Date: 24 April 1999
Location: Xian Sheng’s house, Taman Melawati
(A) Strangle parents to death.
Xian Sheng commented that society is deteriorating rather than advancing. He provided a stark example involving a student who strangled his mother to death and then attempted to strangle his father as well, though the father ultimately survived the attack because of his stronger physical frame.
Xian Sheng questioned what possible reasons could compel a child to place their hands around the necks of their own mother and father to strangle them. He raised the question of whether it could be due to monetary greed or other underlying reasons. This recent spate of violence led Xian Sheng to ask a fundamental question during his sermon last Sunday regarding why people kill. He further questioned whether individuals truly have any right to take another life, drawing a parallel to the atrocities that occurred in Kosovo.
Xian Sheng suggested that the high frequency of killings occurring throughout society has had a detrimental effect on the psychological development of young people. He provided the example of youths who visit the cinema and are continuously exposed to explicit images of killing by strangulation, killing by poison, and all manner of treacherous killing, including the chopping off of a person’s head. He raised the question of whether this desensitisation could be a contributing factor behind the recent surge in young killers.
Another possibility is that the mother, during the period of her pregnancy, could have witnessed violent images involving strangulation. This traumatic consciousness was then somehow passed down to her unborn child, becoming deeply embedded within the child’s cerebellum.
The child grew up with those violent images deeply embedded within their subconscious mind. During a sudden fit of anger, the specific idea of strangulation surfaced from within and appeared to the individual as the best possible way of taking a human life. Xian Sheng raised the question of why strangulation was chosen as the method of murder instead of using a knife, which is much more accessible, far easier to use, and far more common.
(B) What are the reasons for school massacres in the US?
Xian Sheng used the Columbine High School massacre to lend support to his theory that the two students were influenced by mafia-style killings. The massacre had taken place in Littleton, Colorado, near Denver, just a few days prior to his talk. Xian Sheng mentioned that he had passed by Denver from Westminster during his Harley-Davidson tour in the United States of America in June 1998.
Xian Sheng questioned whether the two boys wore trench coats possibly because of the examples set by the adults in movies. The two boys could possibly have tried to mimic the adult actors and therefore copycatted their outfit. Trench coats are popular in movies and synonymous with a cool, lone action figure, even in the Old Western films.
He added that the two boys must have read controversial articles or racist propaganda that promoted hatred against Jewish people and niggers (Black people), and wearing trench coats suited the dark imagination they had copied from films. Xian Sheng stated that the minds of the two boys were apparently deeply affected by what they saw and read.
From the news that Xian Sheng heard, the two boys had 35 homemade pipe bombs with them. He stated that they were prepared to die and wanted to bring along as many people with them as possible.
Xian Sheng stated that these radicalised individuals could be made use of and weaponised to conduct the assassination of prime ministers, presidents, or even kings when they grew up.
(C) Security systems for schools in the US.
Xian Sheng questioned whether the Christians teach their followers not to hate others and, more importantly, whether the Christian religion teaches its congregations not to hate, irrespective of the creed, race or religion of other individuals. He suggested that this is something we have to ask in order to understand the mass killings. He then concluded that, looking directly at the tragic end result of their actions, it is highly unlikely that their religious instruction taught them not to hate.
In America, they have various types of counsellors to deal with all sorts of societal and psychological problems, such as counsellors who address trauma, bad parenting, gang affiliation, and deep-seated hatred. They have developed highly advanced counselling techniques, and yet, Xian Sheng explained that this massacre is not the first time such an event has occurred, noting that there have been many instances where students bring guns to school to commit mass murder.
Xian Sheng suggested that the government could develop a security system to ensure that no weapons can enter school compounds. This would be achieved by requiring everyone to pass through a weapon screening process or a metal detection system that identifies all metals carried in by students before allowing them entry into the premises.
Unfortunately, unlike in Malaysia, where schools are surrounded by high fences, high schools in the United States are designed as open campuses. This open design allows anyone to walk onto the premises, which makes it exceptionally difficult to implement any unified security system. Xian Sheng questioned whether schools in the United States needed to be completely fenced in and equipped with gated security systems that check every individual before allowing entry to the school compound. He noted that the schools would also have to employ professional security guards to actively patrol the entire area.
