A foreign scholar chap in NTU caught leukaemia and couldn't afford the fees ... some chaps started a donation drive ..... but many says they'll not donate .... would you ?. ...
A FIRST-YEAR Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student is suffering from leukaemia and his parents cannot afford his chemotherapy sessions.
So someone starts a donation drive to raise money to help the ailing student.
Instead of rallying to help, several Singaporean netizens pour scorn on the student on a local online forum.
The reason: The student is not Singaporean, but a Chinese national.
One netizen even set up a poll asking fellow users to vote if they should support the donation drive.
The result: Close to 80 per cent of 120 users who responded so far said they would not donate.
It began with a mass e-mail by Lim Si Wei, the students' services executive of the NTU students' union, appealing for donations for Mr Li Bingbing, 18, who was diagnosed with blood cancer two weeks ago.
The e-mail made its rounds on the Internet over the past week.
CAN'T AFFORD TREATMENT
It stated that his parents, a power plant worker and a housewife, cannot afford his chemotherapy sessions, which are estimated to cost at least $150,000.
The family's monthly household income is said to be about $900.
The NTU students' union decided to help their fellow student.
The e-mail found its way onto popular Internet forum hardwarezone.com, and there was an outpouring of controversial comments regarding Chinese nationals in Singapore.
Forum user 'gaul_ads' called such students 'thick-skinned'.
'They've already used our money for a scholarship. Do they still want to use our money for an operation? It's ridiculous,' he said.
Another forum user named 'moonlight' wrote: 'Just order them to book the first flight out of Singapore. They can just settle their problems somewhere else.'
Some forum users adopted a business-like stance.
'He just comes here to study and uses Singapore as a 'stepping stone'. After that, he'll go back,' a forum user called 'shawntyg' said. 'I won't donate. I admit I'm selfish. But isn't he too?'
These forum users, however, said that they would readily donate if the person in need had been a Singaporean.
'We will help and donate to sick, old and poor Singaporeans.
'But Ah Tiongs can forget about it. They are good in exploiting and leeching,' a forum user called 'danny' said.
'Ah Tiong' is a common Hokkien term for Chinese nationals here, not unlike 'ang moh' for Caucasians.
However, not all the forum posts were negative.
A forum user with the nickname 'diablo80' provided a more humanitarian response: 'Be it a Singaporean or foreigner, if someone in need is in front of us, how can we leave him alone?'
Miss Patricia Choy, 18, who also posted on the forum thread, wondered if the student had medical insurance.
'We should donate to someone in need regardless of his nationality.
'However, it's hard to make sure foreigners would not take advantage of the kindness and goodwill of Singaporeans,' she said.
According to the circulated e-mail, Mr Li was diagnosed with leukaemia on 29 Feb.
It said that 50 per cent of his bone marrow had been infected.
The e-mail said that he may require another $180,000 for a bone marrow transplant if his condition did not stabilise after chemotherapy.
The NTU students' union has organised a campus-wide donation drive, from yesterday to today, to 'help defray part of his medical costs'.
'This drive was organised with no incentives whatsoever other than to help a friend,' a student from the union, who declined to be named, said.
Miss Menal Prakash, a fourth-year NTU computer engineering student, said she had seen students queueing up to donate in the canteen yesterday afternoon.
A spokesman for NTU's Student Affairs Office verified that it had approved the donation drive and said this wasn't the first time one had been held.
She said: 'To the school's administration, every student is the same. If someone is in need of help, we'll try our best to help.
'It's fine if people don't want to donate, because these donation drives are always voluntary.
'But it's not right if it's solely because the student is not from Singapore.'
Undergraduates contacted by The New Paper also had more charitable responses.
Miss Richa Ahuja said: 'I think I would donate if I could. It doesn't matter to me whether he's a scholar or where he's from.'
Mr Ben Teo, 21, agreed: 'It's someone's life we're talking about. Of course, I'll donate if they approached me.'
The New Paper could not reach Mr Li for comment.
But some Singaporeans were indignant about the forum users on his behalf.
Miss Ahuja said: 'I think they're absolutely heartless.'
Miss Prakash, however, thought that donating was a 'very personal thing'.
'It's up to the individual. I don't think I'd judge them,' she said.
Miss Su Xiaoting, 18, who suffered from lymphoma in secondary school but has since made a full recovery, felt the benefits of such donations went beyond just money.
'Such help is an indication of moral support from friends and strangers,' she said.
Personal and family friends had donated money to her. 'It was a tangible way of showing that they were there for me and wanted to help me,' she said.
Mr Eugene Seow, executive director of Touch Community Services, had this question: 'Is this student not a fellow human being that we would like to help?
'Foreigners in our land are a benefit to our nation whether they come as workers or people with talents and expertise. We should treat them as people here to contribute.
'Our treatment or attitude to them reflects our attitude towards society as a whole,' he said.
