The Straits Times (November 8) reported that the Islamic Religious council of Singapore (MUIS) has declared its opposition to euthanasia.The head of Muis said: “Regardless of one’s illness, and however sick one is, he or she shall not be killed because of desperation and loss of hope of recovery. Even with the consent or request of the patient, it is regarded as suicide and aggression against the other.” The verse they quoted from the Quran to support this: “Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves, for verily, Allah hath been to you most merciful!”
In doing so, they have joined the chorus of opposition from the Roman Catholic Church, the National Council of Churches of Singapore (representing 200 churches and organizations), and the Buddhist and Taoist religious leaders who advocate respect for life.
The Hindus are now the only group that sees euthanasia as acceptable under certain circumstances: when a person is beyond cure, and has blessings of his family, and where it is not against the law. Well at least this is what the secretary of the Hindu Centre, Mr K. Kathirasan told the Straits Times. I doubt the Hindus have an official stand or even an official voice to represent them.
And also take a look at a post by Dr. Alex Tang HERE about the three promises to the terminally ill that represents a Christian alternative to euthanasia.
Archbishop Nicholas Chia wrote a letter that condemned euthanasia and it was read out during Sunday services at the country’s 30-plus Catholic churches even as the Government considers changes to the laws that govern dying.
In it, he underlined the Church’s views on death, describing euthanasia as ‘immoral’ and also calling on doctors to reject the practice. Here are some quotations of what was read:
‘One cannot choose death and ask to be killed. When they do this, they are not only committing the crime of suicide, but also compounding it by making another person a partner in a crime.’
‘One must not yield to another’s person’s request for euthanasia. To yield to such a request is false compassion.’
‘To have true compassion for the person is to understand (they are) actually feeling lost, confused, hopeless and alienated. Mercy entails supporting such person through care and friendship.’
‘No health-care professionals must even contemplate the option of administering euthanasia.’
However, our highly pragmatic and forward-looking but amoral government has not proposed legalising the practice of euthanasia, but has broached the idea of making changes to the Advance Medical Directive, or living will. The document instructs doctors not to artificially prolong the life of a terminally-ill patient with machines. The changes would make it easier for Singaporeans to turn down that care. Former Anglican Bishop Moses Tay was reported by Edmond Phua to have said that euthanasia is against the Bible’s teachings, and pointed out that the whole argument turns on the understanding of who has the right to take away life.
“The moral, and I believe biblical, answer to who has the right to take away life is the one who created it: God Himself. Human beings may be the procreators of life, but they do not actually have the right to take away life,” he said to The Christian Post (Singapore) over the phone.
Concerning the AMD, the former medical doctor said that it is “on flimsy medical ground” and, more importantly, it violates core biblical principles.
“As Christians, if we regard ourselves as stewards [of our own lives] and not owners we have to give an account of how we use it,” he stated. “Therefore, if we are only stewards of our own life and not other people’s lives, then we have no right to give a directive on how we will die and when we will die. The AMD takes on this right for yourself, which is not quite yours. As Christians we need to trust God regarding the end of our lives… there are the ways of God not necessarily known to us. We have to trust God to take us through and relate to God and so on.”
He added that while euthanasia, which must be properly defined as “the intentional ending of life before it is due”, is not to be allowed, neither should doctors attempt to extend life beyond its due at the expense of the patient’s comfort, but rather concentrate on palliative care that will allow the patient to pass on peacefully – or what he called treatment.
The bishop also expressed concern regarding the recent AMD changes, making a comparison with the way in which contraception, eugenics, and abortion, have been used as instruments to control high birth rates, in the light of rising healthcare costs due to medical advancements that have enabled longer life expectancies.
“What is worrying is this, if AMD is not effective, if AMD failed, Euthanasia will follow,” he said. “But the cost of healthcare cannot be the only point of deciding whether you should control life like that. Life is precious; it cannot be reduced to dollars and cents.”
As medical costs climb together with a rapidly aging and sickly population, and if pragmatism rules the day, and is pushed to its logical extreme, it is very possible that a hardnosed government like ours will take the extreme measure, and allow euthanasia of some guise, in order to cut down what would be a rampant demand for a scarce and costly supply.
If you were in the shoes of a terminally ill patient and in great pain and anxiety about draining your family, would you not be tempted to tell doctors not to artificially prolong your life with machines?
For a look at the use of reasoning in the public arena, where scripture is not regarded as a valid source of authority, go HERE.
