Sg Obituary acknowledging gay son goes viral for all the right reasons

[HendryTan]

Saw this from https://www.blowingwind.io/forum/profile/42313-randall_97/  status post initially. Repost here.

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Obituary acknowledging gay son goes viral for all the right reasons

http://mashable.com/2016/06/13/singapore-gay-obit/
BY VICTORIA HO

 

SINGAPORE — An elderly man's obituary that was published in Singapore's national newspaper over the weekend started circulating because of an unusual mention.

 

 

Written in first person, the obituary of Ong Peck Lye, who passed away at 82, lists his family members in order of seniority. Towards the end is a mention of "my baby son" and Ong's "son-in-law" — his son's partner.

Published during a flurry of anti-LGBTI news in the country, the obituary carries a poem, in which Ong asks his sons to forgive him.

 
Although it may appear so, Ong didn't personally pen the write-up. His second son, Ong Tiong Yeow, wrote it for him, but told The Straits Times that he wrote it based on conversations with his father before the latter passed away.

 

The younger Ong said all three sons had been thrown out of the family house at some point after clashing with their father. The youngest son, Ong Tiong Hou, left after he came out and now lives in the U.S..

 

The obituary has since been shared by many online, who have mentioned Singapore's tussles as of late with the conservative right, who are opposed to gay issues.

 

Over the weekend, the Singapore government decided to order the production of "Les Miserables" to cut a kiss between two male actors on stage. The government said it received complaints from people in the audience, and would be "taking action" against the production here.

And last week, the government said it would no longer allow foreign companies to sponsor the annual Pink Dot gay pride event here. Pink Dot is largely sponsored by the likes of Google, Barclays, BP and J.P Morgan, so the move was seen as a blow to the popular event.

 

[MadMan]

I hope his Christian son realized his father was actually a more loving, benevolent and forgiving man than the Father he worship. He may have thrown him out of his "kingdom" but he did not let him burn in eternal fire for his disobedience....And he was all ready to admit his mistakes and to forgive his sons after all

Edited June 14, 2016 by MadMan

[Guest beep beep]

11 hours ago, HendryTan said:

Saw this from https://www.blowingwind.io/forum/profile/42313-randall_97/  status post initially. Repost here.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Obituary acknowledging gay son goes viral for all the right reasons

http://mashable.com/2016/06/13/singapore-gay-obit/
BY VICTORIA HO

 

SINGAPORE — An elderly man's obituary that was published in Singapore's national newspaper over the weekend started circulating because of an unusual mention.

 

 

Written in first person, the obituary of Ong Peck Lye, who passed away at 82, lists his family members in order of seniority. Towards the end is a mention of "my baby son" and Ong's "son-in-law" — his son's partner.

Published during a flurry of anti-LGBTI news in the country, the obituary carries a poem, in which Ong asks his sons to forgive him.

 
Although it may appear so, Ong didn't personally pen the write-up. His second son, Ong Tiong Yeow, wrote it for him, but told The Straits Times that he wrote it based on conversations with his father before the latter passed away.

 

The younger Ong said all three sons had been thrown out of the family house at some point after clashing with their father. The youngest son, Ong Tiong Hou, left after he came out and now lives in the U.S..

 

The obituary has since been shared by many online, who have mentioned Singapore's tussles as of late with the conservative right, who are opposed to gay issues.

 

Over the weekend, the Singapore government decided to order the production of "Les Miserables" to cut a kiss between two male actors on stage. The government said it received complaints from people in the audience, and would be "taking action" against the production here.

And last week, the government said it would no longer allow foreign companies to sponsor the annual Pink Dot gay pride event here. Pink Dot is largely sponsored by the likes of Google, Barclays, BP and J.P Morgan, so the move was seen as a blow to the popular event.

 

 

 

You the TS are reading too much into it,

 

the text was written by the son , not the deceased, one at one's death bed or in the process of dying will not think straight, perhaps just want to mend fences that is all.

 

Perhaps it was better if he had stood for his gay son while he was still hearty , and like this mother of two gay sons...

 

 

 

http://mothership.sg/2016/05/sporean-mother-speaks-candidly-about-how-her-two-sons-came-out-to-her-as-gay/

 

 

 

hoo, who is a Yale-NUS College Associate Professor and co-founder of SAFE Singapore, a site that provides information and resources to help friends and relatives of LGBTQ persons, also spoke about her initial surprise and subsequent fears she had for her two sons.

Chief among her concerns was society’s acceptance of her sons’ sexual orientation. Both of them are now in their 30s.

The video is to showcase not only a mother’s love for her two sons but on how parents ought to deal with family who are gay or transgender.

This was what Khoo said happened when her elder son came out to her, albeit in slightly comical terms:

My two sons are Ming and En. Ming is the older one and En is the younger one.

My older son came out to me when he was about 15. And he just walked into my bedroom one evening and said, “Mama, I’m gay.”

I was obviously a little sort of startled and not quite sure how to react.

And the first thought that came into my head was: “Oh no I see. Is this some strange project he is working on in school, to look at parent’s reactions.”

He went back to his bedroom and he had brought a friend. Now on hindsight, I think it must be because the friend was there to give him support, in case I completely freaked out. But I did not.

So I just went and spoke to him and at that stage since I hadn’t really thought about it or found out a lot of information, I basically said, “Oh you’re so young. How do you know? Why don’t you just continue to be friends with lots of people?”

Her younger son’s coming out experience also showcased how poorly dads deal with such things sometimes:

My second son came out because their father had seen him reading some literature about gay people and his father had said to me, “You should go speak to your younger son because I think his older brother is trying to influence him. Why is he reading all this gay literature?”

So I went to speak to him and said, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

And he said, “Ya, mama. I am also gay. And I didn’t dare to say anything earlier because I knew that if you knew you’d be disappointed because kor kor is gay and I’m also gay “

Her biggest fear, though, was that her sons would grow up and face discrimination:

I was worried for them that their lives will be difficult, that they might face lots of challenges beyond the normal ones of just getting education, finding a job, you know, beyond those that there might be discrimination against them. And just generally if people can be nasty.

Khoo also had advice for other parents who find themselves in her shoes.

She said there is no need for parents to blame themselves or get defensive.

Instead, parents should learn more and talk to their children, because ultimately, parents’ happiness are tied up with their children’s happiness.

You can watch the full video here. 

[Guest Mummydearest]

What a cool mum! 

[HendryTan]

Please focus on the topic, I Deleted ALL the other off-topic discussion. 

 

 

 

[Guest Guest]

On 6/14/2016 at 0:17 PM, Guest beep beep said:

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/high-court-judgments/14908-wong-kien-keong-v-khoo-hoon-eng-2012-sghc-127

14     Sometime in November 2002, the Defendant confessed to the Plaintiff that she had an affair with her colleague. Their marriage subsequently fell apart.

 

Is this the same Khoo Hoon Eng ?