Singapore inspiring stories

Singapore has many inspiring stories, this is about filial son.
STOMPer Miso came across a touching story of a boy in China who despite studying in a university over a hundred kilometres away, returned home to spend time with his dying father in his last few days.

24-year-old Cheng Jilai did his late father (56-year-old Cheng Yixing) proud when he was the only one out of his three siblings who made it to university. But because of their impoverished family financial situation, the family was unable to bear expensive tuition costs and Cheng Jilai ultimately chose to study at Xi’an Aeronautical University, borrowing 6000 Yuan to enter the school.

Things took an unfortunate turn when his father's health deteriorated and he was diagnosed with rectal cancer, but his father had kept the news from his children and refused to seek treatment for his health condition due to the family's inability to afford surgery. It was only at the end of 2011 when his father's health declined so drastically did Cheng Jilai and his siblings learn about his illness and took him to a hospital.

With the tight financial situation, Cheng Jilai worked to support himself while he was in university, but used his hard-earned tuition savings to settle his father's medical bills and funeral preparations. Although he has had several female admirers in school, Cheng Jilai never dared entertain the thought of having a girlfriend has he knew that dating required money to be spent.

During his father's last few days, Cheng Jilai and his father slept in the same room, and he was always by his father’s side. He knew that his father was close to death, and could pass away any moment. 

Mr. Cheng Yixing passed away on 27 March 2012 at approximately 9.30pm at night.

Said Miso:

"This story brought tears to my eyes.

"From the photos, you can see that his son really took care of the funeral arrangements and medical bills despite the family's poverty to ensure that his father received a proper burial.

"The fact that he travelled all the way home and sacrificed his university tuition money for his father is indeed admirable.

"Hopefully young people in Singapore would follow in his footsteps when it comes to caring for their elderly parents and loved ones."

President Susilo Bambang talking about religious harmony

Singapore is very concern about racial and religious harmony. As we know the successful gathering of nine different religion to have the dinner together in 2000 was the breakthrough in human history. Singapore nine different religion can co-operate with each others is the model for other countries to follow. Malaysia also is the great country to spread the religious and racial harmony especially after Mr. Najib took over the office. Malaysia government treat the minority group like Indians, Chinese with great respect. How about Indonesia? Yes, the Indonesia government also realized the importance of religious harmony. All these three countries are showing the good examples that religious and racial harmony ready can achieve if we have the strong will to do so.
I always like to read foreign newspaper like Korean news, financial time, Thailand newspaper, The Jataka post and many others. Yesterday I came across the news about President Susilo Bambang talking about religious harmony. I felt extremely happy because the leaders always play the important part in instill the values of racial and religious harmony. Let's see how President Susilo Bambang's ideas. I hope the President can continue the efforts.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono underlined the importance of the roles played by leaders and religious figures in solving various conflicts taking place across the country.

“As the head of state, I invite and urge leaders and religious figures to guide people and apply their religious teachings as properly as possible,” he said in his speech at a commemorative ceremony celebrating the centenary of a Catholic church in Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Friday.

The President said that leaders and religious figures should continuously strive to seek peaceful solutions to the various conflicts.

“Building and maintaining religious harmony as well as presenting enlightened examples of leadership are part of the requirements needed to settle conflict,” he said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Yudhoyono said that amid the heterogeneity and dynamism of Indonesia, sometimes conflicts arose in which leaders and religious figures should be active in the search for a peaceful resolution.

The President, however, stopped short of mentioning any concrete steps needed to settle the various religious conflicts taking place in a number of areas throughout Indonesia.

The discovery that a regent in Aceh ordered the closure of 20 churches in April this year raises concerns over growing intolerance, which may trigger communal conflicts.

The closures were ordered by Aceh Singkil’s acting regent Razali AR in a letter signed on April 30, which ordered members of the congregations to tear down the churches themselves by June 8 at the latest.

Following the closures, there are now only two churches open in Aceh Singkil, both built after 2000. Most of the churches selected for demolition were built in the 1930s and 1940s. The dispute in Aceh adds to the long list of incidents of religious intolerance in the nation.

In Bekasi, West Java, the Congregation of the Filadelfia Batak Protestant Churches (HKBP) continues to be regularly assaulted and harassed by Muslims when it tries to conduct Sunday services.