Xian Sheng suggested an alternative solution for situations where gated campuses are not viable, yet students continue to secretly bring firearms into schools. He proposed introducing a system where the administration assigns multiple students (student perpetrators) within each class to monitor the environment. These students would also intentionally join with the bad students so that they can pass vital information to the teachers regarding their ongoing activities.
(D) Students threaten Xian Sheng with parangs.
Xian Sheng discussed the information that he heard from the news concerning the Columbine High School massacre. He stated that some of the students must surely have overheard that the two boys were interested in explosives and building bombs such as pipe bombs. The news revealed that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had been bragging about their cache of weapons. Xian Sheng questioned why no one investigated the situation when the two boys openly bragged about their weapons.
Eric Harris had made explicit threats against another student, and within his personal journals, he repeatedly expressed a profound sense of personal superiority. He considered himself to be intellectually far above others, viewing himself as an elite figure while believing that ordinary people were completely incomparable to him, and regularly expressed a deep hatred toward humanity in general. This extreme arrogance carried over into the massacre itself, during which the two boys made taunting and contemptuous remarks while brandishing their firearms immediately before shooting at their victims.
Xian Sheng then questioned whether the two boys had been mocked, belittled, and bullied in the past, which ultimately caused them to behave in such a destructive manner. He stated that all of these elements must be closely investigated by the authorities, as these negative experiences have severe consequences on a person’s mental attitude. Furthermore, he noted that there seems to be a significant lack of school discipline within the United States educational system.
However, Xian Sheng stated frankly that a lack of discipline is also found in Malaysian schools. There are a large number of gangsters within schools, and teachers are deeply afraid of them. He recalled that during his tenure as a school teacher, his teaching colleagues were also afraid of their students. This seemed to be a common problem shared all over the world, and not just within America.
While students in the United States have ready access to firearms, students in other parts of the world have direct access to machetes or parangs from their homes. Xian Sheng mentioned that there were students who explicitly stated that they would go home to get their parangs to threaten him.
Xian Sheng highlighted a critical psychological truth. If Xian Sheng had shown fear regarding the threat to his life, the students would have probably attacked him with their parangs; however, because Xian Sheng showed absolutely no fear, they were forced to hesitate and clearly abandoned their threat.
(E) It takes bravery and sacrifice to save lives.
Referencing the Columbine High School massacre, Xian Sheng described an active counter-strategy he believed could neutralise the attack by the two rogue students. The technique initially requires two fearless individuals who would rush forward to seize their firearms, followed immediately by multiple individuals to subvert the assault. He explained that the shooters cannot fire repeatedly without interruption because the shotguns only hold two cartridges and require manual reloading after two shots.
The Savage-Springfield 67H, a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun used by Harris, and the Stevens 311D, a 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun used by Klebold, were both illegally sawn-off. The barrels were intentionally sawn-off to make the firearms significantly easier to conceal beneath their long trench coats.
Xian Sheng stated frankly that the first two individuals might die, but their bravery would allow the subsequent individuals to finish the job and neutralise the threat. He explained that the shooters would be physically unable to reload their firearms in time because the subsequent individuals would already be in such close proximity to them.
Xian Sheng mentioned that there was a distinct opportunity for the other individuals to spring forward and disarm the shooters when they were holding their firearms to threaten the female students, who were begging for their lives. The two female students involved in this ordeal were Valeen Schnurr and Bree Pasquale, both of whom survived the attack.
(F) Daring people own the day.
Regardless of the scenario, the same active counter-strategy is applicable to prevent belligerent perpetrators from massacring more innocent lives. Xian Sheng quoted the May 13, 1969 tragedy, recalling that one platoon of men was deployed to the Jinjang community hall while another platoon of men was deployed at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM). Xian Sheng explained that a platoon in this context consisted of 36 men who were heavily armed with hand grenades, machine guns, and submachine guns.
Xian Sheng questioned what 36 personnel with firearms could achieve when compared to the total population of Jinjang at that time, which consisted mainly of ethnic Chinese and was estimated at 200,000 people. Xian Sheng asked the followers to imagine a scenario where the local residents prepared themselves to dash a distance of 100 metres to intercept and overcome the 36 personnel. He then systematically reduced the hypothetical number of daring locals from 200,000 to 100,000, then to 50,000, and finally to 10,000 brave individuals.