Would I donate ? ... personally, I won't, not because I'm not a compassionate person, but because I think I should prioritize my very limited charity dollars and think carefully about who I donate to ....
there are plenty of poor Singaporeans who ran out of Medisave and savings after contracting illnesses just as severe, in Singapore, the land of high costs, the poorer Singaporean cannot afford to fall sick at all ..... I'd save my charity dollars for them ....
and I don't think Singaporeans are not compassionate, or heartless, but this is simply a reaction and a gauge of the goverment's "wide open doors and take in all and sundry" policy on the ground ... Singaporeans are thinking that if they don't take care of their own, no one else will, certainly not from the goverment, who seems to treat foreigners better than her own.
the chap's here on a Singapore goverment scholarship ... I find it hard to believe that the goverment didn't arrange insurance for him as well, to "protect" their investment, or their were intending to write him off as a "bad investment" ? .... why did it have to come to the stage where they have to solicit for donations from the singaporean public ? ....
I feel very sorry for the chap, and I'll pray for him, but I won't do more, for my wallet is limited, and I believe in "taking care one's own and home before venturing outside"... I think certainly though, that if there wasn't such a strong discontent on the ground for the goverment's "foreign talent" policy, things would certainly have been different for this fellow ....
so before you flip open your wallet, take a walk around the "class C" wards of any public hospital ... I am sure you can find plenty of poorer Singaporeans, who've slogged and slaved here all their lives, equally, if not more, in need of your money ...
My dua sen....
I will not say that donating to a leukaemia-stricken foreign scholar is an act of misplaced charity, because in the end, you're still helping someone in need. Singaporean, PRC, Russian, Martian.... in the end, helping someone in need is still a worthy act.
Just don't neglect your fellow Singaporeans in doing so. Don't give your money to this fella only to forget all about fellow Singaporeans who suffer just as much (or probably even more) than he does. Help him if you can, but don't forget about your brethren either if you do.
To me, what construes misplaced charity is all those offers to help that NUS China 'scholar' pay his fine because he hacked into a school system to find out his A Level grades (anyone remember that case?).
Helping a leukaemia patient is one thing, but to help a crook is another.
i'll donate because it's a life
yes.
and to those who wont because he's an 'outsider'. i hope one day you'll have to go to a foreign country. and when u need help, may there be no one for u. i dont see what this has got to do with the person's nationality/skin-colour/etc
Get all the PAP members to donate lah since they are so into giving scholarship to foreigners.
Its a yes from me.
Irregardless of a person's race or nationality, in my opinion, the student came from lower rung of the society and was awarded the scholarship based on his own merit. Unfortunately, he discovered the illness during his stay here. I believed it is only fair if we render aid to him purely based on compassion on individuals and our graciousness as Singaporeans.
I see that we're still a very gracious society .... it warms my heart ....
but why specifically him ? ... is it because he's receiving more publicity ? .... is it because his case came out in the newspapers ? ....
go find out from friends who are social workers, or, like I said, just go troll through the "c" class wards of any public hospital .... sob stories are everywhere ..... and I mean home grown ones ....
if you'd still donate, I say, good for you ... I hope to be rich enough to one day help the poor and starving in africa too ... but I'd not go on a knee jerk reaction just because the chap got publicized in the media and flip out my wallet right away ..... there are plenty of home grown cases getting the short end of the stick from the system that's more deserving of my currently limited charity dollars ... home grown cases who's not on goverment largesse ....
my prayers goes out to him, but my money stays in my pocket ....
The Singapore government should take responsible since it was them who want to bring in these people here. Not the Singapore Citizens.
Help ?
If you want to donate to help him, do it.
If you dun want to, it is ok.
It is still your money and you have the right to decide.
No need to explain or reason.
As for the poodle gang that brought these pple in, if you ask them to help, they will still use the peasant money to help, so no difference.
They dun even help the peasants that they leeched, do you think they will help him ?
Remove his scholarship and disposed of him.
That will be the only help he will get.
specifically him because you're asking about him what.
and i donate based on whether i think they really need it or not and whether they bother to ask for it or not. how am i supposed to know if someone needs something when they dont ask for it. what if they dont want help?? some pple get so offended if you offer then $$ u know...and some people no matter what just dont like help. some people would rather die than to have someone else help them in any way at all.
and no one needs to be filthy rich to donate. some people, sure they really cannot afford to spare a single penny. but for many, skip a meal or half a meal. and if a hundred people were to do that, there'll be plenty of money already....
and i hate it how citizenship/nationality/skin colour/religion/ etc always seems to get into the way of things. what the fuck do people bother about those things so much. im so grateful that while i was drifting around the world, there were people who were kind enough to help even though i wasnt 'one of them'.