I have lived to see an historic election in the United States: an African American has been elected as the President of the United States. Martin Luther King’s bones must be rattling with joy in his grave. His dream has come true! Herein lies the genius and greatness of America: the impossible dream can come true; it’s not always the color of the skin; many times the content of one’s character counts.
Unfortunately, Obama has been elected in a time of great crisis and under enormous expectations of change. I fear it would be beyond his ability, or for that matter, for anyone to deliver the kind of changes that would satisfy the masses, not to forget that the economic mess is a Gordian’s Knot, and over 40% voted for the Republicans. Will Americans have the patience to wait out three years for the economy to turn the corner.
I would hope that his life experience as one from a minority race, and having grown up in Indonesia in close quarters with Muslims, would give him greater understanding and compassion for the sinned against, the people on the margins of life, the smaller and weaker nations. Hopefully, his background would act to advantage and give him an unusual measure of good judgment, shown lacking in his predecessor’s unilateral action in Afghanistan and Iraq. May his color lend a distinct touch to his presidency, and deliver justice and mercy in foreign policy, and heal the damaged reputation of the United States.
Americans deserve this and more, for courageously voting in a different President.
As for us Christians, let our hope be anchored in a Sovereign God, and not on an imperfect man, cool as he is, and we shall not suffer the disappointment of fools.
I want to thank all the well wishers who left their condolences on the post “Eulogy to my Mum, Ada Law”. I was blessed and comforted reading your kind thoughts. The funeral went great and my sadness turned into an infectious joy. It was grace at work, and the love of the church community. Here are some advice I’d like to give to readers regarding holding funerals, just in case:
A funeral will cost as much as a wedding.
You will be surprised who comes and how comforting and generous they are.
There will be serendipity. Old friends who haven’t seen each other for years will meet. And hitherto unknown relatives will be reconnected.
Funeral food is awful, so don’t bother. The tradition stemmed from the fact that in the old days in China well wishers travelled great distances to attend a funeral, so food was a necessary hospitality, after they had arrived or before they left for home.
Two nights of wakes is just right. You’ll be drained, even without the night virgils.
Afternoons were free of distractions for good conversation. Most of my pastor friends visited me then.
Keep the wake services under 40 minutes and make it meaningful with music, eulogy and homily. I said homily, not sermon, or bible exposition, or evangelistic rally with altar call.
There are not many parlours with a central location. Parlours are good because you can lock up and go home to take regular badly-needed rest. Doing it in the HDB void deck can be exhausting.
Do your homework beforehand, if possible, and get a reliable undertaker. The fact is nobody is fully alert when grieving and are vulnerable to accepting any price. To bargain also induces guilt towards the departed. Undertakers know that and can take advantage of that to slit the throat of the living…..thus selling another coffin!
Young adult nephews and nieces are great to have around. They have the energy and enthusiasm to serve refreshments, clean up, move tables and chairs. Without them, you are dead! You’ll need two coffins instead of one!
Let the cremation or burial be in the morning. This is to be preferred because the bereaved family would be drained, and after the cremation, they still have some admin matters to settle.
Be thankful for all the help, generosity and sympathy during the wake. They are God’s gifts to the bereaved. I was very blessed by the large number of church people and friends who visited!
No man is poor who has had a godly mother. -Abraham Lincoln
Her children rise up and call her blessed. - Proverbs 31:28 (RSV)
My mum went home to be with the Lord on the morning of 28th October 2008 (Tuesday) at the Salvation Army Peacehaven nursing home. Mum suffered a massive stroke the previous Sunday, and the doctors told us that at age 85 she could not survive an operation, and that she did not have much time left. They were right. We were ready as a family to see her go, and together with our sister who flew in from Germany, and the grandchildren, we gathered and expressed our goodbyes with words, tears, gestures and prayer . We now thank the Lord that she slipped into glory peacefully and with dignity.
Mum was a special woman: beautiful outside and wonderful inside. She managed the home very well. She was neat and organized, and she kept the house, especially the kitchen, clean and neat. I also remember how we all wore the same coloured shirts and pants every Chinese New Year. She also enlisted everybody at home to do all the household chores and I guess with five kids, four of them boys, she needed management skills to survive. There was a regimen at home and we had homework time and play time that had to be adhered to. The carrot and stick worked well. She was an excellent cook and whipped up fantastic curries, ngoh hiong, chili crab, roasted meats and chicken stew, etc. Baking was her forte too and her signature pineapple tarts and butter cake was popular fare among relatives and neighbours as well. As children we delighted in her homemade kaya, coconut candies, tapioca kueh and jelly desserts. And she managed all this on a tight budget. (Put cursor over pic for captions and click on pic for enlarged pop ups).
