The Year of Jubilee is an important and meaningful year of consecration, redemption and restoration for the Israelites as commanded by God in Leviticus 25 of the Bible. It is the year of God's righteousness proclaimed throughout His land - debts are to be forgiven; slaves are to be set free; the return of the exiles; owners and sellers of land are to deal rightly and justly, no one shall take advantage or exploit one another. In essence God is a God of righteousness and His people in their words and deeds should reflect this Truth. This is the true significance of the Jubilee celebration.
Singapore will officially celebrate its golden Jubilee next year. A SG50 Committee has been set up by the Government to spearhead the organizing of the celebratory activities. A budget of $5 million dollars was allocated. In fact some of the activities had already kick-started. The Community Chest had already raised $90 million dollars at at 6 June this year to help the needy and boost the social service sector. The Government has in addition pledged to match dollar-for-dollar up to $250 million dollars for donations made until the end of the year.
SG50 is a joyous occasion. May I suggest that a one-time token sum of $50 be given to the 3000 odd of our fellow citizens who are recipients under the Public Assistance Scheme. The $50 means a lot to this group of people. The calculated total sum of $150,000 dollars is only 3% of the $5 million dollars budgeted. By extending a helping hand Singapore and Singaporeans reflect what is in God's heart.
HAPPY JUBILEE YEAR, SINGAPORE!!!
BOOK READ NOTE: The "one" book all Singaporeans need to read to understand politics and public policies in Singapore - "Hard Choices. Challenging the Singapore Consensus" by Donald Low and Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh with contributions from Linda Lim and Thum Ping Tjin.