If these 10,000 brave individuals were to make a sprinting dash simultaneously toward the 36 personnel, the perpetrators could possibly fire five shots each with their automatic weapons before being completely overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the local residents. The frontline sprinters would drop dead from the initial shooting, but with each local resident falling, the advancing crowd would move a step closer to overrunning the armed unit.
Xian Sheng estimated that the slowest time the local residents would need to sprint 100 metres toward the perpetrators was 20 seconds. He then began counting aloud, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.” He noted that this sequence represented the total duration required for the local residents to be on top of the opposing force.
If the locals were organised and daring, and did not fear death, they would have been able to acquire the entire platoon’s weapons to further defend themselves. Nevertheless, this entire strategy hinges completely on the fact that the population needed to be daring and brave.
(G) Fight or beg for life.
Xian Sheng returned to the topic of the Columbine High School massacre and stated that if the individuals present, including the teachers, staff, and students, had been daring enough, they could have prevented more deaths from occurring.
They could have used chairs and even tables to whack the shooters from behind. The shooters were shooting wildly and would not have been aware of their immediate surroundings, particularly their backs. Nevertheless, the students and staff would have had to organise themselves to rush forward with chairs to overwhelm the perpetrators.
Fewer people would have died if they had not panicked and lost the ability to think rationally. They hesitated and asked what was happening when it was completely obvious what would happen after hearing gunshots and seeing individuals with firearms entering the cafeteria. Some begged for their lives instead of rushing forward to seize the firearms, and they were still shot by the perpetrators.
(H) If the police attack you, you must fight back one-on-one.
Xian Sheng recalled that prior to the mass arrest by the police at the Salak South Holy Hall during the Sixth Anniversary Dinner on 2 October 1982, Xian Sheng preemptively instructed the followers to stay calm, act peacefully, remain quiet, and comply with the instructions of the police. However, he maintained that if the police attacked any follower without provocation, that individual must fight back on a one-on-one basis, regardless of whether the assailant was a police officer. Xian Sheng clarified that one-on-one in this context meant that the follower who was attacked by the police must fight back alone, and the rest of the followers were required to refrain completely from joining in to offer assistance.
Xian Sheng then proceeded to ask if anyone knew how to defend against an Alsatian dog, also known as a German Shepherd, and how to launch a counter-attack. A follower replied that the critical weak spot was the nose of the dog. Xian Sheng then expanded upon this statement, explaining that an individual would have to punch the dog directly on the nose, grab its snout, squeeze it hard, and then slam the dog forcefully to the ground. He noted that this action would incapacitate the animal to the extent of even killing it. However, Xian Sheng stated that one would have to be exceptionally fast and accurate to strike the dog on the nose as it lunged straight forward.
(I) One must not kill, except for self-defence.
Xian Sheng stated that the followers must know the foundational Baitiangong principle: that an individual does not kill, except when acting purely in self-defence.
Xian Sheng clarified that when individuals chose to rush directly towards armed assailants to seize their weapons, this action was fully recognised as an act of self-defence. He noted that the individuals had to perform this action to bring the two shooters down to prevent more deaths from occurring, using all available means.
As long as there are brave individuals present, they can bring these shooters down. Xian Sheng shared another method to bring down a lone shooter who had shot a person dead. If five or six individuals were daring enough to rush towards the lone shooter, they could succeed, as the shooter would not be highly accurate under pressure. If all of them were to run in a zig-zag manner towards the shooter, that action would confuse him because he could not focus on whom to aim at. The precious time that the shooter lost due to indecision meant that the individuals could reach him without the shooter shooting any of them.
Another method involves brave individuals rushing towards the shooter from all sides. If ten people were to rush at the shooter, with some advancing from the front, some from the back, and others from his sides, the shooter could only kill one individual. The remaining nine people would jump on him to bring him down.
Nevertheless, regardless of the method deployed, people naturally fear death, which is why mass killings continue to happen. Xian Sheng explained that if individuals only knew that death is something beautiful, they would not need to fear death at all.
Xian Sheng concluded by stating that if an individual had to bring down a person who was a killer, that action was considered an act of self-defence and they should do it without hesitation.
(J) People fear death!
Xian Sheng remembered an incident that took place in Taman Maluri, located directly behind the house where Xian Sheng conducted spiritual discussions, back in the early 1980s. The eldest brother out of seven brothers knelt down to beg for his life, but he was killed nonetheless by two Indonesian robbers. The rest of the six younger brothers did nothing and allowed the perpetrators to leave without offering any resistance.