Mum was industrious, resourceful, thrifty, and supremely sacrificial. She was a skilled seamstress and used to tailor-make dresses for her clients. This was a supplementary source of income for the family. She even did dressmaking classes in her home for some rich tai tais of the Shaw family. Later on her sewing skills were put to great use at St Andrew’s Cathedral where she embroidered and maintained the various stoles and linens used to dress the sancutary for the various Christian seasons. That was her ministry with the Thursday’s ladies fellowship. I remember how she even made curry powder and sold them in packets. She didn’t make much from this but she took pride in it and was meticulous about the quality and cleanliness of the spices and ingredients. On occasion I grudgingly helped her carry big packs of dried chili to the Indian grinders and mixers. She was also a good saver and maximizer of whatever she had and we always had enough for the basics, including tuition for Maths and Mandarin. Her life was generously poured out in the endless sacrifices she made for her family, even after they were married.
Mum had a pleasant temperament. She was characterized by quiet and calm, patience, longsuffering, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. She was moderate in her dressing and spending and with her discipline over us, giving us space as teenagers, and yet occasionally with firmness. I wince with embarassment when I recall how she once went to the community centre basketball court and in front of my friends, called me home for I was furiously playing ball day and night.
Her dad was an Anglican and she married my father, Andrew Chee, in St Andrew’s Cathedral but they were not churchgoers though they allowed us to attend Sunday School when we were young. When the marriage hit turbulence, she experienced a turn of piety and used to go to Novena on Saturdays to pray. Besides recourse to prayer she had wonderful relatives from both hers and fathers side who generously gave her support and practical help, and this helped her to persevere. Later on she joined the St Andrew’s Cathedral ladies fellowhip, which met on Thursdays, and this was the period where I was pleased to see her faith in Christ renewed and deepened with Bible studies, ministry and the warm fellowship there. She was also a regular in the early morning services and even after the onset of dementia, she still went to church regularly under the watchful eyes of Amy the domestic helper, and Lily her sister. Even when she couldn’t recognize us she would still say, “God bless you”, or remember songs like “Jesus loves me this I know”. Even after the geriartician said her memory has gone zero, her helper Amy saw her woke up in the middle of the night and prayed the whole “Lord’s Prayer” and on another night witnessed her looking out the window and praised God, “I love you, Jesus, I love you Jesus. Her faith in Christ, and her temperament made her Alzeimer dementia a sweet one. She would often brush her hands on our cheeks and greet us and strangers with a “You are so pretty”. With this kind of temperament, the great caregivers at Peacehaven’s Flamingo found it pleasant to care for her.
Mum left behind four sons, Colin, Julian, Victor, and myself; three daughters in law, Linda, Ai Lee, and Jenny my wife; and one daughter, Beryll (Joyce). And seven grandchildren: Olivia and Keith; Noah and Nathan; Joshua, Matthew and Elaine; all of whom were cared for by her during the early months of their life.
She also left behind siblings: Philip Law, Lily Law and Florence Law.
How do I feel? Hovering sadness; relieved that it was peaceful and dignified; and thankful to God for his providence, and the hope in Christ. Mixed feelings. I have been grieving over my loss of my mum to dementia over the last few years. She couldn’t recognize or remember anyone. Now I have lost her physically as well, but only until the resurrection of the dead. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes; blessed be His holy name. Do remember us in your prayer.
(If you wish to leave e-condolences or eulogies to the bereaved families, you may use the comment box of this post. Just click on “__ comments” below; fill in your name and email address; filling in your URL - personal website address is optional. Then write your stuff, and finally click on “Add Comment”. )
I hardly visited to maintain my old site at xanga.com. Today I shut it down permanently. Goodbye. It is finished. Blog euthanasia. It feels like shutting down a part of my beginnings in blogging. There is memory; there is sadness. That was where I learned and thrilled at the power of the world wide web and the ease with which one can publish one’s thoughts. Thanks xanga for the fun, the learning, the inspiration, and the introduction to blogging. Farewell.
Today, a medium sized chicken at a supermarket costs around $7, all cleaned and ready to be cooked. How much did a chicken cost in the good old days? How much overheads did this guy have to pay for his business? Probably no rental. No refrigeration needed. No transport costs. But you had to kill the chicken yourself and pluck out the feathers. I remember helping out to do that; I mean the plucking….leh cheh! Were the good old days really that good? Give me the cold lifeless stuff in a plastic bag. I’ll pay for it.
