by sending them to the old folk’s home where they have the company and are well catered for their needs. It is pertinent to ask ourselves whether they are really happy to be there. Do they need the company of others who are strangers and physically infirm? Is this what they need most at that advanced age?
They may say that they are happy there because they do not want to burden us further which is the typical sense of magnanimity of all elderly parents towards their children; however negligent or even cruel the children may be to them the parents will always have a soft spot for them in their hearts.
Loneliness, the greatest fear
Uncle Paul’s greatest fear, like all elderly people, was loneliness. This was particularly profound after the demise of his wife 20 years ago. He had the feeling that he was all alone in this cruel world. It was pathetic to realize that at the age of 86, staying in a home for the aged and surrounded by unfamiliar faces, he had very little to hope for during the final months of his life except waiting to be united with his wife which the Lord finally did.
Uncle Paul may not be around anymore but his memories and the lessons from his experiences live on in the hearts of those who know him. He and many others like him give us the opportunity to provide them a little hope and cheer in their lives, if not every day, but least during special days like Father’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and so on. It is not money, gifts or food that they need most. All they yearn for is the love of fellow humans like you and I, in particular his children and grandchildren, to unselfishly share a little bit of our time to be with them during these special days in their lives.
As Christians we spend many hours in prayer and worship but ignore those around us not realizing that God actually dwells in these people. People like Paul should remind us that Jesus indeed lives in them not in the majestic churches we visitto pray in and the rituals we perform in our worship.We must recall what Jesus himself taught us "In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.”(Mathew 25:34-40)
Dr.Chris Anthony
As I reached the crowded hospital ward, I saw Uncle Paul lying on his bed semi-comatose, gasping and on nasal oxygen. He looked so thin and emaciated that I could hardly recognize him. I held his hand firmly and called him but there was no response whatsoever from him. Then all of a sudden he took a deep breath which was his last. Uncle Paul died peacefully in front of me. It was as though he had patiently waited for me since his admission for a serious lung infection 3 days earlier. I cursed myself for not going to see him earlier.
Uncle Paul was an elderly gentleman whom I had the privilege of being befriends over the last 2 years or so, having met him on a number of occasions recently. Uncle Paul had journeyed through life for the past 87years until his demise on 15 May 2009.His vast experiences in his life added further to the many lessons I have learnt in my own. I hope a brief description of this wonderful person will enrich your own experiences in dealing with those around you.
I always believe that every human is a marvelous creation of God, who is a chest of knowledge and experience waiting to be tapped. Uncle Paul is undeniably such a marvelous creation of His.
In a world that is so materialistic, so competitive and so advanced in technology, when we are so busy toiling to make ends meet we have very little time for old people like Paul who have nothing valuable to contribute to our advancements. We fail to realize that every human, regardless of race and religion, young or old, rich or poor is a chest of treasure and knowledge for us in life to be tapped for our own benefit and the benefit of those around us.
In fact many of us today do not have the time even for our own aged parents, who have made us what we are now. We find so many excuses to send them away somewhere hoping they would be happier there than being with us. We pass the responsibility to others who may even be strangers, hoping that they can provide better care and comfort than us in our own homes. One such place is the old folk’s homes that are mushrooming all over the country due to the tremendous increase in demand. We may have no choice so do they as all old people will never opt for such a place if only they had a choice to be taken care in their own homes.
Uncle Paul stayed in one such home and he appeared happy to be in the company of fellow inmates. Fortunately he still received his monthly pension to pay for his maintenance at the home. His basic needs were taken care of reasonably well and he was regularly visited by his children, relatives and friends. Some visit him out of duty others out of courtesy but it was encouraging that there were a number of them who did so out of love for him as a fellow human, bringing him food and gifts he liked and missed most. Like all parents, he never blamed his children for sending him there, but we knew that deep inside he missed their continuous company. He missed his home, not just the building but the company of his loved ones.
He lost his wife 20 years ago when she died after a short illness and till his last days he missed her so dearly. At the twilight of life, as his physical and mental faculties began to fail him to fail him one by one; he had no permanent companion to cling on for support, solace and reassurance. That was the time he wished so badly that his wife was around to share the pains of old age. His eyes used to swell with tears each time he talked about the darling in his life. He used to repeatedly say, “if only my wife was around, I will not be here.”
I learnt a lot about the past from my meetings with him, about life at the time of the British and the Japanese occupation, his family and all his experiences over the past 86 years. As I myself grow older, and my children leaving home one by one, I seem to appreciate his experiences much more as they are becoming increasingly more relevant in my own life. I look around and see that many more leading such solitude lives without a shoulder to lean on for solace. Are we heading for such lonely lives in the years to come? Only time will tell but is frightening to think we may be so.
Punctuality
Among some of the things that struck me first on meeting Uncle Paul was his neatly groomed appearance and his punctuality. Every time I make an appointment to meet him he is ready waiting for me, neatly dressed in slacks, long sleeved shirt and polished shoes. According to his caretaker he used to wake up and get ready hours earlier and sit in the porch eagerly waiting for my arrival. He never failed to greet me as soon as he sees me. I could sense the warmth in his voice and the grip of his handshake.Depite his failing memory he would remember the details of children and never once failed to enquire about them each time we met.
His punctuality puts many of us to shame as we have very little regards for time and people these days. Punctuality is an indication of our eagerness to meet someone and it reflects the place we accord him in our hearts. I understand if we value somebody’s company then we would never be late to meet him as our minds will always be preoccupied with thoughts of that person. These days very few people value the true company of others unless they have something to gain and that may be the reasons why we are always late for appointments. We tend to value a person by his material possession not by the contents of his heart. We seem to have lost the human touch in our dealings with fellow men.
Living steadfast to his father’s advice
Another interesting thing I learnt from Uncle Paul was his attitude towards his late parents that was reflected in his advice to the youngsters of today. He remembered and cherished what his father had advised him when he was working in the government service as a young man.
He recalled his father’s strong stand against corruption. He remembered what his late father had told him, “If you are in dire need of money, you may borrow or even beg for it but never accept bribes however desperate you may be”.
He adhered to his father’s advised so strictly that he could not afford to own his own house and lived in government quarters all his life. At the twilight years of his life he did not have a place to call home and had to settle for an old folk’s home as his abode. It was the price he had to pay for being steadfast in submitting to his father’s stand against corruption.
Advice to the young
When asked for his advice to the youngsters of today, who have little respect for the elderly, he said, “They should honor their father and mother and everything else will be fine”. Reflecting on what he said and recalling the experiences with many, I realized how right he was. He may be old and senile but he pushed forward a point about a very important issue in our lives, honoring our parents, which I agree determines to a great extent whether we attain the happiness we all strive for. If we miss this important lesson then all our efforts to seek that happiness will all be in vain.
To honor our parents is not just providing food and shelter, but to show great respect for them especially for their pride, honesty and the principles for which they stood steadfast. Do the actions in our own lives reflect this honor that is due to them? We must always do things that uphold their pride and honor; otherwise we would be failing them.
We make many major decisions in our lives, like choosing our life partners; change of career, travelling to distant land, caring for our children, major illnesses and so on. Do we consult them, at least as a mark of respect, regarding these major changes in our lives? They may not be in a position to give us the physical or monetary help but I am sure they can give us something that all the money in the world cannot buy - advice based on personal experience. Unfortunately this invaluable commodity is the least we value these days.
Giving what they like
Often we give our elderly parents what we think they like, not realizing their true likes and dislikes. As children we believe that we are giving them the best by sending them to the old folk’s home where they have the company and are well catered for their needs. It is pertinent to ask ourselves whether they are really happy to be there. Do they need the company of others who are strangers and physically infirm? Is this what they need most at that advanced age?
They may say that they are happy there because they do not want to burden us further which is the typical sense of magnanimity of all elderly parents towards their children; however negligent or even cruel the children may be to them the parents will always have a soft spot for them in their hearts.
Loneliness, the greatest fear
Uncle Paul’s greatest fear, like all elderly people, was loneliness. This was particularly profound after the demise of his wife 20 years ago. He had the feeling that he was all alone in this cruel world. It was pathetic to realize that at the age of 86, staying in a home for the aged and surrounded by unfamiliar faces, he had very little to hope for during the final months of his life except waiting to be united with his wife which the Lord finally did.
Uncle Paul may not be around anymore but his memories and the lessons from his experiences live on in the hearts of those who know him. He and many others like him give us the opportunity to provide them a little hope and cheer in their lives, if not every day, but least during special days like Father’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and so on. It is not money, gifts or food that they need most. All they yearn for is the love of fellow humans like you and I, in particular his children and grandchildren, to unselfishly share a little bit of our time to be with them during these special days in their lives.
As Christians we spend many hours in prayer and worship but ignore those around us not realizing that God actually dwells in these people. People like Paul should remind us that Jesus indeed lives in them not in the majestic churches we visitto pray in and the rituals we perform in our worship.We must recall what Jesus himself taught us "In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.”(Mathew 25:34-40)
Dr.Chris Anthony
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Pope: The absence of Christ causes total sadness
Yes the absence of Chris causes total sadness in the world especially in our own lives.His absence in our hearts is the cause of all our miseries.
Christ seems to be absent even in the church which professes to bring Him into the lives of men.The church is more obsessed with rituals and form than the real substance of Christ's teachings.
Christs asks us to find Him in those around us,especially our enemies,but we foolishly keep searching for Him all over except where He really dwells - in our neighbor.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
Church land controversy - Bishop's office responds
Evictions: Penang Bishop’s office issues statement
Rev Michael Thoo has released a press state statement from the office of the Penang Bishop. Here is the statement in full:
In response to recent and current newspaper reports on the “eviction exercise” of’ 14 houses within the grounds of the Church of St. Francis Xavier, Penang Road, 10000 Georgetown, Penang the church wishes to clarify as follows :-
- There are 14 semi-concrete pre-war houses within the grounds of the Church of St. Francis, Penang Road, George Town, Penang. The houses are old and have no architectural value.
- Other buildings on the land are the St Joseph’s Home for orphans and children from broken homes, the Learning Centre for children with learning disabilities and the “Lighthouse” which provides free food for the needy and school buildings. These social welfare and charitable organisations are run and/or supported by the church.
- Twelve of the houses are occupied by monthly tenants paying nominal monthly rentals between RM
60 to RM 200. It is not true that all the tenants have not been paying the monthly rentals for the last
36 months as ieported in the issue of The Catholic Herald dated 31 May 2009 and The Star dated 2 June 2009;
- Two houses are presently empty.
- Unfortunately, one of the two tenants who vacated her house (No. 52-L, Penang Road, Penang) proceeded to remove the zinc and timber roof truss from the house thus creating a potential hazard’
When church’s workers started removing the plywood wall of the house to prevent the potential danger of the unstable wall from collapsing, the MPPP acted rightfully in requesting the church to stop work. The church regrets this inadvertent violation of the law. That house is infested by termites and is in danger of imminent collapse.
- The church has no record of the residents being there for four generations as reported. Some of the
residents had moved out in the past and new tenants had moved in.
- The church intends to use the said 14 houses after refurbishment for its religious, welfiare and charitable purposes as it is doing now.