Xian Sheng questioned whether the remaining six brothers could have successfully brought the two robbers down if they had rushed at them the moment the assailants slashed their elder brother. Instead, they merely looked on as the robber slashed and killed their elder brother.
Xian Sheng commented with slight disgust that the robbers were armed only with knives and not firearms. The rest of the brothers were in close proximity, and their hands were not even tied. Xian Sheng noted that they could have taken the chairs, tables, fans, video cameras, or whatever nearby items they could lay their hands on and thrown them at the robbers, but instead they merely looked on as their elder brother was killed.
The Indonesian robbers walked away free from any consequences after killing the elder brother. Xian Sheng asked why this could happen. The answer was that people naturally fear death, which was why they were unable to react.
Xian Sheng said that he watched the film “Who Dares Wins”, where an individual dared to attempt climbing up a rope ladder. However, he soon discovered that his hands could not move to continue climbing due to paralysing fear, leaving him stranded on the ladder. The others had to rescue him. Xian Sheng concluded that it was fear that stagnated the individual’s movement.
(K) Fear can paralyse you.
Xian Sheng stated that fear is innate in every child. However, Xian Sheng always tried to teach his children not to fear.
Xian Sheng specifically taught his son, Brother Chew Pit King, not to worry about the crisis at that time, but to go to school courageously. He reminded his son that if he were to be attacked by Malay students or adults, Xian Sheng would like to see him kill a few of his attackers before dying in battle. Xian Sheng stated that his death would be worthwhile and that it was alright.
At the time of the incident, Xian Sheng’s son was either in Form 3 or Form 4. Xian Sheng questioned whose father would speak to his son in such a manner, and then directed his question to Brother Too Hing Yeap, asking, “Would you tell your son like that?” Brother Too replied that he would, after hearing that statement from Xian Sheng. Xian Sheng then asked whether, if Brother Too had never heard it from him, he would have spoken to his son in the way Xian Sheng did. Brother Too replied that he had already heard about this from Xian Sheng some time in the past. (The next section was illegible.)
Brother Too provided historical and contemporary context by stating that during early Islamic history, Muslims willingly laid down their lives and died as martyrs to contribute to the rise of Islam. However, in contemporary times, the general mindset has changed, and people are taught to survive rather than die for a cause. He explained that people nowadays are not prepared or trained to face an existential crisis, thereby leaving them paralysed with fear. He provided an example that army personnel are trained and will react according to their training instead of freezing up. He then clarified that although Xian Sheng could instruct them on how to react, when people face a sudden and unexpected crisis, they lose their presence of mind and cannot react accordingly. Xian Sheng confirmed that fear can cause an individual to suffer paralysis and become completely unable to move.
(L) Climb a coconut tree to overcome fear of heights.
Xian Sheng recounted a past incident in which Brother Tan An Bin slapped a lawyer, Mr H. B. Low, during a court recess for spreading lies and false information. Upon being struck, Mr Low’s knees instantly gave way, causing him to collapse to the ground. Xian Sheng observed that if he were to slap Mr Low, he would use both hands, one after the other, likely followed by a punch; otherwise, he would not bother to slap him at all.
There was an incident where Xian Sheng’s vehicle was surrounded by a group of Malay individuals following a minor collision with another car driven by a Malay owner. One Malay man across from his car shouted, “Lanyak dia!”—translating to “beat him” or “crush him”—in an attempt to incite the crowd to attack Xian Sheng. Xian Sheng faced him directly and asserted, “Marilah cuba, you cuba,” which translates to “come on and try; you try.” Xian Sheng then looked around and confronted all the Malay individuals surrounding him. Xian Sheng challenged anyone who even looked at him with hostility, and in the end, none of them dared to touch Xian Sheng.
Brother Woo Kwai Moon asked Xian Sheng how individuals could overcome their fear, and whether this could be accomplished through training. Xian Sheng cited the example of people who fear heights, stating that they could overcome their fear by climbing a coconut tree. He shared his personal experience from his younger days, where he overcame his own fear of heights by climbing a tall coconut tree. He climbed all the way to the top, pushing through the coconut fronds to reach the fruit, which he plucked and threw down.
