SINGAPORE: The tapping of keys on the BlackBerry is never-ending for 23-year-old recent university graduate and blogger and activist Murad Aziz. He continues to push to the public stories of wrongdoing within the government and society. He does it because he cares. “I try my best to get the story out there to as many people as possible in order to detail what is going on in Singapore so they can help make the city a better place,” he told Bikyamasr.com while sitting at a cafe in the city, waiting for updates on a recent trial of a police officer charged with money laundering. “This is how we can be a better society. To talk openly about our problems,” he continued. Aziz blogs anonymously and his site is currently one of the more popular blogs in Singapore. While he asked that it remain not publicized in this article, he said that young people like him “are changing how Singapore does politics.” He battle against corruption began two years ago, but has hit an all-time high this summer after scandals have wracked the small island country in Southeast Asia. First it was a scandal involving top police officials and businessmen using sex to seal agreements in the city. Then it was over 50 men paying for sex with an underage sex worker. Finally, and most shocking to the blogger, was the massive corruption and embezzlement scandal involving the mega-church City Harvest Church, where 6 church officials have been charged with criminal activity in the millions of dollars. “I think that is the most worrying because it involves a lot more people. We are talking thousands of peoples' donations and money that was used for illicit purposes,” he continued. The underage sex scandal and the sex-for-business cases have struck fear in women in the country, who question whether the growing economic progress has led to a decline in overall ethical values in the country. Sealing an agreement with sex. Singapore currently finds itself wracked with scandal over sex corruption in the Southeast Asian city-state after the chief narcotics official reportedly used sex to get deals. The women, who hold senior positions, allegedly exchanged sexual favours for “advancing the business interest" of their companies in IT-related tenders. Legal experts in the country say the women themselves could face criminal charges, but for many women, especially businesswomen in the country, using one's body for business has become more commonplace than many Singaporeans want to admit. “I have seen it happen over and over here. You just sit at a dinner and you know that the woman at the table plans to get what she wants and no cost is too high," said Leanne, a top executive for an international company. “Women will use sex as a means of ensuring that the deal they want signed gets done. It is no different than prostitution really, and it is happening more and more often." While Singapore maintains an almost Asian stigma surrounding sex: don't talk about it, the reality on the ground is often strikingly different than the discussions that take place in cafes and at home concerning the topic. For Leanne, the government must come down hard on both the men and women involved in the current scandal, or the country won't be able to rid itself of this problem. “We are working in business, but that does not mean we can trade our bodies in order to get something done. But right now, women want to get ahead and the system isn't helpful, so they have sex with executives to get where they want to be," she added. Another female executive in the city argued that revamping the business regulation and structure is needed to end “sex-for-business" deals in the city. She argued that the current pay scale and advancement available to women is limited. “There must be a change from the top down if this is to end, because often many women believe that only through sex can they get where they want to be. It is unfortunate and degrading for the rest of us, because other businessmen will think they can proposition us when they want a ‘little extra' for a deal to go through," the executive told Bikyamasr.com. And companies appear unwilling to take action, women say, arguing that companies actually promote women using “all means necessary" to ink an agreement. “This is the biggest problem we face, that business owners, CEOs and others are pushing their female employees to do more than their jobs, and they even threaten firing if it doesn't happen," Leanne argued. She said that sometimes, she has heard, in the workplace, women are forced to give sexual favors to their bosses in order to keep their jobs. “This is disgusting, but with the economic situation terrible and uncertainty in the air, the women cannot afford to lose their jobs," she added. Both executives argued that the government must use the recent scandal to implement new strategies to combat sexual abuse in the business environment. Obviously, with government officials using sex as a tool, it may be difficult. One top Singapore police official told Bikyamasr.com that the police force in the country “is taking this situation seriously and want to end this type of acts, because it is a threat to the very nature of Singapore society." With women increasingly using sex to get what they want, society must reflect on themselves, the women executives said. “While this may be business-related, the fact that we in Singapore are often afraid of sex, it must also be discussed and talked about at all levels of society if it is to see an end," added the executive. But the City Harvest Church corruption has seen anger rise among the Christian community, who have told Bikyamasr.com they want to see an end to these practices in order to return the country to its top standing as a corruption-free city-state. Christians in the city are angry over the reports that the church is trying to get average citizens to help fund their legal campaign. “They are charged with misusing their own worshipers money and now they are asking for them to give more, which they probably wasted on personal projects? It is ridiculous and wrong on a number of levels," said David Wong, a Christian man in Singapore, who told Bikyamasr.com that he had attended a few services at CHC in the past. “But is was a big show and I didn't really like it," he added. “And now this scandal. It doesn't make sense for people to give them money." Pastor Kong is facing a number of charges including embezzlement and using church funds for personal use. The controversy has left many in the city questioning the role of faith and business. The pastor is one of six members of the church to face charges in what is believed to be the largest financial scandal to hit Singapore's charity sector to date. He was arrested in June and accused of “dishonestly misappropriating monies" from the church's building fund to promote and support the pop music career of his wife, Sun Ho, who is in her early 40s. Bikyamasr.com has followed the controversy closely over the weeks, highlighting the inside workings of the mega-church. The issue has struck home for many Christians in the country who feel the situation in Singapore for them is being tarnished by the actions of a few individuals. The founder of Singapore's embattled City Harvest Church Kong issued a statement late on Wednesday detailing the charges against him as well as maintaining that he did not participate in any wrongdoing and again maintained his “integrity." “The Prosecution has brought three charges against me, which I have carefully considered with my lawyers," he began in a statement to the media. “I do maintain my integrity, and will rigorously defend that integrity against these charges," Kong continued. He is charged with misusing church funds and corruption charges as the head of the Singapore mega-church. If convicted, he could face a lengthy jail sentence. “I have and will continue to place my faith and trust in our judicial system. I will explain the facts and circumstances to the Court, and am confident that I will be vindicated. “Sun and I would like to take this opportunity to thank God for all the people who have blessed us with their love, kindness and prayers during this challenging period of time. We have been tremendously humbled by the support and encouragement from the public, family and friends. We especially thank all those from City Harvest Church and the Christian community at large. They have been a constant source of strength. “I respect the Court proceedings which are underway, and will not make any comment about the charges until the appropriate time and forum." The case was adjourned until August 30. In late June, as the church was charged with misusing some $50 million of church money, they appointed New Zealand's Reverend Phil Pringle and Reverend A.R. Bernard to function as advisory pastors in order to maintain services for worshipers without break. Pringle is the founder and senior minister of Christian City Church in Sydney, Australia. But now that he is in Singapore, working for a church embattled with corruption charges, he has become targeted by the Christian watchdog organization C3 Church Watch, which tasks itself with overseeing good practices at Christian organizations globally. The group's blog said that it was “designed to watch and monitor C3 Church and its pastors, specifically Phil Pringle." It has raised questions about the New Zealand-born pastor's religious credentials and teachings. It is the latest in a weeklong battle over embezzlement charges and fears that the situation could potentially see the end of City Harvest, which hosted some 14,000 over the weekend in services. The church allegedly diverted some S$23 million (RM57 million) of the church's money to fund Ho Yeow Sun's music career in the United States. Ho is Kong Hee's wife. CNA said they were charged for another S$26.6 million (RM66 million) of misappropriated funds, used to redeem “sham bonds" to cover their tracks.