- The refurbishment of the houses will be done in accordance with UnescoO and local council guidelines,
regulations and bye-laws.
- The church has no intention to sell the land to the Cititel Hotel group or to embark on a “property
development project” as reported. Consequently, all such reports are baseless and mischievous.
- The church is mindful of the economic plight of some of the residents. It is for this reason that the church has decided to give them ample notice of two years to deliver vacant possession of the houses occupied by them. In addition, the church has also decided to give them an “ex-gratia” payment of RMIO,OOO per household in order to assist them to relocate. No rentals will be collected from the residents during these two years from 1 June 2008 till 31 May 2O1O.
Dated the 5th day of June, 2OO9.
Signed
Rev Michael Thoo
from the office of the Rt Rev Antony Selvayanagam,
The Titular Roman Catholic Bishop of Penang
Rev Michael Thoo has released a press state statement from the office of the Penang Bishop. Here is the statement in full:
In response to recent and current newspaper reports on the “eviction exercise” of’ 14 houses within the grounds of the Church of St. Francis Xavier, Penang Road, 10000 Georgetown, Penang the church wishes to clarify as follows :-
- There are 14 semi-concrete pre-war houses within the grounds of the Church of St. Francis, Penang Road, George Town, Penang. The houses are old and have no architectural value.
- Other buildings on the land are the St Joseph’s Home for orphans and children from broken homes, the Learning Centre for children with learning disabilities and the “Lighthouse” which provides free food for the needy and school buildings. These social welfare and charitable organisations are run and/or supported by the church.
- Twelve of the houses are occupied by monthly tenants paying nominal monthly rentals between RM
60 to RM 200. It is not true that all the tenants have not been paying the monthly rentals for the last
36 months as ieported in the issue of The Catholic Herald dated 31 May 2009 and The Star dated 2 June 2009;
- Two houses are presently empty.
- Unfortunately, one of the two tenants who vacated her house (No. 52-L, Penang Road, Penang) proceeded to remove the zinc and timber roof truss from the house thus creating a potential hazard’
When church’s workers started removing the plywood wall of the house to prevent the potential danger of the unstable wall from collapsing, the MPPP acted rightfully in requesting the church to stop work. The church regrets this inadvertent violation of the law. That house is infested by termites and is in danger of imminent collapse.
- The church has no record of the residents being there for four generations as reported. Some of the
residents had moved out in the past and new tenants had moved in.
- The church intends to use the said 14 houses after refurbishment for its religious, welfiare and charitable purposes as it is doing now.
- The refurbishment of the houses will be done in accordance with UnescoO and local council guidelines,
regulations and bye-laws.
- The church has no intention to sell the land to the Cititel Hotel group or to embark on a “property
development project” as reported. Consequently, all such reports are baseless and mischievous.
- The church is mindful of the economic plight of some of the residents. It is for this reason that the church has decided to give them ample notice of two years to deliver vacant possession of the houses occupied by them. In addition, the church has also decided to give them an “ex-gratia” payment of RMIO,OOO per household in order to assist them to relocate. No rentals will be collected from the residents during these two years from 1 June 2008 till 31 May 2O1O.
Dated the 5th day of June, 2OO9.
Signed
Rev Michael Thoo
from the office of the Rt Rev Antony Selvayanagam,
The Titular Roman Catholic Bishop of Penang
Monday, June 01, 2009
The Church land controversy
Are we God-fearing in what we do
“For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we do these things for you? And the Lord shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.”(Mathew 25:34-40)
A recent report in the mainstream media highlighting the plight of the residents of a century-old kampong in the premises of the St.Francis Xavier Church in Penang was rather disturbing. It also questioned the controversial sale of the church land and the eviction of the residents, mainly elderly people, who have been there all these years. According to the report one of the houses was already demolished by a developer but fortunately further demolition was stopped by the local council.
This inconsiderate action has earned the wreath of the Pakatan Penang state government which has urged the bishop of Penang to publicly reveal the Catholic Church’s plans, if any, for the development of the church land that has been gazetted as a heritage site by Unesco.
In an encouraging move, Bishop Antony Selvanayagam of Penang has strongly refuted the report in the press. He dismissed as ‘absolute nonsense’ the claims that the diocese is planning to sell a portion of its land to the Cititel Hotel for development. According to him the land on the grounds of the St Francis Xavier Church has been earmarked for religious, charitable and cultural purposes.
He did not elaborate what those religious, charitable and cultural purposes were. If only he did his credibility would be greatly enhanced. He must also reveal the truth regarding the forced eviction of the residents which is seen by the lay public as being high-handed and cruel that goes against the basic teachings of the Church.
Evicting residents for the purpose of development is not wrong but it must be done in an amicable manner based on the provisions of the law with regards to compensation and full with respect for the human rights of those affected by the eviction. Being the people of God there must be the element of love and forbearance for those being evicted as these form the basic teachings of Christ that must be upheld at all times and at all costs.
The bishop, I am sure, has his own valid reasons in wanting to evacuate the residents from the church premises. This must be respected but since the matter has been highlighted in the press it is only proper that he make the church’s plans known to the public by replying to the allegations in the press which may be unfounded and even mischievous. This would help to dispel the wrong perception of the church in the minds of all Malaysians, especially from other faiths.
While the bishop’s response in the Herald is encouraging, he must also provide clarification in the mainstream media that carried the report. That is the only way to correct the tarnished the charitable image of our church among members of the other faiths. This is particularly important at a time when we are in the midst of a legal suite against the government over the use of the name to address God.
This land fiasco has been highlighted not just by the press but taken up by our own bloggers like Anil Netto, Charles Hector and others who seem to insinuate that the church has handled the land issue in a high-handed and inconsiderate manner with little or no compassion which is unbecoming of a spiritual institution. It is disturbing that many readers have passed very unpleasant comments in their blog postings.
This is not the first controversial land deal involving the Catholic Church and the people are becoming increasingly more suspicious of the involvement of the church hierarchy in such commercial deals leaving little or no time for the pastoral care of their parishioners that is deplorable state in many parishes.
It is time to get to the truth of this land controversy to put things right and correct the wrong perception of our church among members of the public. In this era of sophisticated and enhanced telecommunications and internet the truth cannot be suppressed for long.Moreover there is no reason to fear the truth as Christ will always be on its side.
Dr.Chris Anthony
“For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we do these things for you? And the Lord shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.”(Mathew 25:34-40)
A recent report in the mainstream media highlighting the plight of the residents of a century-old kampong in the premises of the St.Francis Xavier Church in Penang was rather disturbing. It also questioned the controversial sale of the church land and the eviction of the residents, mainly elderly people, who have been there all these years. According to the report one of the houses was already demolished by a developer but fortunately further demolition was stopped by the local council.
This inconsiderate action has earned the wreath of the Pakatan Penang state government which has urged the bishop of Penang to publicly reveal the Catholic Church’s plans, if any, for the development of the church land that has been gazetted as a heritage site by Unesco.
In an encouraging move, Bishop Antony Selvanayagam of Penang has strongly refuted the report in the press. He dismissed as ‘absolute nonsense’ the claims that the diocese is planning to sell a portion of its land to the Cititel Hotel for development. According to him the land on the grounds of the St Francis Xavier Church has been earmarked for religious, charitable and cultural purposes.
He did not elaborate what those religious, charitable and cultural purposes were. If only he did his credibility would be greatly enhanced. He must also reveal the truth regarding the forced eviction of the residents which is seen by the lay public as being high-handed and cruel that goes against the basic teachings of the Church.
Evicting residents for the purpose of development is not wrong but it must be done in an amicable manner based on the provisions of the law with regards to compensation and full with respect for the human rights of those affected by the eviction. Being the people of God there must be the element of love and forbearance for those being evicted as these form the basic teachings of Christ that must be upheld at all times and at all costs.
The bishop, I am sure, has his own valid reasons in wanting to evacuate the residents from the church premises. This must be respected but since the matter has been highlighted in the press it is only proper that he make the church’s plans known to the public by replying to the allegations in the press which may be unfounded and even mischievous. This would help to dispel the wrong perception of the church in the minds of all Malaysians, especially from other faiths.
While the bishop’s response in the Herald is encouraging, he must also provide clarification in the mainstream media that carried the report. That is the only way to correct the tarnished the charitable image of our church among members of the other faiths. This is particularly important at a time when we are in the midst of a legal suite against the government over the use of the name to address God.
This land fiasco has been highlighted not just by the press but taken up by our own bloggers like Anil Netto, Charles Hector and others who seem to insinuate that the church has handled the land issue in a high-handed and inconsiderate manner with little or no compassion which is unbecoming of a spiritual institution. It is disturbing that many readers have passed very unpleasant comments in their blog postings.
This is not the first controversial land deal involving the Catholic Church and the people are becoming increasingly more suspicious of the involvement of the church hierarchy in such commercial deals leaving little or no time for the pastoral care of their parishioners that is deplorable state in many parishes.
It is time to get to the truth of this land controversy to put things right and correct the wrong perception of our church among members of the public. In this era of sophisticated and enhanced telecommunications and internet the truth cannot be suppressed for long.Moreover there is no reason to fear the truth as Christ will always be on its side.
Dr.Chris Anthony
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Church land scandal
Air of gloom as Church orders villagers to vacate land
Anil Netto
Villagers in a dozen households next to the St Francis Xavier’s Church face uncertainty after receiving three letters over the last year from lawyers acting on behalf of the Catholic Church in Penang.
The residents had been ordered to vacate their premises by 31 May 2009 (which happens to be Pentecost Sunday, marking the coming of the Holy Spirit). In the latest letter of 19 May 2009, they have been granted a second extension until 31 May 2010 on “humanitarian grounds”, provided they agree in writing to compensation of RM10,000. If not, they have to vacate their homes by this Sunday.
The lawyer’s letter states the church can afford to provide only RM10,000 as it is a “non-profit religious institution”. Lay Catholics, however, are not in a position to judge whether the church can afford to pay more as its diocesan accounts are not made public to them as a matter of course.
Allow me to introduce you to some of the villagers the church wants to evict (see photo above, from left):
Augustin Martin, 82, raised at the nearby orphanage in the early 1930s. He was a church organist during World War II and worked as a driver for the Kee Huat company in his younger days. Occupant of house no. 52-E.
Arokiasamy Dass, 84, born here in 1925, former JKR tractor driver. His father arrived here around 1920 just before getting married. Occupant of house no. 52-H.
Olga Fernandez, 71, arrived here before the war. Her family originally settled in the area in the late 1920s. Occupant of house no. 52-G.
Bellimin Rajah, 70, worked as a Cold Storage clerk. He remembers crouching in his house when George Town was being bombed by the Japanese during World War II: “A big stone dropped on my sister’s back,” he recalls. Occupant of house no. 52-C.
Manimathu, 74, widow of the late Mr Selva. She has lived here since 1949. Occupant of house no. 52-F.
Jayamary is Bellimin’s wife. She arrived here in 1967, after getting married.
