Social Commentary (2) by Nigel Ng 3M (18)

It is a sad thing indeed when the common man stops giving. And by giving I mean charity. Reports such as materialistic monk Mingyi and NKF swindler Durai have swept the nation into an island-wide paranoia of donating money to any organization. Before one donates to a student holding a collection tin on a Saturday (Flag Day), one has to check that the organization the student is helping is certified and checked thoroughly by the government, and even so there are no guarantees that this is fail proof. This can be easily observed through the change in figures i.e. the decreasing amount of donations received (in dollars) throughout Singapore. Imagine having given ALL your properties to a stranger who appears to need it, only to find out that he was acting all along and has fled with your entire family fortune! Anyone would be mad in such a situation. Past donors of Renci, the organization that Mingyi is in charge of, are kicking up a ruckus over this, which is perfectly understandable, of course.
Mingyi, especially after the aftermath of the TT Durai NKF incident, has ruined the name of charity completely, losing the faith of many and hurting many other small organizations that really need the donations. This is becoming more so as questions are raised, questions such as whether there are other scammers out there hiding behind pictures of the handicapped needy on collection tins and brochures. One thing that Mingyi said which really contributed to this was 'Like I say, a lot of religious people, not only myself, are very different now.' This implies that there are others out there like him who also misuses their charity organization’s funds, misappropriating money meant for the needy and instead spending it for their own personal selfish needs.
Despite much protesting done by the faithful followers of Mingyi, the majority still is convinced that the cash amounts in Mingyi’s private banking account speak for themselves, and that such a “monk” should be charged and fined and/or jailed accordingly to the law. His claims to be a “modern” monk ('Buddhist monks, we are no longer living in the mountains, we are not living in the forest. We are in the city now,' ) have received scorn from the prosecution and his defending statement that “actions speak louder than words”, has been turned against him. (“Like your actions in Perth?” as the prosecution described Mingyi’s luxury property in Australia.) His so-called “investments” are mere excuses for a monk who has sinned by pursuing material wealth and, furthermore, who would not want to see justice meted out to him?
The general consequence of such an event has resulted in a general loss for the poor and the needy who really need the donations to carry on with their lives. A solution would be to donate to a charity organization that gives directly to the needy, and not through many other sources such that by the time one dollar of ours reaches the poor, it has diminished into ten cents.