Originally posted by udontknowme:specifically him because you're asking about him what.
and i donate based on whether i think they really need it or not and whether they bother to ask for it or not. how am i supposed to know if someone needs something when they dont ask for it. what if they dont want help?? some pple get so offended if you offer then $$ u know...and some people no matter what just dont like help. some people would rather die than to have someone else help them in any way at all.
and no one needs to be filthy rich to donate. some people, sure they really cannot afford to spare a single penny. but for many, skip a meal or half a meal. and if a hundred people were to do that, there'll be plenty of money already....
and i hate it how citizenship/nationality/skin colour/religion/ etc always seems to get into the way of things. what the fuck do people bother about those things so much. im so grateful that while i was drifting around the world, there were people who were kind enough to help even though i wasnt 'one of them'.
did he ask for help, or did some good samaritians help him ?: ... I'm saying that the intentions of these "samaritians", while good, are misplaced ....
I think it's just a feel good knee jerk reaction when people read about some sob story on the newspaper and flip open their wallets immediately ... they read it, hear about it, plonk out a few dollars and then feel good about themselves ....
I'm not sorry that I'm more circumspect ... because of my limited resources, I'd much rather place my money as close to home as possible .... and I'd all the more so take care of my fellow Singaporeans, because the goverment seems more intent on the welfare of foreign talents .... am i politicizing the whole issue ? ... so be it if people see it that way ... but I am adjusting my world view based on the realities of our society ...
so for those who said they''ll be donating ... how much are you forking out ? ...
This is a tough question on morality.
My gut feeling is that I should donate a token sum if I'm asked to help. I will have no feeling of guilt if dies.
If one day he gets well and leaves Singapore, it makes our govt fools, not me.
its apparent that our government are fools even now
dun confuse saving a life and political/social discord.
do the right thing.
Originally posted by weiqimun:dun confuse saving a life and political/social discord.
do the right thing.
say you have only one dollar in your pocket to spare .... and there's 100 dying/hungry people in Singapore
who will your dollar go to ? ...
Originally posted by Fatum:say you have only one dollar in your pocket to spare .... and there's 100 dying/hungry people in Singapore
who will your dollar go to ? ...
if i can't keep it, the first person i meet.
Originally posted by weiqimun:if i can't keep it, the first person i meet.
if there are two leukemia patients side by side, how would you differentiate ? .....
you're going to tell me you'll tikam ? ...
good for you .... cos i won't ....
in anycase .... for those donating, have you forked out the money already ? ... how much are you guys donating ? ....
why not ask the hospital to charge him FOC and tell them to treat it as donation?
Originally posted by Fatum:if there are two leukemia patients side by side, how would you differentiate ? .....
you're going to tell me you'll tikam ? ...
good for you .... cos i won't ....
in anycase .... for those donating, have you forked out the money already ? ... how much are you guys donating ? ....
for goodness sake, stop theorizing.
to satisfy your cynicism, yes, i will probably toss a coin if both are equally deserving. but it won't be the case as i probably have my own biasness in deciding, which i need not reveal to you. but i stop short of politicizing this.
this is a clearcut case, this chap needs help. why he got press attention and others don't, go ask someone else. life isn't fair.
u answer your own question becos you r not compassionate as u admitted. but if you r tryng to sow discord between foreigners and locals in this thread by playing on nationalities, you are not only uncompassionate. u r a bloody idiot.
if not, why on earth r you posting this?
Originally posted by weiqimun:for goodness sake, stop theorizing.
to satisfy your cynicism, yes, i will probably toss a coin if both are equally deserving. but it won't be the case as i probably have my own biasness in deciding, which i need not reveal to you. but i stop short of politicizing this.
this is a clearcut case, this chap needs help. why he got press attention and others don't, go ask someone else. life isn't fair.
u answer your own question becos you r not compassionate as u admitted. but if you r tryng to sow discord between foreigners and locals in this thread by playing on nationalities, you are not only uncompassionate. u r a bloody idiot.
if not, why on earth r you posting this?
I wonder if you have read any of my arguments at all ... but it's alright ... now you can pat yourself on your back and feel good about being an unbiased and compassionate person ....
am I sowing discord ? ... for saying that there are plenty of Singaporeans in equally dire situation and that Singaporeans' compassion should be focused closer to home first ?. ...
in anycase ... so how much are you pledging to the chap ? ....
donate money to worthwhile cause should not compare nationality what!! HOW you call this FAIR!
therefore, to be fair, whether chinese national or singapore, I also will not donate!!
i wud. i dislike being judged by the color of my skin or nationality.
Originally posted by Fatum:I wonder if you have read any of my arguments at all ... but it's alright ... now you can pat yourself on your back and feel good about being an unbiased and compassionate person ....
am I sowing discord ? ... for saying that there are plenty of Singaporeans in equally dire situation and that Singaporeans' compassion should be focused closer to home first ?. ...
in anycase ... so how much are you pledging to the chap ? ....
it doesn't matter if i reveal to you if i pledge or not. when you are incoherant, u digress and make it like i am the problem or what have i done. it really doesn't matter.
i am merely replying to your rhetorics about this and that and about 2 equally deserving patients and what not.
i am biased and compassionate, not unbiased.
so, what then is your intention of this thread? it is exactly your point, "....before you flip open the wallet...". so even in a room full of class c sinkaporeans, what is your point? be mother theresa? it doesn't even solve the problem. u r just sowing discord.