Anthony Muthu, 79, a former ludlow (headline layout) operator for the now defunct Straits Echo. He has lived here since 1937. Occupant of house no. 52-Q. His father, Sinnasamy Appasamy, arrived here after his marriage.
Theresa Savari, 60, is Anthony’s wife. She arrived here after their marriage.
Among those not in the photo above:
Santhanam Sinasamy, 82. Occupant of house no. 52-P.
Lourdesamy s/o Ponnudurai, 60. Occupant of house no. 52-I.
One of the villagers remembers a Japanese officer looking for a base in the area for his troops during World War II. “When he came over and saw us and the other children, he decided not to disturb or evict us. Instead, they used the Chinese school behind, next door. Imagine, even the Japanese occupying forces didn’t ask us to leave.”
“(French priest) Fr Louis Riboud really sayang Augustin (the organist) and he told our families we could live on the land,” recalls another villager.
The parish originally catered to Tamil Catholics in George Town, many of them poor and from the working class.
Now, the lawyers’ letter states that the church wants the villagers to vacate their land so that it can be used for “charitable and social purposes”. The Bishop maintains there are no plans to sell the land.
But it is not clear why the church wants the villagers to move out of this prime land now and what exactly it intends to do with the land.
The old buildings of St Joseph’s orphanage next door have already been demolished and the site presently is walled up and has been lying idle for years. The Lighthouse drop-in centre next door has no immediate expansion plans.
“Whatever happened to the parable of the Good Samaritan?” asks Anthony Muthu, one of the villagers. “Is it only meant to be preached during Sunday sermons? Why is no one putting it into practice and helping us? Where do we go, at this age, looking for low-cost housing with RM10,000 in compensation? Which bank will give us housing loans at our age?”
The church hierarchy points out that some of the residents have not paid their rents for a few years.
But the residents say they have spent a few thousand ringgit of their own money for roof repairs and collapsed walls. They thought that the church would overlook their rent over the last couple of years as the villagers had taken care of the repairs at their own expense.
“In any case, if the church felt that we had defaulted on rent, shouldn’t it first have issued lawyer’s letters demanding payment of rental like landlords usually do instead of keeping quiet and then all of a sudden, asking us to vacate the premises?” asked Anthony. “By their silence, we felt that church leaders understood our predicament and our need to carry out repairs.”
What hurts the villagers most is that all dealings are now through the church’s lawyers, without any avenue for face-to-face consultation with church leaders. That puts the villagers at a disadvantage as they cannot afford lawyers of thei own. “What happened to all the Catholic lawyers?” wonders one of them.
“They claim we are outsiders,” observes another. “But we have lived here much longer than those who accuse us of being outsiders. It is the bishop and his priests who are the newcomers here.”
I guess it’s a lot easier to evict faceless, nameless people, strangers whom we do not know - using a lawyer as the middle-man. But imagine if these people were our own family members, our parents or grandparents….
Andrew Aeria, a Catholic, has a suggestion: “If the church really needs land for social, cultural and religious use, it could use the spacious premises at No. 1 Bell Road for this purpose.” Recalling previous controversial land deals, Andrew suspects that the church hierarchy has a long-term plan to dispose of the St Francis Xavier’s Church land for commercial gain - even though the Bishop has dismissed such accusations as “absolute nonsense”.
Meanwhile, the despairing residents say they are praying that the Holy Spirit will guide and touch those who are trying to help them.
This is a report from the latest Herald, from the Penang Bishop’s perspective:
No plans to sell church land, Bishop Selva
PENANG: Bishop Antony Selvanayagam has refuted claims that the diocese is planning to sell a portion of its land to the Cititel Hotel for development.
“That is absolute nonsense,” said Bishop Selva.
“The land on the grounds of the St Francis Xavier Church off Jalan Penang has been earmarked for religious, charitable and cultural purposes.”
St Joseph’s Home, the Lighthouse, the learning centre and a century-old village are situated within the property.
The Church wants the villagers to vacate their rented houses for redevelopment according to religious, charitable and cultural purposes.
These villagers have not been paying their rent for the past 34 months.
Bishop Selva said that ample notice had been given to the residents to relocate.
The residents were initially asked to vacate the premises by Nov 30 last year. They were later given an extension until May 31 this year.
It is understood the residents are being offered ex-gratia payment of RM10,000 each, with rental arrears deducted from the amount.
Bishop Selva explained that “so far two persons have accepted the payment and have left while another 12 remain.”
Another issue, which cropped up during this standoff has been the contention that the village is situated in the Unesco heritage zone. But Bishop Selva clarified that the village is situated outside the heritage zone but within the buffer zone.
“This means that we cannot demolish the houses but we can redesign the interior to suit the different needs of the organisation or group which will be using the houses.”
40 Responses to “Air of gloom as Church orders villagers to vacate land”
1. nick chan on May 29th, 2009 at 3.58pm
lawyers? catholic? does anyone see wrong in that?
2. Andrew Aeria on May 29th, 2009 at 4.08pm
Ummmm, excuse me but is not allowing these old residents to stay on in the Penang Road SFX Village a ‘charitable and social purpose’? What will become of these poor residents of Penang Road SFX Village after Sunday? Does the Bishop of Penang even care? Oh I forgot. He sleeps soundly on his soft pillow and soft mattress in Bell Road and dreams only of divine beings.
I think the Penang Bishop and his Finance Commission are a bunch of heartless people led by very un-Gospel values. There are always more creative and humane ways to sort out this so-called predicament of residents on Church property. Why not give notice to all these families that once they pass away, the houses revert to the Church? And don’t allow new tenants or sub-tenants in the meantime? But these options were not explored. Why?
Because the fact is that the Penang Bishop and his Finance Commission are motivated by money, money, money. This fact has been established previously by the sale of Pulau Tikus Kampong Serani land and also College-General land. And truth be told, the Bishop and his Finance Commission have been mulling over what to do with the Penang Road property (doublespeak for, ‘How to make a profit?’) for years!
Ironically, the Penang Bishop - who preaches the Gospel a lot - lives a rather comfortable middle-class lifestyle in the really Tony neighbourhood of Bell Road. So, why does the Bishop not transform his swanky 1 Bell Road residence into a premise for ’social and charitable purposes’ instead of harassing poor old people in Penang Road? Is this not a mega contradiction of what he preaches and what he does?
So, let me make this proposal to the Penang Bishop. Since 1 Bell Road is Church property (i.e. only held in trust by the Bishop for the body of Catholics who are the Church) and up-kept by Church finances given weekly by church-goers, as a Catholic I am willing to give the Bishop of Penang RM10,000 cash by this Sunday (31 May 2009) if he agrees to vacate 1 Bell Road in one year’s time. Then, he has one year to go and find some tiny room to live amongst the poor just like all these poor old residents from the Penang Road SFX Village will likely do. And if the Bishop agrees, then in a year’s time, we Catholics convert 1 Bell Road into a Church venue having a genuine ‘charitable and social purpose’.
Failing which, if the Penang Bishop disagrees to my proposal, he has to vacate 1 Bell Road by this Sunday forthwith and the property can then be immediately be converted for ‘charitable and social purposes’.
There is a niggling suspicion in the back of my mind that the Penang Bishop and his Finance Commission - despite all their talk about converting the SFX Church land to ‘charitable and social purposes” - really are bent on selling the Penang Road property to some big-time developer for a mega-profit, if they have not already done so. I also suspect that they will do this via stealth and by then, it will be too late. The developer will have legal title once the sale is completed quietly and we would only know about this after the Bishop and his money-motivated Finance Commission have already banked in the million-ringgit cheque into the Church bank account.
And all our protests as Catholics who built the Church and who support our clergy and Bishop with our hard-earned weekly donations during mass would have come to naught.
3. Miriam on May 29th, 2009 at 4.34pm
Its for reasons of the kind of hypocrisy the church practices that I am often ashamed of even being identified as a Catholic. As Andrew Aeria states so cogently, the land is held in trust by the Bishop on behalf of the body Catholic to do the best with on the peoples behalf. Evicting elderly Catholics from their homes is a manifestation of heartlessness and sheer, unadulterated greed. Not the love that ought to reside in the very being of Christianity. I will not be at all surprised that ‘others’ play up this issue for further Catholic bashing. Its not too late to save the day.
4. Sunny on May 29th, 2009 at 4.46pm
On second thought, they have had close to free accomodation for many years.
5. Observer on May 29th, 2009 at 5.07pm
On one hand, I do pity their predicament at their age. On the other hand, they have had nearly free accommodation for many years. Maybe they could work for the church in some capacity?
6. Andrew Aeria on May 29th, 2009 at 5.16pm
In response to Sunny: The Bishop of Penang and his clergy have also had ‘free accommodation for many years’. Should we evict them from their middle-class residences as well and throw them onto the streets, just abandon them to ‘God’s mercy’?
7. petestop on May 29th, 2009 at 5.40pm
Indeed, as a Christian organisation, the Church should find a comprehensive and mutually beneficial solution to these old folks welfare first, instead of sending in the Advocate from Hell.
Especially these old folks does not have much options to start
over again.
It is a shameful episode indeed, all Christians and fair-minded Malaysian should protest such heartless action.
8. ikeda on May 29th, 2009 at 5.46pm
Majority of so called religious or charity organisations exist in the name of charity but operate in a manner worst than big time money making MNC. This is the ugly world we are living in. Welcome to reality!
9. James Gomez on May 29th, 2009 at 5.49pm
Aiyah, what’s wrong with the Bishop? Since these poor folks already living for free in the land for so long already, go the final mile by giving the land to them lah. Tear down the church and give more land to others as well.
10. casper on May 29th, 2009 at 6.28pm
I was thinking aloud, what would be a ‘reasonable’ solution and have to go with what Andrew Aeria’s proposed - full marks dear sir.
The pending eviction is based on commerce and your hunch about future million is spot on. This ’sale’ is no different than when St.John Institution, KL sold land to YTL for the development of KL Tower. And as time passes, the RM$10,000 is pittance, what with land prices on Penang Island on the rise and increasingly pricey. Even with RM$20,000 or double that to 40k, these senior citizens are in for a difficult future with all signs pointing to them sleeping rough.
Regards Anil and all.
11. Tommy on May 29th, 2009 at 7.00pm
Sorry, I am not a christian. But I will have to say it’s all because of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ in someone’s pocket!!!!
12. moss on May 29th, 2009 at 7.57pm
This is nothing more than heartless, unChristian greed. It’s all about the money! The Bishop should contemplate what Jesus said, about it being easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to see Heaven.
The sanctimonious preach from the pulpit, but are divorced from the essential verities of Jesus’s central message. How can the Bishop reconcile this unholy deed that he is proposing, from what Christ was all about? Sheer hypocrite masquerading as God’s representative.
“For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we do these things for you? And the Lord shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.”
It would serve the Bishop to realise that, in evicting these old, poor folks, he would be evicting the God he so claims to love and represent.
13. Joe Jambo on May 29th, 2009 at 8.18pm
Why cant each of those who complaint about the church’s action..donate rm10 per month to the cause of these elderly. That would be enough to pay for the costs of their free accommodation all these years (utilities/quit rent/assessment) and in my point of view substantial enough seek the church to reconsider their decision.