Xian Sheng then asked the assembly how many followers had ever climbed up a coconut tree. Brother Too Hing Yeap stated that he had once fallen from a coconut tree.
Xian Sheng proceeded to explain that he climbed the tall coconut tree using the method employed by Indian climbers, which involved two simple rope loops: one looped around his waist to lean back on, and another around his feet to press against the trunk. Xian Sheng demonstrated how he used the rope loop technique to scale the tree through friction and balance. Once he had harvested the desired coconuts, he would slowly ease himself down by reversing the method. Xian Sheng remarked that this type of training was one way to combat the fear of heights.
(M) Overcome your fear through repeated exposure.
Xian Sheng said that individuals like himself, who have overcome their innate fear, rode the Boomerang roller coaster without any hesitation. The Boomerang roller coaster generates such intense G-forces that the riders’ cheeks and facial skin are pulled into distorted shapes, which Xian Sheng demonstrated by using his hands to pull back the corners of his mouth. Furthermore, he went on the ride three times, as attested by Brother Wong Kow Poh, who did not dare to try it.
After trying out the Boomerang roller coaster for the third time, Xian Sheng remarked that the experience was nothing special anymore, although it caused giddiness due to the extreme motion. Brother Tan An Bin did not even dare to try any type of ride, although Xian Sheng urged him to while they were in Australia. Xian Sheng explained that it was because fear existed within Brother Tan that prevented him from even trying. A person without fear would walk right up to the rides and sit on them.
Xian Sheng said that his daughter, Sister Chew Mei Chun, had gone and tried out the most intense adult rides. One of the rides Xian Sheng described was the Chair Swing Ride, where individual chairs suspended by chains are flung outward in dizzying directions.
Recently, Xian Sheng took his youngest son, Brother Chew Pit Tian, to a funfair in Ipoh, Perak. The ride operator initially refused to allow him onto the roller coaster because of his smaller frame, but Xian Sheng requested that the operator permit him to try. Initially, Brother Pit Tian was filled with fear as he rode the roller coaster. However, his sister Mei Chun accompanied him on the roller coaster multiple times until his fear vanished. Xian Sheng noted that Brother Chew Pit Tian had overcome his fear of the rides completely. Brother Pit Tian recounted that he experienced fear on his first ride, less fear on his second ride, and no fear at all on his third ride, finding that he actually enjoyed the experience.
Xian Sheng explained that fear causes the body to release adrenaline, which makes the heart beat faster. Xian Sheng then posed the question of how an individual could eliminate that fear. He explained that repeated exposure to the source of fear enables a person to overcome it.
Xian Sheng stated that training helps an individual to conquer their fear. Brother Too Hing Yeap countered that people cannot possibly seek out criminals and fight them simply to train themselves. Xian Sheng clarified that he meant training the heart naturally to control its beat. Because fear originates from the heart due to adrenaline secreted into the system, if an individual can control their heartbeat, they can also control the intensity of their fear. Brother Too argued that fear arises naturally and that people have no control when it suddenly appears. Xian Sheng replied that exposure would have to happen repeatedly in order for a person to train and condition themselves effectively.
(N) Go and walk around the graveyard if you fear ghosts.
Xian Sheng advised those who fear going into the dark by themselves to keep entering the dark again and again until they lose that fear completely.
Brother Too Hing Yeap responded by stating that encountering a person holding a knife to threaten us is not something an individual can do repeatedly for practice. Xian Sheng clarified that the training is about controlling one’s heartbeat to overcome innate fear, thereby remaining steady and calm without panicking when encountering any situation.
Xian Sheng explained that confronting an armed assailant with a knife triggers the exact same physiological fear response as looking down at the ground from the 19th floor. As long as an individual can control the palpitations of their heart, they take a deep breath, look directly at the person threatening them with a knife, and say, “Bastard. You threaten me? Come on!” As a result, the heart does not beat wildly because the individual can regulate it. Xian Sheng maintained that such self-control is entirely achievable because it is ultimately a matter of training.
To help them overcome their fear of ghosts, Xian Sheng conducted an experiment by sending a group of Baitiangong brothers and sisters to walk around a graveyard. This was because graveyards contain the dead and are widely believed to be haunted by ghosts. Xian Sheng sent them to a cemetery in Klang at midnight, instructing them to walk up and around the graveyard and report back to him afterwards.
