Excerpts from yesterday’s examination of Indonesian businessman who funded the Crossover Project:
CN PHOTO: Daniel Poh.
Testifying to God’s blessing over his finances in 2008:
DPP: You say also that you lost almost everything because of that crisis?
WH: Only my personal money that I put overseas.
DPP: Sure, I understand.
WH: Yeah, but God is good. I have my last $100,000, which I gave to the church, and that same year, my PNG (Papua New Guinea) business actually made a record profit of about $26 million.
On how City Harvest Church changed his life:
DPP: Could you tell us, what were the circumstances on which you became a Christian, under which you became a member of the church?
WH: Well, I was a Christian since I got married, because my wife wants me to be married in church. So I was baptised since before I got married.
And then when I came to Singapore, of course, my family really liked the church. The children really find the place where, you know, where they can be in the children’s church. And I enjoy very much the teaching of Pastor Kong. When I came to church, I was just a shopkeeper, I was only working for my brother-in-law.
When I keep on applying what I learn from the Bible principles, about life principle, and I put it into my work, and my life, you know, I was progressing. I even win all my families into becoming a Christian, including my mum, who used to stop me from coming to church.
And then after that, we started our own business in 1988, and that business also prospered, as I keep on applying, you know, simple principles, like work hard, honest, integrity, and the biggest turnaround, of course, is in 1998 when I have done business for 10 years and that’s when I — one of the Pastors rebuked me to do business in a very integrity way and I made the effort to — I realised that, you know, I was not honest then with my tax, and I was moved to pay all the taxes that I’d been, you know, evading for 10 years in Papua New Guinea, and I paid them all in 1998. But it was amazing. That was the biggest turnaround in my life because when I was threatened with all sorts of threats to pay these taxes, and the flesh is also not sort of willing in the beginning to pay so much tax, but when I did that …
So this is something that I keep on telling people. I pay my tax, and then that year I was really blessed. I was — I had a profit of almost $10 million after paying that $1.5 million tax. In fact, there was a crisis season in 1998 and that was the first time, actually, I made a commitment before I even knew about this, I made a commitment to give $1 million and that was the first time I’ve ever given $1 million to the church as my tithing. And from then on, you know, the next $1 million is quite easy for me to give.”
On his relationship with Kong Hee:
“Pastor Kong has always been my mentor, the minute I start learning and listening to his message. I learn a lot about my life principle. I changed a lot in my character and my daily lives, and from then on we – you know, I keep on eagerly listening and wanting to learn from him. But then the relationship maybe comes to a closer level when I first gave my million dollars, giving to the church in 1998, and Pastor Kong invited me for a dinner to thank me for what I gave, and then from then on, you know, we built a better relationship, and my wife and I always supportive of any projects that the church wants, and we always want to take up, or take part of most of the project as much as we can…
“If I have a situation in my business or in my personal walk of life, you know, if — if I need advice, I will come to him…
“And you know, I go with him for some of the trips that he goes to Indonesia for missions, for preaching to US, to Australia, you know, to other places, in Malaysia as well. From time to time, if I can afford the time, I will travel with him to see his ministry.”
On his relationship with Tan Ye Peng:
DPP: When did you first know Pastor Tan?
WH: Oh, Pastor Tan, also we know him since 1991/1992.
DPP: When you say “Pastor Tan is the person that I deal more week-to-week or month-to-month basis when we have Xtron”, why were you dealing with him in relation to Xtron?
WH: They update me with what is going on with the mission and then, at the same time, then we know what we need to do, what we need to spend for Xtron in sponsoring Sun.
DPP: Can you give us some example, like what kind of things he updated you?
WH: In our setting-up concerts, going to US to meet the Justin Herz, you know, go to China for Beijing Olympics, go to Indonesia for the concerts in three, four cities.
DPP: What you mentioned with Pastor Tan seems to be describing a working relationship. Other than relationship with him, is there any other type relationship that you had with him?
WH: Yeah, I would share my burden at times, when I have problems, I would also discuss with him and counsel, ask him for my — to counsel me or to advise me and pray with me.
On how he came to sponsor the Crossover Project:
WH: I told Pastor Kong when the very first time we had a concert in Singapore, in 2001 or 2002, and I see that there are a lot of young people was — souls were saved after the concert and I was very touched by the numbers of people that comes forward and they are not even Christian, or they don’t even know us as a Christian. And I told Pastor Kong that I would like to sponsor this singing mission that Sun is doing.
On what led to Xtron bonds:
DPP: Can you tell us more about this bond that was issued to AMAC, the circumstances and events that led to the issue of this $13 million bond?
WH: Well, Xtron started to need more money for the singing, and so we have to get sources somewhere that we, you know, that can finance this. Because it start to go beyond my limit, and 2007 was actually the year I actually expressed myself that I would have to step down, and all my finances will be required to rebuild the FNG that I just taken over. I took the company over with a US$15 million debt, so I had to work very hard towards rebuilding this FNG.
On why Xtron, as Sun Ho’s artiste management company needed more funds to support the Crossover Project in US:
WH: … I remember that they — they need to launch albums for Sun and they need to start launching her into US because we have done very successfully during my time in Taiwan, in Hong Kong. The Chinese album was doing great. But we always think that we also want to go into China, that her album can be sold in China, and we can win souls in China as a mission.
But that was not the case. She was never invited into China, even though she was very, very popular in Taiwan. So then we came up with the idea of launching her in US, hoping that maybe if she get popular in US, then she will be invited. And true enough when we launched her and when she start hitting some of the top dance chart and disco chart in the US, she was invited into 40 different provinces in China to sing and do concerts. And that is when our headache start, because every concert will cost us at least a million.
中文报道 – 摘录自检方向赞助跨界计划的印尼商人昨日进行的审问证词