I dun understand why u ppl are sooooo anxious in criticising the bishop? he is a trustee..u know!!! its not like he did not let them stay for the many years? he is spending ppl’s money accommodating these ppl!! If you guys are kind enough, each of you readers should collectively collect donate rm10 a month each for the sake of these ppl. Is is too much to ask? How many of u will volunteer for these? Then Anil can represent our interest as trustee on humanitarian grounds to ensure the elder’s cost is paid for.
The church might have the money to pay for but as trustee, it would mean be in breach of trust if it were to give a selected few the benefit of the trust moneys.
They are plenty of ppl in Penang that needs money, u know. Humanitarian consideration was and is given and thats good enough. So, Anil.. u starting a trust fund specific for this purpose? If so, im sure the Bishop will reconsider. He is currently “using trust money for the benefit of a third party.”
I can always question why didnt the Bishop maintain other chatolics within a 3 mile radius on humanitarian grounds as well. Things would be easier if the church can just pass an ordinary resolution authorisng the Bishop to help, but then again its a church and not a company. Hence, he will be in breach of trust utilising trust moneys of the church for the selected few.
14. Tommy on May 29th, 2009 at 8.19pm
Which of the 2 is greater - GOD or GREED?
Ting!!Ting!! GREED wins. GREED have 5 letters whereas GOD have only 3.
15. yugong on May 29th, 2009 at 8.35pm
Since when the Catholic Church has turned money-faced? Sad.
16. Seow on May 29th, 2009 at 8.45pm
And regarding the fact that they have had close to free accomodation, thats not true. the fact that they have conducted repairs on the premises can be used to invoke the set off remedy, which enables them to withhold rent in lieu of repairs to premises.
17. Samuel on May 29th, 2009 at 8.59pm
hey Andrew Aeria the living …., who the …. u think u r to talk like dat bout the Bishop and the Priests? If u want, why dont u ask all the villagers to find refuge in ur damn … bloody sweet home? If u dare, go talk straight to the priests or the bishop, why u ….. so much in here? u know wat, u r the type of morons with this stupid fellar, so called Anill Netto, who only talks big with this so callled passion for the poor, on the net. But, no action for ur big mouths… Or perhaps, u must have hated any priests or the bishop for some past incident, and show ur …. stupid anger when the chance arrived….I know about u…
18. Antares on May 29th, 2009 at 9.13pm
Kudos to Anil & Andrew for articulating on behalf of kindness, generosity & forbearance - on behalf of real human beings! I hope with this post you will alert enough church members to put serious pressure on the bishop & his financial advisors to back down & allow these old-timers lifetime access to their homes.
19. Samuel on May 29th, 2009 at 9.30pm
Hi guys, i know this fellar who talks alot…. damn problematic one…The real story is, those villagers about 12 of them, most of them have their childrens grown up and doing well. The children must be responsible to take care of them at this old age. They are not the so called poor people, as they have been working well in their younger days and given penchant. Again, they r not POOR PEOPLE!!!!!!!get to know the real picture here. Trying to enjoy for free by taking advantage of the church generosity…why never try to have a hse since beginning? Cant afford those days?
Then, how about other millions of people who can afford???? The late MEP Father Louise did give them permission to live there, and he did give warning that in future, people will ask them to leave, no matter who will be that… So, dont the villagers should get the hint and try to sustain themselves by trying to be independant, get their own hse as possible and dont depend on that village for ever???? If u ask me why the church never do it long time ago, to ask them to leave, I will say, Death will come like a thieve at the night, it is we who must be alert and prepare ourselves……
And, all these people who trying to condemn the Catholic Church and the Bishop and his priests with unlawful speeches, better be prepared as the death will come like a thieve at night. U r like DOGS who barke at anything steamy……
20. Samuel on May 29th, 2009 at 9.41pm
“I guess it’s a lot easier to evict faceless, nameless people, strangers whom we do not know. But imagine if these people were our own family members, our parents or grandparents….”
What are their childrens doing? Where r they? Have u found out that?
21. Samuel on May 29th, 2009 at 9.57pm
I dont understand why some people like to think this way, as in this case….. When elderly people are asked to evict the church land, they throw the thoughts, that church is cruel, heartless, greedy, money minded and so forth…Then they started to talk passionately about poor and helping the poor….Then, they will come out with an idea to save this poor people…Then, this is the best one from James Gomez, he wanna tear down the church and give that land to the poor… u INGAT GEREJA BAPA U PUNYA KA?? why dont u tear down ur hse and give it to the poor??? Then,this people will start to talk about GOD and his poverty, his compassion and mercy…and so forth…..They are non then some bunch of hypocrits….and those old folks are not POOR either, don get confused…
U said the church hierrarchy is money minded and greedy… Do u know how much a diocese have to spend for a seminarian to finish his 8 years priesthood training, local and abroad, so that he can serve Christ and u for the rest of his life? Who gonna provide that money? R u willing to give?
22. Andrew I on May 29th, 2009 at 11.01pm
Spoken like a true capitalist, Joe. God must absolutely love you.
To what purpose does donating to the church serve then? Let’s see, we can all stop donating and D.I.Y. since everyone has a different perception of poverty. We’ll have to see the utilities bills and share it out equally. Maybe we could have monthly general meetings and cut out all unnecessary expenditure.
This is, after all, God’s money and we can’t have selected mere mortals managing it.
23. Eng on May 29th, 2009 at 11.14pm
‘GREED’= ‘God Reap Every Elderly’s Dwelling’.
24. Tee on May 29th, 2009 at 11.28pm
Dear Bishop,
Who do you think deserve your charitable hands more? A group of well dressed church goers or a dozen of poor, old, homeless people?
Why create the problem at the first place??
25. ong on May 29th, 2009 at 11.34pm
Thanks Anil for a good report. Some of these folks had complained to SOS before in early 2000. Their worries seems to come true now. Community relation lose to class relation(between tenant and landlord class) if these folks are evicted along thousands of tenants who had been evicted from George Town since 2000.
These old folks deserve yours and everyone else’s support-Catholic or not.
26. George Seow on May 30th, 2009 at 12.49am
No matter how altruistic the reasons given by the Bishop for the development of the said property, they pale in comparison to the real and immediate need of the poor and elderly residents.I urge the Church to work out a compassionate solution to the plight of residents . True Christian charity can also come in non glamorous work like helping the poor and helpless. The religious, cultural and social Center can only be proudly built on a foundation of compassion. Anything less than this would have diminished the moral principles that are core to any of the Church’s projects.
27. lucia on May 30th, 2009 at 1.08am
i agree with joe jambo. why are people so anxious to criticise the bishop/church? and also not forgetting taking on the moral high ground. esp. andrew who is so harsh. andrew you sound so bitter… did the church wronged you or something terrible happened between you and the church? (btw are you related to alban aeria?)
as joe suggested, yes, why don’t these people who complained so much donated RM10 per month to these elderly villagers? or do something else. don’t be an armchair critic only. it’s easy to say the bishop should do this, the bishop should do that when you no. 1, don’t know the actual situation, no. 2, can’t put yourself in the bishop’s place.
i’m sure people like andrew live in nice terrace house or a condo, yes middle class property… much better than the villagers anyhow - well if you talk about the bishop giving up his bungalow, you too can give up your terrace house (or whatever which is much better than the villagers’) and let 4 or 5 of these villagers stay. i know this sounds childish… likewise your suggestion of offering the bishop RM10,000 to evict from his bungalow!
you guys hear so much on one side - the side of the villagers and only so little on the bishop’s side but you guys already jumped to conclusion to side with the villagers! well, no surprise as i said before, usually big name/corporation will be look as the ‘big bully’ while the poor/ordinary folks as the good guys.
quote “In response to Sunny: The Bishop of Penang and his clergy have also had ‘free accommodation for many years’. Should we evict them from their middle-class residences as well and throw them onto the streets, just abandon them to ‘God’s mercy’?”
bad and unfair comparision.
28. Adrian Pereira on May 30th, 2009 at 3.13am
There is two ways about moving forward in this troubled times where every entity struggles for survival,political and financial. There has to be more TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY for this huge super structure of a “government” we call the Catholic Church. Being a full time pastoral worker and after seeing the amazing alternative possibilities in stickier situations, there has to be a better solution.Keep up the good work Anil and Andrew. There is indeed a lot of work to be done. I reflect back to the the Radical option Christ made which is the preferential option for the poor and marginalized.
29. Apex on May 30th, 2009 at 3.24am
“What hurts the villagers most is that all dealings are now through the church’s lawyers, without any avenue for face-to-face consultation with church leaders…”
I’m ASTONISHED that a person with the religious stature of a bishop would deal with these elderly villagers with such apparent aloofness and coldness. The community has been here for almost a century, and the church’s way to tell them to get out is through letters from a lawyer!!
Sure, our bishop may be legally entitled to do that, but just flexing your legal muscle against such folks is hardly befitting someone who is supposed to stand out as a spiritual father-figure.
Obviously, from what we’ve seen, these people have become a deep part of our Church’s history in Penang… At the very least, they deserve to be dealt with compassion… and certainly a lot more dignity…
Shame on you, Bishop.
30. Joe Jambo on May 30th, 2009 at 4.04am
Dear Andrew
To agree with u on one point, I would be furious if I were to find out that the Church is not or has not been helping anyone seeking its help on humanitarian grounds. In this case, I believe the church did help.
However, I would be equally as furious knowing that the church is applying all the moneys donated, to help every single ppl in Penang on humanitarian grounds as well. This is not the Church’s responsibility. The church ought to only help to a certain extent.
When i was a kid, I was told that churches ‘do not make a profit out of a donation’ and when I asked my mum why should I donate to the church every sunday (being a kid, I donated rm0.50 as a token), I was told that it’s to HELP THE CHURCH so that the church can operate and cover its operational expenses. Then, i enquired whether this would mean that the church will be very rich. Well, i was told that we will not know that. In any event, I was further told that catholic churches always seem poorer than other churches (i dun know why and the priest doesnt look rich so i dun think he squanders the donation).
The bottom line is, if I were to donate money to the church, i dun expect the money to be utilised to permanently help the same poor family for anything more than 2 years. The church should help but not on a permanent basis forever, or not, every tom dick and harry will live off the church forever. Why not go to a temple instead? You see..? It is wrong. No doubt as these institutions should assist but not to take over the government’s obligation to permanently assist and to house a person (It should be the society’s obligation as a whole, not just the church).
If any housing assistance should be given on a permanent basis, there should be a proper fund for that purpose. That’s why I am asking for all you complaining readers to donate to them. U cant just obliged others to help these poor (same people) for years and years. What about others who need the church’s help? Are the moneys enough to support everyone?
Definitelty No. Then, can the bishop choose to prefer to assist one particular group of family on humanitarian grounds for as long as the public thinks he should? Definitely No as well. That would be an abuse of our donation for him to help a special group of people only. He merely needs to assist.. but not to be put to a duty or assume the responsibility to take care of your housing needs.
