DanielYKL

Did she do anything wrong? Is there a moral issue here? Who is the real culprit?

Maybe these are but just a few questions we should all answer before we throw the first stone. Or is there any of us who is blameless to dare to cast the first stone!

There have been many comments and opinions on the issue about the so called nude photos of Elizabeth Wong or Eli Wong.

So really did she do anything wrong? Did she? And as Eli Wong herself declared, she has done nothing wrong. Was she right?

There has been a lot of talk about what she wears to bed or rather what she did not wear to bed. Is wearing a sarong to bed wrong? Or one sleeping naked in the privacy of her own bedroom wrong or “immoral?”

What do you wear to sleep? What you wear to sleep is a matter of choice. Whatever you feel comfortable in bed is not a “moral issue.” Even if you sleep naked in the privacy of your own bedroom doesn’t make one immoral. As long as one does not expose oneself to public, it is an individual choice. The problem here is that, photos of her sleeping in a sarong or partially nude are being made public and that makes her immoral.

Did she purposely allow her photos being taken, meaning with her consent? No! Like I said, she was sleeping in what she is comfortable in. But then someone took advantage of that and took photos of her and made it public and that makes her immoral. And sad to say, that someone who took the photo is someone she trusted.

Ok, was she wrong to sleep in her birthday suit with another person? To many of us it is wrong. Or some might use a stronger term, morally wrong.

Let’s look at what we meant by morally wrong.

When I look up the dictionary on the word moral is what I get:

The first definition: involving right and wrong: relating to issues of right and wrong and to how individual people should behave

The second definition: derived from personal conscience: based on what somebody’s conscience suggests is right or wrong, rather than on what rules or the law says should be done

Not that I condone or condemn her action, it’s just that sometimes we are so quick to judge.

So moral is about what is right and wrong and how one should behave. How did she behave? Whoever that person she was with doesn’t matter. What matter is what relationship she had with that person at that moment? Could they be in a serious relationship? Was there any commitment in their relationship? In her conscience she has done nothing wrong if they are pursuing a serious commitment in their relationship.

Of course for some of us who from our religious point of view might disagree. But we should also look from Eli Wong’s perspective.

From the words of Eli, “I have done nothing wrong. I wish to state that I am not ashamed of my sexuality as a woman and as a single person. I have broken no law. I stand by the fundamental principle in a democracy that has a right to privacy.”

But then some Botox self-righteous moralist like Dr Mohd Khir Toyo would say, “She is a single person. How can she allow a man into her room when they are not married? What’s the status of the relationship?”

All I could say is, “why, do you look at the speck in your sister’s eye and pay no attention to the log in your own eye? How dare you say to your sister, ‘Please, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ when you have a log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your sister’s eye.”

To her conscience, she has done nothing wrong. She is a single Chinese lady who is not ashamed of her sexuality as a woman. At least she is honest about herself. Your religion or my religion might not approve of what she did. But to her whatever her religion might be, it is nothing wrong. So let’s not play moral police here. What is wrong to you, is not wrong to her. What your conscience said is wrong, is not to her.Who are we to question her?

Then again people said she is a state representative. She is a public figure. And it’s morally wrong for a state exco member to do what she did! Does this mean that if Dr Khir Toyo were to walk naked in his own bedroom one day, and someone close to him were to take some photos of him and make it public – does that make him “immoral” just because he is a public figure?

What is morally wrong is when someone squeezed the buttock of a waitress in front of others or when someone raped an underage girl, or someone had an affair with a woman and then killed her or someone who accepted “China dolls” ladies as a bribe!

What is morally wrong is when a person violates the privacy of an individual when took photos of her sleeping and distributed it to the public to shame the person who trusted him.

That is what is morally wrong!

Let me conclude with this story.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of everyone and asked Jesus, “Teacher, we caught this woman in the act of adultery. In his teachings, Moses ordered us to stone women like this to death. What do you say?”

They asked this to test him. They wanted to find a reason to bring charges against him. Jesus bent down and used his finger to write on the ground. When they persisted in asking him questions, he straightened up and said, “The person who is sinless should be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground. One by one, beginning with the older men, the scribes and Pharisees left. Jesus was left alone with the woman.

Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Where did they go? Has anyone condemned you?”

The woman answered, “No one, sir.” Jesus said, “I don’t condemn you either. Go! From now on don’t sin.”

What is the moral of this story?

Jesus did not condone adultery but then He did not condemn her either. The beautiful part is that God will forgive her even He did not approve of what she did. What he is teaching here is that if any of us who think we are sinless, then we should be the first to throw the first stone. Is there any among us who is willing to throw the first stone?

So let’s not judge lest we ourselves will be judged! Let’s not be self-righteous! If God can forgive, who are we to condemn?