I think its time we take dogs more seriously. When they speak bark we ought to listen. I was talking to blogger-dog Barnabas Ju-Ern and remarking about how he could be so happily running all over when we two-leggeds were in the midst of a global economic storm. And was his two-legged mummy worried at all? This was his reply, from which we can learn something about how we too can smile at the storm. There was byte in his bark:
Blogpastor: “Its amazing how you can run happily when the two-legged world is facing an economic crisis of a proportion never heard of or seen in the last 70 years? Doesn’t it show in your mum’s face: perhaps the furrowed brow; perhaps, the occasional sigh. You need to get close and comfort her as she comforts her people”.
Barnabas Ju-Ern: “Who me, worry? Clare-worry?
I only worry about Clare stealing my bones and sleeping on MY side of the bed. Clare worries about Aunty Lu going on strike and not throwing her balls for her to catch. Mummy doesn’t understand maths….so I guess the economic crisis doesnt ring too many alarm bells with her….”
So the people who are ignorant of maths can smile in the storm; and the dogs are blessed too because they are happy just knowing they are deeply loved and cared for by their mummy and they don’t sweat over the big stuff they cannot comprehend.
Hmm….canine wisdom: “You can be happy when you know you are deeply loved!” Wuff! Wuff!
The morning church wedding was held at Trinity Theological College’s sanctuary and this was the oldest pageboy I had ever seen, and it was my son, the good friend of the bride.
They say it is very difficult for a man to give away his daughter in marriage, but does he have a choice? “Who gives this woman to be married?” could easily be addressed to the bride,”Which man do you give up to be married?” and she’d gladly say, “The older one.”
They held the wedding dinner at the Hilton. That was where my wife and I had our wedding reception back in December 1980.
Grace’s church friends at the cocktail before the dinner.
We were seated beside “church pillars”: Agnes and Mark Chua, who were good company to have, and the evening passed by quickly.
The photos showed an obvious difference between Sony Eriksson phone 701 and Nokia E71: the pics above, taken with E71, were grainy, for indoor and low light conditions.
We have in this tribute to Tan Sri P. Ramlee, the great Malay movie star, an interesting look at how Malay culture and dressing for women was like in the 1960’s. The absence of the tundung (head-dress) is deafening. It took an American friend, Monte Lee Rice, to point this out to me. Now in many places I go, I see Malay women wearing the tundung. Exceptions are the schools, hospitals, airlines, where uniforms are required. The difference in dressing is due to the revival of religions, particularly, Islam in the 1980’s. Religion is indeed a force of social transformation to be reckoned with if it can make women surrender looking good. Instead of a national campaign to get people to clear their food trays from the table, maybe a religious campaign may work better! And by the way, did you notice the pleated pants? Its very 60’s!
I have lived to see an historic election in the United States: an African American has been elected as the President of the United States. Martin Luther King’s bones must be rattling with joy in his grave. His dream has come true! Herein lies the genius and greatness of America: the impossible dream can come true; it’s not always the color of the skin; many times the content of one’s character counts.
hit turbulence, she experienced a turn of piety and used to go to Novena on Saturdays to pray. Besides recourse to prayer she had wonderful relatives from both hers and fathers side who generously gave her support and practical help, and this helped her to persevere. Later on she joined the St Andrew’s Cathedral ladies fellowhip, which met on Thursdays, and this was the period where I was pleased to see her faith in Christ renewed and deepened with Bible studies, ministry and the warm fellowship there. She was also a regular in the early morning services and even after the onset of dementia, she still went to church regularly under the watchful eyes of Amy the domestic helper, and Lily her sister. Even when she couldn’t recognize us she would still say, “God bless you”, or remember songs like “Jesus loves me this I know”. Even after the geriartician said her memory has gone zero, her helper Amy saw her woke up in the middle of the night and prayed the whole “Lord’s Prayer” and on another night witnessed her looking out the window and praised God, “I love you, Jesus, I love you Jesus. Her faith in Christ, and her temperament made her Alzeimer dementia a sweet one. She would often brush her hands on our cheeks and greet us and strangers with a “You are so pretty”. With this kind of temperament, the great caregivers at Peacehaven’s Flamingo found it pleasant to care for her.
I think its time we take dogs more seriously. When they 