Xian Sheng asked the assembly whether they were aware of this experiment involving the first-time Baitiangong followers in Klang. When the group in Klang reported back to him, Xian Sheng asked whether they had seen any ghosts, and they replied that they had not. Xian Sheng stated that they were therefore safe and should no longer fear ghosts. Even though the cemetery in Klang was rumored to have many ghosts, Xian Sheng explained that he had instructed them to “ghost the ghosts” so that they would lose their fear of ghosts.
Xian Sheng explained the spiritual fundamentals, stating that when an individual experiences fear, the rapid palpitations of the heart can cause the surrounding vibrational protection to fracture or crack, allowing spirits to attack through the breach. Xian Sheng explained that all these factors are deeply interconnected—the physical palpitations of the heart and the protective vibration surrounding the individual.
Xian Sheng explained that when an individual has no fear, they can even talk to a ghost, because fear naturally prevents a person from speaking to it. A ghost knows when an individual fears it, just as a dog knows when a person fears it and will chase after them. However, if an individual shows no fear toward the dog, it will not come after them.
(O) Chenophobia – the fear of geese.
Xian Sheng spoke about how his son, Brother Chew Pit Tian, and daughter, Sister Chew Mei Chun, feared the goose in the backyard, which also served as the meditation ground. They developed this fear after the goose moved towards them, prompting both of them to run away as the goose gave chase.
Xian Sheng told each of them to carry a stick and approach the goose. As the goose came towards them, they pointed and waved the stick at the goose, and it moved away from them. Xian Sheng told them that this was the way to deal with the goose in the future, until it stopped going after them.
Brother Pit Tian was bitten once by the goose. Under such circumstances, many parents would discourage their children from approaching the goose, which represents a starkly different approach to parenting and training. When Brother Pit Tian was bitten and crying, Xian Sheng received a telephone call at his office informing him that family members were locking up the goose. Xian Sheng instructed them not to lock up the goose, but to let it roam freely. When he arrived home, he took his son down to the backyard, armed him with a stick, and instructed him to approach the goose. As the goose moved towards him, Brother Pit Tian waved his stick at the goose, and the goose retreated. Xian Sheng then encouraged his son to proceed forward, forcing the goose to retreat even further. Both his son and daughter have since overcome their fear of the goose completely.
Xian Sheng explained that his son and daughter had to learn to live with the goose, stating that it was their castle and one does not run away from their own castle. That was the reason Xian Sheng required them to face their fear, whereas other parents would prevent their children from facing the goose or lock it up—which Xian Sheng noted was the exact attitude adopted by their mother, Sister Elaine Hue. Here, Xian Sheng explained that his attitude was different, declaring, “Let the goose come out and let these two go down,” to the amusement of the followers. Nevertheless, this demonstrated that a different attitude leads to a distinctly different way of training.
(P) Train children to be fearless.
Brother Too Hing Yeap stated that sometimes there is a fine line between fearlessness and stupidity. He posed the question that if an individual were to climb up a tall structure and then fall down to his death, whether that action should be classified as fearlessness or stupidity.
Addressing Brother Too’s point, Xian Sheng explained that there is no reason to fear falling from great heights. Xian Sheng built a tree house for his son and daughter to practise climbing in order to overcome their fear. He invited the followers to see the tree house, which he referred to as a clubhouse, on the coming Sunday for sermon and meditation. Xian Sheng noted that he compelled both children to climb up despite them clearly exhibiting fear initially. They cited falling down as the reason for their fear, but Xian Sheng encouraged them to climb, stating that falling down is fine as they cannot die from such a short height. Nevertheless, if they are careful, they would not fall at all.
Xian Sheng admitted that falling even from such a short height could be fatal if an individual landed headfirst. Nevertheless, he stated that people must not discourage children or make them more fearful by warning them of such outcomes, but should instead encourage them to climb while practising care.
As part of the training, the tree house could only be accessed by climbing a dangling rope ladder that would sway, swing, and wobble as they climbed, thereby providing good training. Xian Sheng justified building the tree house by explaining that it allowed them to train their physical balance, upper-body strength, spatial awareness, and, most importantly, to lose their fear. In fact, they later found it interesting to climb. Xian Sheng summarised the training as a progression from fear to interest.
Xian Sheng stated that the important objective is to train children to be fearless. He added that parents must teach them Baitiangong from a very young age. However, Xian Sheng stressed that both parents must agree on the training methods. If one parent does not agree, it makes matters very difficult, especially when it comes to religious upbringing.