Hence Andrew, are u willing to help out monthly through a fund? U havent indicate anything yet. If u wana help, u help. But u never demand or obliged others to help. They help on their conscience, and in this case, the church did assist and we should agree that there is limitations to that assistance.
31. Mercy on May 30th, 2009 at 4.45am
How many of you remember the proposal to sell the land next to the St Joseph’s orphanage? It is the sacred burial ground of our Catholic ancestors.
After much protest from the descendants of the people buried there, that sacred burial ground is still with us (but for how long?)
Looks like history is repeating itself.
I sincerely hope that an amicable solution can be reached.
Both sides must have time to sit down and discuss this.
Are these poor folks being victimised?
Is the Catholic church being heartless and unfair?
May the Holy Spirit enlighten all parties concerned.
32. wira on May 30th, 2009 at 5.43am
Those are God’s children and the church has a responsibility towards the weak and the infirm.
We’ve seen congregations in other churches raising million
s to pay up for their church buildings. Bishop Selva should not disappoint God.
33.
Gary on May 30th, 2009 at 6.00am
Somehow, I do agree with Lucia and Joe Jambo. Did we really understand or find out exactly what transpired between the Church and the villagers ???
34. rosalind lee on May 30th, 2009 at 6.31am
Hi Anil
I don’t know how to reach u. I received this mail last week & I waited to see whether you would blog about it since you’re talking about SFX issue. Is city people more entitled than urban folks huh? Please check out issue. Is it true? No media news!
Quote
“Fr Jean Claude have been called in by the police for an ‘interview’ at the Triang police station tomorrow, Friday (22/5/2009)… Allegedly the instructions come from the Inspector General of Police (IGP)..
Last Sunday at 4pm, there was a special mass (prayer service) at the St John’s Chapel in Triang, i.e. that 83 year old chapel, that the Pahang Government is threatening to demolish.
Lots of yellow coloured St John’s Chapel parishioners were there, and there were many more persons that came from other churches around the country to show solidarity.
After mass, there was food and drinks served, and a little talk by me on Freedom of Religion.
Now, the police has called in the Parish Priest, Fr Jean Claude Lourdes, for questioning tomorrow.
What are the police doing? Trying to put some psychological pressure to stop this desparate attempt by this community to save their 83-year old chapel? I wonder..
Fr Jean Claude said that he will be going in to the Triang police station at 2-30pm tomorrow (22/5/2009).
Why is this old chapel being targetted for destruction suddenly…something is amiss.
Is there some corruption involved? Maybe the anti-corruption body need to just investigate to be sure…
Or, is it just some form of ‘punishment’ being meted out to the Catholic community in Triang? Why? Because of the problems that the Catholic Church been causing - i.e. that Allah case, the conversion and religious rights issues..
Maybe, it is because the church sits in that odd seat that has repeatedly elected a DAP ADUN - but then the MP, is BN Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob…
Najib is from the Pekan Constituency, adjacent to the Bera Constituency, and I believe our new PM should step in and ensure the continued existence of this little chapel which has served the Triang community as shelter during bad times…”
Unquote
Thanks Rosalind. Charles Hector has been covering this issue in depth in his blog. Take a look. I don’t have access to enough information from here to write much about it. - cheers Anil
35. logical on May 30th, 2009 at 7.48am
“The love of money is the root of all evil.”
It seems the followers of the master who
preached unconditional love have forgotten
the above.
36. Observer on May 30th, 2009 at 8.40am
I would urge commenters here to open their homes to the elderly folks mentioned in this posting. Someone who attends the Penang Catholic Church, please organize a committee to rehouse these old folks with the support of your parishioners.
Where are these old folks’ kids? Are their kids so useless? Someone please chase after them and lecture them on filial piety.
37. Observer on May 30th, 2009 at 8.42am
I see there are Astro satellite receivers on these old folks’ home. If they can afford Astro, surely they can afford some decent accommodations?
38. Seow on May 30th, 2009 at 8.45am
I think its pretty easy to come to the conclusion that the church/bishop cant take the high ground here. Id think that their values and beliefs as religious men would teach them and everyone else to champion the poor and downtrodden, which they clearly are not doing here.
We arrive at this conclusion because as pointed out by others, there is ample space in other properties owned by the church to use for whatever it is the bishop wants to use the land for. It is perplexing that he doesnt just use 1 Bell property, instead choosing to evict these people.
Furthermore, what is so difficult with letting them live there? No one is asking the bishop to realistically give up his property for the poor, but to ask the same of old men and women who have been in service of the church to move out is heartless. Already for me as a 21 year old its so hard to find accomodation, what with unscrupulous landlords. Imagine the difficulty of the old people.
Ultimately it boils down to morals. Men have done much more for their fellow man. Look at Guan Eng, how he had to go through 2 years in prison just because he tried to help a girl who was raped in Malacca. If people like Guan Eng were to be self-centered and care-free (dare I say like Mr.Bishop), itd be a grave day for Malaysia indeed. I never thought Id see the day politicians take the moral high ground over men of religion.
39. caravanserai on May 30th, 2009 at 9.11am
The Catholic Church Penang
Showing the flock the way to good living
Let them take shelter under the lights
Of the Lord of Heavens
It is the flocks of the innocents
The invalids and the homeless
The flocks of needy souls
O Church of Catholic faith
Why must people suffer?
When you don’t use the land
Show the way you preach
Not the way to acquire
Of things never needed in heavens
Have you forgotten it?
The Catholics in Penang
Show the Church the door
For the Bishop has forgotten
It is the people who make the Church
40. Lucius on May 30th, 2009 at 9.59am
More option should be provided on humanitarian ground. Having provided a 1 year extension of their stay on the land, the church could go have done more, for example, to engage welfare organization to provide help for these old folks. But again, it’s not compulsory for the church, as perceived, to extend all means of help.
Anil has done a great job by emphasizing the news in this blog. From here, I think the society should take over, especially the welfare organization, either those belong to the government or private.
41. chris anthony on May 30th, 2009 at 1.07pm
Congrats Anil.A good report .I think you should send this to Herald.You will be surprised…
The ’scandal’ has been reported in the mainstream media.The bishop cannot remain quiet anymore.The credibility of the Church is at stake.He must explain the real situation to reveal the truth,which will finally prevail.What have we got to fear when God will always be on the side of truth?
It is very unfortunate that secular state government (non-Christian) has to preach morality and charity to the church.I take that as an embarrassment to us all.
Anil Netto
Villagers in a dozen households next to the St Francis Xavier’s Church face uncertainty after receiving three letters over the last year from lawyers acting on behalf of the Catholic Church in Penang.
The residents had been ordered to vacate their premises by 31 May 2009 (which happens to be Pentecost Sunday, marking the coming of the Holy Spirit). In the latest letter of 19 May 2009, they have been granted a second extension until 31 May 2010 on “humanitarian grounds”, provided they agree in writing to compensation of RM10,000. If not, they have to vacate their homes by this Sunday.
The lawyer’s letter states the church can afford to provide only RM10,000 as it is a “non-profit religious institution”. Lay Catholics, however, are not in a position to judge whether the church can afford to pay more as its diocesan accounts are not made public to them as a matter of course.
Allow me to introduce you to some of the villagers the church wants to evict (see photo above, from left):
Augustin Martin, 82, raised at the nearby orphanage in the early 1930s. He was a church organist during World War II and worked as a driver for the Kee Huat company in his younger days. Occupant of house no. 52-E.
Arokiasamy Dass, 84, born here in 1925, former JKR tractor driver. His father arrived here around 1920 just before getting married. Occupant of house no. 52-H.
Olga Fernandez, 71, arrived here before the war. Her family originally settled in the area in the late 1920s. Occupant of house no. 52-G.
Bellimin Rajah, 70, worked as a Cold Storage clerk. He remembers crouching in his house when George Town was being bombed by the Japanese during World War II: “A big stone dropped on my sister’s back,” he recalls. Occupant of house no. 52-C.
Manimathu, 74, widow of the late Mr Selva. She has lived here since 1949. Occupant of house no. 52-F.
Jayamary is Bellimin’s wife. She arrived here in 1967, after getting married.
Anthony Muthu, 79, a former ludlow (headline layout) operator for the now defunct Straits Echo. He has lived here since 1937. Occupant of house no. 52-Q. His father, Sinnasamy Appasamy, arrived here after his marriage.
Theresa Savari, 60, is Anthony’s wife. She arrived here after their marriage.
Among those not in the photo above:
Santhanam Sinasamy, 82. Occupant of house no. 52-P.
Lourdesamy s/o Ponnudurai, 60. Occupant of house no. 52-I.
One of the villagers remembers a Japanese officer looking for a base in the area for his troops during World War II. “When he came over and saw us and the other children, he decided not to disturb or evict us. Instead, they used the Chinese school behind, next door. Imagine, even the Japanese occupying forces didn’t ask us to leave.”
“(French priest) Fr Louis Riboud really sayang Augustin (the organist) and he told our families we could live on the land,” recalls another villager.
The parish originally catered to Tamil Catholics in George Town, many of them poor and from the working class.
Now, the lawyers’ letter states that the church wants the villagers to vacate their land so that it can be used for “charitable and social purposes”. The Bishop maintains there are no plans to sell the land.
But it is not clear why the church wants the villagers to move out of this prime land now and what exactly it intends to do with the land.
The old buildings of St Joseph’s orphanage next door have already been demolished and the site presently is walled up and has been lying idle for years. The Lighthouse drop-in centre next door has no immediate expansion plans.
“Whatever happened to the parable of the Good Samaritan?” asks Anthony Muthu, one of the villagers. “Is it only meant to be preached during Sunday sermons? Why is no one putting it into practice and helping us? Where do we go, at this age, looking for low-cost housing with RM10,000 in compensation? Which bank will give us housing loans at our age?”
The church hierarchy points out that some of the residents have not paid their rents for a few years.
But the residents say they have spent a few thousand ringgit of their own money for roof repairs and collapsed walls. They thought that the church would overlook their rent over the last couple of years as the villagers had taken care of the repairs at their own expense.
“In any case, if the church felt that we had defaulted on rent, shouldn’t it first have issued lawyer’s letters demanding payment of rental like landlords usually do instead of keeping quiet and then all of a sudden, asking us to vacate the premises?” asked Anthony. “By their silence, we felt that church leaders understood our predicament and our need to carry out repairs.”
What hurts the villagers most is that all dealings are now through the church’s lawyers, without any avenue for face-to-face consultation with church leaders. That puts the villagers at a disadvantage as they cannot afford lawyers of thei own. “What happened to all the Catholic lawyers?” wonders one of them.
“They claim we are outsiders,” observes another. “But we have lived here much longer than those who accuse us of being outsiders. It is the bishop and his priests who are the newcomers here.”
I guess it’s a lot easier to evict faceless, nameless people, strangers whom we do not know - using a lawyer as the middle-man. But imagine if these people were our own family members, our parents or grandparents….
Andrew Aeria, a Catholic, has a suggestion: “If the church really needs land for social, cultural and religious use, it could use the spacious premises at No. 1 Bell Road for this purpose.” Recalling previous controversial land deals, Andrew suspects that the church hierarchy has a long-term plan to dispose of the St Francis Xavier’s Church land for commercial gain - even though the Bishop has dismissed such accusations as “absolute nonsense”.
