Pastor Rony Tan was seen interviewing a former Buddhist monk and nun and making disparaging remarks about the central tenets of Buddhism such as reincarnation, meditation and nirvana.
According to a report on Channel News Asia, ISD told Pastor Tan that in “preaching or proselytising his faith, he must not run down other religions, and must be mindful of the sensitivities of other religions”
Lighthouse Evangelism founder and Senior Pastor Rony Tan had received a phone call from the Internal Security Department (ISD) about his comments made about Buddhism and Taoism during a church session. It is not known if he had been called up for questioning.
The sessions were video-recorded and posted on the official website of Lighthouse Evangelism which were subsequently uploaded to Youtube and other blogs and forums.
It sparked an outcry on Hardwarezone forum when the videos were first posted on 3 February 2010 with many netizens lampooning Pastor Tan for his insensitive remarks which appeared to have denigrated both Buddhism and Taoism.
The Ministry of Home Affairs gave a brief statement that Pastor Tan’s comments werer highly “inappropriate and unacceptable as they trivialised and insulted the beliefs of Buddhists and Taoists” which can also “give rise to tension and conflict between the Buddhist/Taoist and Christian communities.”
Pastor Tan has since issued a public apology on his website and expressed his deepest apologies and remorse over the matter:
“I realized that my presentation and comments were wrong and offensive. So I sincerely apologize for my insensitivity towards the Buddhists and Taoists, and solemnly promise that it will never happen again,” he wrote.
He gave his solemn promise that it will never happen again and has also affirmed that he will tell his members to respect other beliefs and build a harmonious Singapore.
In May last year, a Senior Pastor from the Church of Our Saviour Derek Hong issued a public apology “for using the pulpit to give backing to the Association of Women for Action and Research’s (AWARE) executive committee in their dispute with the group’s previous leadership”, but the ISD was not involved then.
This incident marked the first time in many months that the ISD has made a “public appearance”. The ISD is a secretive organization in Singapore whose officers are seldom seen or heard in public.
Under the draconian Internal Security Act, anybody deemed a “threat” to Singapore can be detained up to two years without trial. The ISA was used in the early days to detain suspected communists, but is used sparingly now against terrorists.
Despite Pastor Tan’s apology, some netizens remain unsatisfied and wanted the authorities to take action against him while others continue to doubt his sincerity to “repent”.
Hardwarezone forumer Fulaien wrote:
“I dun think its the emails that make him apologise. Its the phone call from ISD”
Laopokcar didn’t seem pleased with the apology either:
“Far from being closed, I think the apology has sparked some discontent about him getting away with just a warning, may not be the same exact issue, but it is definitely far from being closed.”
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