The Bekasi regency sealed off the church site in 2010 after local residents objected to the construction of the church. The regency continues to refuse to open the site even after the Bandung State Administrative Court ruled in favor of HKBP Filadelfia.

Members of the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) face similar harassment in Bogor, also in West Java.

Various human rights groups have also reported cases of attacks on Ahmadis and Shiites, including congregations in Cikeusik, Banten, Tangerang and Sampang in East Java.

Last month, Yudhoyono spoke before the UN General Assembly, calling on the UN’s member states to adopt a legally binding instrument to ban blasphemy and to promote dialogue between different faiths, civilizations and cultures.

He added that such an instrument was needed to prevent the incitement of violence based on religion.

Indonesia has ratified various international laws that legally bind the government to guarantee its people religious freedom. These laws include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which was ratified by Indonesia in 2005.

 Friday’s ceremony was also attended by Cabinet ministers, NTT leaders and religious figures.

After the ceremony and before returning to Jakarta, the President and his entourage traveled to Labuan Bajo, the main gate for Komodo National Park, before flying on an Air Force Hercules airplane to Central Sumba.
Table of religious intolerance:

• During the era of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (as of 2007) 108 churches have been closed/damaged; in the era of president Megawati Soekarnoputri, 92; in the era of president Abdurrahman Wahid, 232; in the era of president Soeharto, 456.

• Based on data from the Manado Post daily, there were 2,442 cases of church closures and demolitions in the period between 2004 and 2010.

• In 2011, Setara Institute recorded 244 cases of religious intolerance in 17 regions. The largest number of cases was recorded in West Java (57 cases), followed by South Sulawesi (45), East Java (31), North Sumatra (24) and Banten (12).

Sources: The Jakarta Post and Setara Institute

Markus Makur contributed to this report from Ruteng.

About National family Council Singapore

Singapore has National family Council. What is all about National family Council? It is good to learn especially for those who have family.

First launched in 1985, the National Family Celebrations (formerly known as National Family Week) is an important annual national event to celebrate and reinforce the importance of the family. This iconic national event is championed by the National Family Council (NFC), with strong support from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS). The Council is a people sector-led committee that aims to promote and build resilient families in Singapore.

Through the month long Celebrations, families can take part in a wide array of interesting activities and events and spend quality time together!

Family Time Odyssey: Past. Present. Future.
The theme for National Family Celebrations 2012 (NFC’12) is Family Time Odyssey – a journey through time for youths to take with their families.

To foster appreciation of each generation in the family and to honour the times that we have spent together, this year’s activities will focus on strengthening familial bonds through time. Everyone can be a child, youth, parent or grandparent at different times of their lives, and this year’s activities are designed to encourage families to explore evolving family roles through the times. It may be a rewind back in time, or a fast-forward to the future; the aim is to take stock of the present by reflecting on the connections of the past and work together towards improved relationships in the future.

The emphasis on time this year encompasses time spent together as a family. By investing time in bonding and connecting as a family, strong foundations will be built for families to stay cohesive and resilient through the times.

Bhutan happy families

Bhutan has many happy families. Bhutan government is very concern about its citizens' happiness. The happy index is measured by how happy Bhutan people feel. Bhutan is the only Mahayana Buddhism Kingdom in the world, with Mahayana (tantric) Buddhism as its official religion. We hear the recent news that Bhutan wants to achieve 100 percent of organic farm products. Why Bhutan people are so happy because of their peaceful mindset, mo killing. love nature,etc. It is in line with their culture. It is practised throughout the entire country by 75% of the inhabitants. Hinduism – closely related to Buddhism, is Bhutan’s second religion, practiced by about 25% of the population. Before Buddhism captured the heart of Bhutan, several forms of animistic religions were practiced. Minority groups still practice these traditions and rituals in some parts of the country. Buddhims plays a fundamental role in the cultural, ethical and sociological development of Bhutan and its' people. You see this in the reverence Bhutan’s inhabitans have for their land, other people and animals. To ensure that Buddhism stays vividly alive, one son from every family usually attends a monastic school. The three main themes of Buddhism are detachment, ephemerality and change.
It is good to learn good values from Bhutan people.