Meanwhile, the despairing residents say they are praying that the Holy Spirit will guide and touch those who are trying to help them.
This is a report from the latest Herald, from the Penang Bishop’s perspective:
No plans to sell church land, Bishop Selva
PENANG: Bishop Antony Selvanayagam has refuted claims that the diocese is planning to sell a portion of its land to the Cititel Hotel for development.
“That is absolute nonsense,” said Bishop Selva.
“The land on the grounds of the St Francis Xavier Church off Jalan Penang has been earmarked for religious, charitable and cultural purposes.”
St Joseph’s Home, the Lighthouse, the learning centre and a century-old village are situated within the property.
The Church wants the villagers to vacate their rented houses for redevelopment according to religious, charitable and cultural purposes.
These villagers have not been paying their rent for the past 34 months.
Bishop Selva said that ample notice had been given to the residents to relocate.
The residents were initially asked to vacate the premises by Nov 30 last year. They were later given an extension until May 31 this year.
It is understood the residents are being offered ex-gratia payment of RM10,000 each, with rental arrears deducted from the amount.
Bishop Selva explained that “so far two persons have accepted the payment and have left while another 12 remain.”
Another issue, which cropped up during this standoff has been the contention that the village is situated in the Unesco heritage zone. But Bishop Selva clarified that the village is situated outside the heritage zone but within the buffer zone.
“This means that we cannot demolish the houses but we can redesign the interior to suit the different needs of the organisation or group which will be using the houses.”
40 Responses to “Air of gloom as Church orders villagers to vacate land”
1. nick chan on May 29th, 2009 at 3.58pm
lawyers? catholic? does anyone see wrong in that?
2. Andrew Aeria on May 29th, 2009 at 4.08pm
Ummmm, excuse me but is not allowing these old residents to stay on in the Penang Road SFX Village a ‘charitable and social purpose’? What will become of these poor residents of Penang Road SFX Village after Sunday? Does the Bishop of Penang even care? Oh I forgot. He sleeps soundly on his soft pillow and soft mattress in Bell Road and dreams only of divine beings.
I think the Penang Bishop and his Finance Commission are a bunch of heartless people led by very un-Gospel values. There are always more creative and humane ways to sort out this so-called predicament of residents on Church property. Why not give notice to all these families that once they pass away, the houses revert to the Church? And don’t allow new tenants or sub-tenants in the meantime? But these options were not explored. Why?
Because the fact is that the Penang Bishop and his Finance Commission are motivated by money, money, money. This fact has been established previously by the sale of Pulau Tikus Kampong Serani land and also College-General land. And truth be told, the Bishop and his Finance Commission have been mulling over what to do with the Penang Road property (doublespeak for, ‘How to make a profit?’) for years!
Ironically, the Penang Bishop - who preaches the Gospel a lot - lives a rather comfortable middle-class lifestyle in the really Tony neighbourhood of Bell Road. So, why does the Bishop not transform his swanky 1 Bell Road residence into a premise for ’social and charitable purposes’ instead of harassing poor old people in Penang Road? Is this not a mega contradiction of what he preaches and what he does?
So, let me make this proposal to the Penang Bishop. Since 1 Bell Road is Church property (i.e. only held in trust by the Bishop for the body of Catholics who are the Church) and up-kept by Church finances given weekly by church-goers, as a Catholic I am willing to give the Bishop of Penang RM10,000 cash by this Sunday (31 May 2009) if he agrees to vacate 1 Bell Road in one year’s time. Then, he has one year to go and find some tiny room to live amongst the poor just like all these poor old residents from the Penang Road SFX Village will likely do. And if the Bishop agrees, then in a year’s time, we Catholics convert 1 Bell Road into a Church venue having a genuine ‘charitable and social purpose’.
Failing which, if the Penang Bishop disagrees to my proposal, he has to vacate 1 Bell Road by this Sunday forthwith and the property can then be immediately be converted for ‘charitable and social purposes’.
There is a niggling suspicion in the back of my mind that the Penang Bishop and his Finance Commission - despite all their talk about converting the SFX Church land to ‘charitable and social purposes” - really are bent on selling the Penang Road property to some big-time developer for a mega-profit, if they have not already done so. I also suspect that they will do this via stealth and by then, it will be too late. The developer will have legal title once the sale is completed quietly and we would only know about this after the Bishop and his money-motivated Finance Commission have already banked in the million-ringgit cheque into the Church bank account.
And all our protests as Catholics who built the Church and who support our clergy and Bishop with our hard-earned weekly donations during mass would have come to naught.
3. Miriam on May 29th, 2009 at 4.34pm
Its for reasons of the kind of hypocrisy the church practices that I am often ashamed of even being identified as a Catholic. As Andrew Aeria states so cogently, the land is held in trust by the Bishop on behalf of the body Catholic to do the best with on the peoples behalf. Evicting elderly Catholics from their homes is a manifestation of heartlessness and sheer, unadulterated greed. Not the love that ought to reside in the very being of Christianity. I will not be at all surprised that ‘others’ play up this issue for further Catholic bashing. Its not too late to save the day.
4. Sunny on May 29th, 2009 at 4.46pm
On second thought, they have had close to free accomodation for many years.
5. Observer on May 29th, 2009 at 5.07pm
On one hand, I do pity their predicament at their age. On the other hand, they have had nearly free accommodation for many years. Maybe they could work for the church in some capacity?
6. Andrew Aeria on May 29th, 2009 at 5.16pm
In response to Sunny: The Bishop of Penang and his clergy have also had ‘free accommodation for many years’. Should we evict them from their middle-class residences as well and throw them onto the streets, just abandon them to ‘God’s mercy’?
7. petestop on May 29th, 2009 at 5.40pm
Indeed, as a Christian organisation, the Church should find a comprehensive and mutually beneficial solution to these old folks welfare first, instead of sending in the Advocate from Hell.
Especially these old folks does not have much options to start
over again.
It is a shameful episode indeed, all Christians and fair-minded Malaysian should protest such heartless action.
8. ikeda on May 29th, 2009 at 5.46pm
Majority of so called religious or charity organisations exist in the name of charity but operate in a manner worst than big time money making MNC. This is the ugly world we are living in. Welcome to reality!
9. James Gomez on May 29th, 2009 at 5.49pm
Aiyah, what’s wrong with the Bishop? Since these poor folks already living for free in the land for so long already, go the final mile by giving the land to them lah. Tear down the church and give more land to others as well.
10. casper on May 29th, 2009 at 6.28pm
I was thinking aloud, what would be a ‘reasonable’ solution and have to go with what Andrew Aeria’s proposed - full marks dear sir.
The pending eviction is based on commerce and your hunch about future million is spot on. This ’sale’ is no different than when St.John Institution, KL sold land to YTL for the development of KL Tower. And as time passes, the RM$10,000 is pittance, what with land prices on Penang Island on the rise and increasingly pricey. Even with RM$20,000 or double that to 40k, these senior citizens are in for a difficult future with all signs pointing to them sleeping rough.
Regards Anil and all.
11. Tommy on May 29th, 2009 at 7.00pm
Sorry, I am not a christian. But I will have to say it’s all because of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ in someone’s pocket!!!!
12. moss on May 29th, 2009 at 7.57pm
This is nothing more than heartless, unChristian greed. It’s all about the money! The Bishop should contemplate what Jesus said, about it being easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to see Heaven.
The sanctimonious preach from the pulpit, but are divorced from the essential verities of Jesus’s central message. How can the Bishop reconcile this unholy deed that he is proposing, from what Christ was all about? Sheer hypocrite masquerading as God’s representative.
“For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we do these things for you? And the Lord shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.”
It would serve the Bishop to realise that, in evicting these old, poor folks, he would be evicting the God he so claims to love and represent.
13. Joe Jambo on May 29th, 2009 at 8.18pm
Why cant each of those who complaint about the church’s action..donate rm10 per month to the cause of these elderly. That would be enough to pay for the costs of their free accommodation all these years (utilities/quit rent/assessment) and in my point of view substantial enough seek the church to reconsider their decision.
I dun understand why u ppl are sooooo anxious in criticising the bishop? he is a trustee..u know!!! its not like he did not let them stay for the many years? he is spending ppl’s money accommodating these ppl!! If you guys are kind enough, each of you readers should collectively collect donate rm10 a month each for the sake of these ppl. Is is too much to ask? How many of u will volunteer for these? Then Anil can represent our interest as trustee on humanitarian grounds to ensure the elder’s cost is paid for.
The church might have the money to pay for but as trustee, it would mean be in breach of trust if it were to give a selected few the benefit of the trust moneys.
They are plenty of ppl in Penang that needs money, u know. Humanitarian consideration was and is given and thats good enough. So, Anil.. u starting a trust fund specific for this purpose? If so, im sure the Bishop will reconsider. He is currently “using trust money for the benefit of a third party.”
I can always question why didnt the Bishop maintain other chatolics within a 3 mile radius on humanitarian grounds as well. Things would be easier if the church can just pass an ordinary resolution authorisng the Bishop to help, but then again its a church and not a company. Hence, he will be in breach of trust utilising trust moneys of the church for the selected few.
14. Tommy on May 29th, 2009 at 8.19pm
Which of the 2 is greater - GOD or GREED?
Ting!!Ting!! GREED wins. GREED have 5 letters whereas GOD have only 3.
15. yugong on May 29th, 2009 at 8.35pm
Since when the Catholic Church has turned money-faced? Sad.
16. Seow on May 29th, 2009 at 8.45pm
And regarding the fact that they have had close to free accomodation, thats not true. the fact that they have conducted repairs on the premises can be used to invoke the set off remedy, which enables them to withhold rent in lieu of repairs to premises.
17. Samuel on May 29th, 2009 at 8.59pm
hey Andrew Aeria the living …., who the …. u think u r to talk like dat bout the Bishop and the Priests? If u want, why dont u ask all the villagers to find refuge in ur damn … bloody sweet home? If u dare, go talk straight to the priests or the bishop, why u ….. so much in here? u know wat, u r the type of morons with this stupid fellar, so called Anill Netto, who only talks big with this so callled passion for the poor, on the net. But, no action for ur big mouths… Or perhaps, u must have hated any priests or the bishop for some past incident, and show ur …. stupid anger when the chance arrived….I know about u…
18. Antares on May 29th, 2009 at 9.13pm
Kudos to Anil & Andrew for articulating on behalf of kindness, generosity & forbearance - on behalf of real human beings! I hope with this post you will alert enough church members to put serious pressure on the bishop & his financial advisors to back down & allow these old-timers lifetime access to their homes.
19. Samuel on May 29th, 2009 at 9.30pm
Hi guys, i know this fellar who talks alot…. damn problematic one…The real story is, those villagers about 12 of them, most of them have their childrens grown up and doing well. The children must be responsible to take care of them at this old age. They are not the so called poor people, as they have been working well in their younger days and given penchant. Again, they r not POOR PEOPLE!!!!!!!get to know the real picture here. Trying to enjoy for free by taking advantage of the church generosity…why never try to have a hse since beginning? Cant afford those days?
Then, how about other millions of people who can afford???? The late MEP Father Louise did give them permission to live there, and he did give warning that in future, people will ask them to leave, no matter who will be that… So, dont the villagers should get the hint and try to sustain themselves by trying to be independant, get their own hse as possible and dont depend on that village for ever???? If u ask me why the church never do it long time ago, to ask them to leave, I will say, Death will come like a thieve at the night, it is we who must be alert and prepare ourselves……
And, all these people who trying to condemn the Catholic Church and the Bishop and his priests with unlawful speeches, better be prepared as the death will come like a thieve at night. U r like DOGS who barke at anything steamy……
20. Samuel on May 29th, 2009 at 9.41pm
“I guess it’s a lot easier to evict faceless, nameless people, strangers whom we do not know. But imagine if these people were our own family members, our parents or grandparents….”
What are their childrens doing? Where r they? Have u found out that?
21. Samuel on May 29th, 2009 at 9.57pm
I dont understand why some people like to think this way, as in this case….. When elderly people are asked to evict the church land, they throw the thoughts, that church is cruel, heartless, greedy, money minded and so forth…Then they started to talk passionately about poor and helping the poor….Then, they will come out with an idea to save this poor people…Then, this is the best one from James Gomez, he wanna tear down the church and give that land to the poor… u INGAT GEREJA BAPA U PUNYA KA?? why dont u tear down ur hse and give it to the poor??? Then,this people will start to talk about GOD and his poverty, his compassion and mercy…and so forth…..They are non then some bunch of hypocrits….and those old folks are not POOR either, don get confused…
U said the church hierrarchy is money minded and greedy… Do u know how much a diocese have to spend for a seminarian to finish his 8 years priesthood training, local and abroad, so that he can serve Christ and u for the rest of his life? Who gonna provide that money? R u willing to give?
22. Andrew I on May 29th, 2009 at 11.01pm
Spoken like a true capitalist, Joe. God must absolutely love you.
To what purpose does donating to the church serve then? Let’s see, we can all stop donating and D.I.Y. since everyone has a different perception of poverty. We’ll have to see the utilities bills and share it out equally. Maybe we could have monthly general meetings and cut out all unnecessary expenditure.
This is, after all, God’s money and we can’t have selected mere mortals managing it.
23. Eng on May 29th, 2009 at 11.14pm
‘GREED’= ‘God Reap Every Elderly’s Dwelling’.
24. Tee on May 29th, 2009 at 11.28pm
Dear Bishop,
Who do you think deserve your charitable hands more? A group of well dressed church goers or a dozen of poor, old, homeless people?
Why create the problem at the first place??
25. ong on May 29th, 2009 at 11.34pm
Thanks Anil for a good report. Some of these folks had complained to SOS before in early 2000. Their worries seems to come true now. Community relation lose to class relation(between tenant and landlord class) if these folks are evicted along thousands of tenants who had been evicted from George Town since 2000.
These old folks deserve yours and everyone else’s support-Catholic or not.
26. George Seow on May 30th, 2009 at 12.49am
No matter how altruistic the reasons given by the Bishop for the development of the said property, they pale in comparison to the real and immediate need of the poor and elderly residents.I urge the Church to work out a compassionate solution to the plight of residents . True Christian charity can also come in non glamorous work like helping the poor and helpless. The religious, cultural and social Center can only be proudly built on a foundation of compassion. Anything less than this would have diminished the moral principles that are core to any of the Church’s projects.
27. lucia on May 30th, 2009 at 1.08am
i agree with joe jambo. why are people so anxious to criticise the bishop/church? and also not forgetting taking on the moral high ground. esp. andrew who is so harsh. andrew you sound so bitter… did the church wronged you or something terrible happened between you and the church? (btw are you related to alban aeria?)
as joe suggested, yes, why don’t these people who complained so much donated RM10 per month to these elderly villagers? or do something else. don’t be an armchair critic only. it’s easy to say the bishop should do this, the bishop should do that when you no. 1, don’t know the actual situation, no. 2, can’t put yourself in the bishop’s place.
i’m sure people like andrew live in nice terrace house or a condo, yes middle class property… much better than the villagers anyhow - well if you talk about the bishop giving up his bungalow, you too can give up your terrace house (or whatever which is much better than the villagers’) and let 4 or 5 of these villagers stay. i know this sounds childish… likewise your suggestion of offering the bishop RM10,000 to evict from his bungalow!
you guys hear so much on one side - the side of the villagers and only so little on the bishop’s side but you guys already jumped to conclusion to side with the villagers! well, no surprise as i said before, usually big name/corporation will be look as the ‘big bully’ while the poor/ordinary folks as the good guys.
quote “In response to Sunny: The Bishop of Penang and his clergy have also had ‘free accommodation for many years’. Should we evict them from their middle-class residences as well and throw them onto the streets, just abandon them to ‘God’s mercy’?”
bad and unfair comparision.
28. Adrian Pereira on May 30th, 2009 at 3.13am
There is two ways about moving forward in this troubled times where every entity struggles for survival,political and financial. There has to be more TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY for this huge super structure of a “government” we call the Catholic Church. Being a full time pastoral worker and after seeing the amazing alternative possibilities in stickier situations, there has to be a better solution.Keep up the good work Anil and Andrew. There is indeed a lot of work to be done. I reflect back to the the Radical option Christ made which is the preferential option for the poor and marginalized.
29. Apex on May 30th, 2009 at 3.24am
“What hurts the villagers most is that all dealings are now through the church’s lawyers, without any avenue for face-to-face consultation with church leaders…”
I’m ASTONISHED that a person with the religious stature of a bishop would deal with these elderly villagers with such apparent aloofness and coldness. The community has been here for almost a century, and the church’s way to tell them to get out is through letters from a lawyer!!
Sure, our bishop may be legally entitled to do that, but just flexing your legal muscle against such folks is hardly befitting someone who is supposed to stand out as a spiritual father-figure.
Obviously, from what we’ve seen, these people have become a deep part of our Church’s history in Penang… At the very least, they deserve to be dealt with compassion… and certainly a lot more dignity…
Shame on you, Bishop.
30. Joe Jambo on May 30th, 2009 at 4.04am
Dear Andrew
To agree with u on one point, I would be furious if I were to find out that the Church is not or has not been helping anyone seeking its help on humanitarian grounds. In this case, I believe the church did help.
However, I would be equally as furious knowing that the church is applying all the moneys donated, to help every single ppl in Penang on humanitarian grounds as well. This is not the Church’s responsibility. The church ought to only help to a certain extent.
When i was a kid, I was told that churches ‘do not make a profit out of a donation’ and when I asked my mum why should I donate to the church every sunday (being a kid, I donated rm0.50 as a token), I was told that it’s to HELP THE CHURCH so that the church can operate and cover its operational expenses. Then, i enquired whether this would mean that the church will be very rich. Well, i was told that we will not know that. In any event, I was further told that catholic churches always seem poorer than other churches (i dun know why and the priest doesnt look rich so i dun think he squanders the donation).
The bottom line is, if I were to donate money to the church, i dun expect the money to be utilised to permanently help the same poor family for anything more than 2 years. The church should help but not on a permanent basis forever, or not, every tom dick and harry will live off the church forever. Why not go to a temple instead? You see..? It is wrong. No doubt as these institutions should assist but not to take over the government’s obligation to permanently assist and to house a person (It should be the society’s obligation as a whole, not just the church).
If any housing assistance should be given on a permanent basis, there should be a proper fund for that purpose. That’s why I am asking for all you complaining readers to donate to them. U cant just obliged others to help these poor (same people) for years and years. What about others who need the church’s help? Are the moneys enough to support everyone?
Definitelty No. Then, can the bishop choose to prefer to assist one particular group of family on humanitarian grounds for as long as the public thinks he should? Definitely No as well. That would be an abuse of our donation for him to help a special group of people only. He merely needs to assist.. but not to be put to a duty or assume the responsibility to take care of your housing needs.
Hence Andrew, are u willing to help out monthly through a fund? U havent indicate anything yet. If u wana help, u help. But u never demand or obliged others to help. They help on their conscience, and in this case, the church did assist and we should agree that there is limitations to that assistance.
31. Mercy on May 30th, 2009 at 4.45am
How many of you remember the proposal to sell the land next to the St Joseph’s orphanage? It is the sacred burial ground of our Catholic ancestors.
After much protest from the descendants of the people buried there, that sacred burial ground is still with us (but for how long?)
Looks like history is repeating itself.
I sincerely hope that an amicable solution can be reached.
Both sides must have time to sit down and discuss this.
Are these poor folks being victimised?
Is the Catholic church being heartless and unfair?
May the Holy Spirit enlighten all parties concerned.
32. wira on May 30th, 2009 at 5.43am
Those are God’s children and the church has a responsibility towards the weak and the infirm.
We’ve seen congregations in other churches raising million
s to pay up for their church buildings. Bishop Selva should not disappoint God.
33.
Gary on May 30th, 2009 at 6.00am
Somehow, I do agree with Lucia and Joe Jambo. Did we really understand or find out exactly what transpired between the Church and the villagers ???
34. rosalind lee on May 30th, 2009 at 6.31am
Hi Anil
I don’t know how to reach u. I received this mail last week & I waited to see whether you would blog about it since you’re talking about SFX issue. Is city people more entitled than urban folks huh? Please check out issue. Is it true? No media news!
Quote
“Fr Jean Claude have been called in by the police for an ‘interview’ at the Triang police station tomorrow, Friday (22/5/2009)… Allegedly the instructions come from the Inspector General of Police (IGP)..
Last Sunday at 4pm, there was a special mass (prayer service) at the St John’s Chapel in Triang, i.e. that 83 year old chapel, that the Pahang Government is threatening to demolish.
Lots of yellow coloured St John’s Chapel parishioners were there, and there were many more persons that came from other churches around the country to show solidarity.
After mass, there was food and drinks served, and a little talk by me on Freedom of Religion.
Now, the police has called in the Parish Priest, Fr Jean Claude Lourdes, for questioning tomorrow.
What are the police doing? Trying to put some psychological pressure to stop this desparate attempt by this community to save their 83-year old chapel? I wonder..
Fr Jean Claude said that he will be going in to the Triang police station at 2-30pm tomorrow (22/5/2009).
Why is this old chapel being targetted for destruction suddenly…something is amiss.
Is there some corruption involved? Maybe the anti-corruption body need to just investigate to be sure…
Or, is it just some form of ‘punishment’ being meted out to the Catholic community in Triang? Why? Because of the problems that the Catholic Church been causing - i.e. that Allah case, the conversion and religious rights issues..
Maybe, it is because the church sits in that odd seat that has repeatedly elected a DAP ADUN - but then the MP, is BN Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob…
Najib is from the Pekan Constituency, adjacent to the Bera Constituency, and I believe our new PM should step in and ensure the continued existence of this little chapel which has served the Triang community as shelter during bad times…”
Unquote
Thanks Rosalind. Charles Hector has been covering this issue in depth in his blog. Take a look. I don’t have access to enough information from here to write much about it. - cheers Anil
35. logical on May 30th, 2009 at 7.48am
“The love of money is the root of all evil.”
It seems the followers of the master who
preached unconditional love have forgotten
the above.
36. Observer on May 30th, 2009 at 8.40am
I would urge commenters here to open their homes to the elderly folks mentioned in this posting. Someone who attends the Penang Catholic Church, please organize a committee to rehouse these old folks with the support of your parishioners.
Where are these old folks’ kids? Are their kids so useless? Someone please chase after them and lecture them on filial piety.
37. Observer on May 30th, 2009 at 8.42am
I see there are Astro satellite receivers on these old folks’ home. If they can afford Astro, surely they can afford some decent accommodations?
38. Seow on May 30th, 2009 at 8.45am
I think its pretty easy to come to the conclusion that the church/bishop cant take the high ground here. Id think that their values and beliefs as religious men would teach them and everyone else to champion the poor and downtrodden, which they clearly are not doing here.
We arrive at this conclusion because as pointed out by others, there is ample space in other properties owned by the church to use for whatever it is the bishop wants to use the land for. It is perplexing that he doesnt just use 1 Bell property, instead choosing to evict these people.
Furthermore, what is so difficult with letting them live there? No one is asking the bishop to realistically give up his property for the poor, but to ask the same of old men and women who have been in service of the church to move out is heartless. Already for me as a 21 year old its so hard to find accomodation, what with unscrupulous landlords. Imagine the difficulty of the old people.
Ultimately it boils down to morals. Men have done much more for their fellow man. Look at Guan Eng, how he had to go through 2 years in prison just because he tried to help a girl who was raped in Malacca. If people like Guan Eng were to be self-centered and care-free (dare I say like Mr.Bishop), itd be a grave day for Malaysia indeed. I never thought Id see the day politicians take the moral high ground over men of religion.
39. caravanserai on May 30th, 2009 at 9.11am
The Catholic Church Penang
Showing the flock the way to good living
Let them take shelter under the lights
Of the Lord of Heavens
It is the flocks of the innocents
The invalids and the homeless
The flocks of needy souls
O Church of Catholic faith
Why must people suffer?
When you don’t use the land
Show the way you preach
Not the way to acquire
Of things never needed in heavens
Have you forgotten it?
The Catholics in Penang
Show the Church the door
For the Bishop has forgotten
It is the people who make the Church
40. Lucius on May 30th, 2009 at 9.59am
More option should be provided on humanitarian ground. Having provided a 1 year extension of their stay on the land, the church could go have done more, for example, to engage welfare organization to provide help for these old folks. But again, it’s not compulsory for the church, as perceived, to extend all means of help.
Anil has done a great job by emphasizing the news in this blog. From here, I think the society should take over, especially the welfare organization, either those belong to the government or private.
41. chris anthony on May 30th, 2009 at 1.07pm
Congrats Anil.A good report .I think you should send this to Herald.You will be surprised…
The ’scandal’ has been reported in the mainstream media.The bishop cannot remain quiet anymore.The credibility of the Church is at stake.He must explain the real situation to reveal the truth,which will finally prevail.What have we got to fear when God will always be on the side of truth?
It is very unfortunate that secular state government (non-Christian) has to preach morality and charity to the church.I take that as an embarrassment to us all.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Does God Answer Our Prayers?
We are His 'mtracle workers'among men
To overcome the numerous problems and challenges in life, all of us resort to prayer. Very often despite our earnest prayers our problems only seem to get worse by the day with no hopes for solution. Often we ponder whether God really answers our prayers. The following is a simple parable that is derived from the Jewish Mishmash which may help to answer this question that bothers all of us at one time or another.
A small village in Rural Russia was beset by drought one year and all the crops failed. The village rabbi prayed to the heavens, "Why don't you do something about this dreadful drought?" But the heavens remained silent. So the rabbi organized a charity food drive with the neighboring villages to feed his people.
When the rains came, they came in heavy and the local river flooded, killing all the livestock. The rabbi again prayed, "Heavenly Father, my people are suffering so much, save us from this flood!" But, again, no help from God seemed forthcoming. So the rabbi lobbied the government authorities to provide financial assistance to replenish the herds lost in the deluge.
Finally, in the wake of the flood, infection and disease ran through the inhabitants of the village. The rabbi prayed once more, "Now surely God you will help us!" But the diseases ran their course. So the rabbi marshaled and organized the able bodied in the village to care for the sick.
Months later reflecting on the tragedies of the past year, the rabbi turned to God and accused Him, "Why did you not answer the prayers of my poor villagers? Why did you not send help to them when we were beset by drought, floods and pestilence?"
After many hours of anguished entreaty, a quiet voice answered the rabbi in the depths of his heart, "Of course I sent help; I sent you!"
Yes, God definitely answers our prayers and sends help with or without our knowledge. We need not even ask him to grant what we want. He knows what is best for us under the circumstances we are in. Being Christians and believers in God we must have fundamental faith in Him.
Very often God does not give us what we ask for and this may even lead us to despair and even loss of faith. But be assured many years later we will realize what he did was indeed right and for our good.This is a lesson I learnt through my experiences over 50 years of my life.
God does not perform miracles and magic to solve our problems. If we are waiting for such acts, we will be sadly mistaken and disappointed. Like the rabbi in the above story, we are his “miracle workers” among men. He has given us our intelligence, talents and skills to perform his “miracles” to help others. The pertinent question here is whether we are prepared and willing to be His “miracle workers” and catalysts to disseminate his love among our fellow men. As followers of Christ we have no option but to say ‘YES’.
Dr.Chris Anthony
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Lent, the beginning of a new commitment to love and forgiveness
A time to forgive our enemies
Many of us remember Lent as a time for fasting, abstinence, way of the cross, almsgiving and penance. Many too consider the Lenten campaign as a means of raising funds for the poor. We become very generous during this season and donate graciously towards this and other such funds in aid of the poor. These may nevertheless be some of the ways of observing Lent but there is much more to Lent than just donating generously for the poor and denying ourselves of some pleasures in life.
Goodness, sacrifice and charity should not be just confined to Lent but rather Lent should be the beginning of a new commitment on our part to share what we have with fellow men. It need not be money or wealth but our time, energy, talents, skills and above all our love with those we come into contact daily especially the poor.
The season of Lent starts with Ash Wednesday when we impose ashes on our foreheads to remind us of our mortal nature. Then we go through the passion of Jesus during holy Week recalling His sufferings being unjustly condemned to death on the crucifix. Very often we go through these historical events without pausing to think what it means to us today in this world dominated by greed, selfishness, hate and violence.
To us Malaysians this Lent is of special significance as it marks the first anniversary of the political tsunami that swept across our nation on March 8 last year. The unprecedented win for the opposition represented a victory of the rakyat over arrogance, power abuse, corruption and racism.
Since then there has been political turmoil because the ruling Umno-BN refuses to comply with the verdict of the people for greater democratic change. Of late it has become too aggressive in efforts to undermine the rights of fellow citizens who do not see eye to eye with them. In this political game, gaining power is all that matters whereas ethics and the rule of law become irrelevant. Their ‘ends-justifying-the-means’ style of governance is beginning to cause a lot of anxiety among all sections of the people.
The police, anti-corruption agency, judiciary and all other institutions, which are supposed to be apolitical, are being blatantly used to advance the course of the ruling party. We are denied our freedom of expression and rights for peaceful assembly. We are unfairly detained under the ISA, medical treatment denied and some are even tortured to death with little remorse from the police and top leaders. We are threatened by mob rule into submitting to unjustly implemented laws. We are even denied our right to address God in the name we want.
Christ in his time went through such injustices that were meted out on him for speaking the truth, which hurt many in positions of power and comfort. Despite all the pain and agony inflicted on him unjustly, Jesus accepted all of them willingly without anger or hate. Instead he demonstrated his extreme and unselfish love to those who hurt him by forgiving them. His civility may be seen as weakness and defeat but it was this love that allowed truth to finally prevail.
In this time of Lent when we are subjected to so much injustice, let us recall the Passion of Christ and like Jesus accept these challenges willingly without anger and hatred for those who inflict the pain and suffering on us. Let us show love and forgiveness to those who hurt us because it is this love for our enemies that will help the truth to finally prevail. It is this love for our adversaries that will bring us the ‘resurrection’ when the good finally triumphs over evil.
Dr.Chris Anthony
Many of us remember Lent as a time for fasting, abstinence, way of the cross, almsgiving and penance. Many too consider the Lenten campaign as a means of raising funds for the poor. We become very generous during this season and donate graciously towards this and other such funds in aid of the poor. These may nevertheless be some of the ways of observing Lent but there is much more to Lent than just donating generously for the poor and denying ourselves of some pleasures in life.
Goodness, sacrifice and charity should not be just confined to Lent but rather Lent should be the beginning of a new commitment on our part to share what we have with fellow men. It need not be money or wealth but our time, energy, talents, skills and above all our love with those we come into contact daily especially the poor.
The season of Lent starts with Ash Wednesday when we impose ashes on our foreheads to remind us of our mortal nature. Then we go through the passion of Jesus during holy Week recalling His sufferings being unjustly condemned to death on the crucifix. Very often we go through these historical events without pausing to think what it means to us today in this world dominated by greed, selfishness, hate and violence.
To us Malaysians this Lent is of special significance as it marks the first anniversary of the political tsunami that swept across our nation on March 8 last year. The unprecedented win for the opposition represented a victory of the rakyat over arrogance, power abuse, corruption and racism.
Since then there has been political turmoil because the ruling Umno-BN refuses to comply with the verdict of the people for greater democratic change. Of late it has become too aggressive in efforts to undermine the rights of fellow citizens who do not see eye to eye with them. In this political game, gaining power is all that matters whereas ethics and the rule of law become irrelevant. Their ‘ends-justifying-the-means’ style of governance is beginning to cause a lot of anxiety among all sections of the people.
The police, anti-corruption agency, judiciary and all other institutions, which are supposed to be apolitical, are being blatantly used to advance the course of the ruling party. We are denied our freedom of expression and rights for peaceful assembly. We are unfairly detained under the ISA, medical treatment denied and some are even tortured to death with little remorse from the police and top leaders. We are threatened by mob rule into submitting to unjustly implemented laws. We are even denied our right to address God in the name we want.
Christ in his time went through such injustices that were meted out on him for speaking the truth, which hurt many in positions of power and comfort. Despite all the pain and agony inflicted on him unjustly, Jesus accepted all of them willingly without anger or hate. Instead he demonstrated his extreme and unselfish love to those who hurt him by forgiving them. His civility may be seen as weakness and defeat but it was this love that allowed truth to finally prevail.
In this time of Lent when we are subjected to so much injustice, let us recall the Passion of Christ and like Jesus accept these challenges willingly without anger and hatred for those who inflict the pain and suffering on us. Let us show love and forgiveness to those who hurt us because it is this love for our enemies that will help the truth to finally prevail. It is this love for our adversaries that will bring us the ‘resurrection’ when the good finally triumphs over evil.
Dr.Chris Anthony
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