(Q) Do not kill even in self-defence; disable when possible.
Returning to the issue of taking human life, Xian Sheng emphasised that we must teach our brothers and sisters that they can only kill in self-defence. Outside of that situation, an individual must never kill or take another person’s life, regardless of the circumstances. Xian Sheng re-emphasised that people only have the right to take another human life in self-defence. Other than that specific situation, they do not have the right and must not do so.
When it comes to self-defence, Xian Sheng explained that if an individual can hurt an aggressor just enough to disable them without taking their life, they must prioritise disabling the person first.
Xian Sheng explained that the mandate to prioritise disabling over killing is conditional upon an individual not facing a larger or superior force. In a scenario where defenders face an overwhelming force, lethal force becomes necessary to reduce the threat against them. Xian Sheng provided an example of a defensive force of four persons facing an attacking force of seven persons. Xian Sheng explained that the defenders would have to eliminate three individuals to even the opposing force, and then attempt to subdue the remaining four persons. Throughout this explanation, Xian Sheng re-emphasised that there is no necessity to kill unnecessarily.
(R) Mob psychology.
Brother Too Hing Yeap referred to the Columbine High School massacre, stating that the girl, threatened by a firearm pointed at her head, could kill in an act of self-defence. However, he observed that students who were far away could as easily run away, following the saying, “He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.”
Xian Sheng replied that it also depended on the situation. If the students were near the shooter, it would be better for them to die facing the shooter while trying to fight than to die while running away, because the shooter could chase after them to kill them. However, if they were far away from the shooter, then they could definitely run away safely.
Xian Sheng shifted his explanation to a hand-to-hand combat scenario involving an attacking group and a defending group. If those defending were to turn and run away, the entire group of attackers would give chase to kill all of them, as this is how mob psychology works. However, if the defenders managed to kill one of the attackers, the attackers would have to think twice before attempting to attack again.
Xian Sheng referred to the Plaza Sentral Klender incident in May 1998 in Indonesia. He questioned whether the rioting Indonesians were truly not afraid of death, explaining that the tragedy occurred because over 250 ethnic Chinese Indonesians allowed themselves to be killed. Xian Sheng used this situation as a good example to explain that if the ethnic Chinese defending themselves had killed anyone who came close with a torch to set fire against them, those rioters would have thought twice before approaching the plaza to set fires, as they were also afraid of death.
Xian Sheng clarified that he believed the rioters feared death because they later ran away from the riot squad. When the riot squad shot down one of the rioters, the rest ran away, which was consistent with mob psychology and proved that they feared death. Xian Sheng then observed that if a group of rioters truly did not fear death, it raised the question of how many police personnel the government would need to bring to restore order.
Xian Sheng asked whether a company-sized unit of personnel consisting of three platoons is sufficient to restore order. Xian Sheng broke down the numbers, explaining that a platoon normally consists of 36 personnel, and therefore a company consists of around 100 personnel. Xian Sheng explained that one can identify the ranking officer by the gold bars on his shoulder epaulettes, which designate a Komandan Kompi (equivalent to a Superintendent of Police in Malaysia) who leads a company of police personnel. However, if the ranking officer is equivalent to an Assistant Superintendent of Police, he would probably lead a platoon of men, and so forth.
Xian Sheng noted that if the rioters were truly fearless, a company of around 100 police personnel would be no match for one thousand rioters. They could easily rush forward, overcome the company of police officers, and take their weapons. Nevertheless, the rioters ran away in fear after the police shot dead one rioter, which demonstrated that they feared death.
(S) A sit-in protest is the right move.
Returning to the case of Anwar Ibrahim, Xian Sheng explained that Anwar did not have 100,000 supporters at that point in time.
Brother Too Hing Yeap asked for Xian Sheng’s view regarding the actions that those participating in the Reformasi movement should take during a sit-in protest when the authorities come to break them up, specifically whether they should retaliate or back off. Xian Sheng opined that the protestors should remain seated and allow the police to arrest them. Brother Too clarified that being arrested was not the main issue, as the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) behaved like trained dogs to whack the protestors. Xian Sheng responded by asking how many protestors the FRU could possibly whack if the protestors did not do anything viewed as provocative.
Brother Woo Kwai Moon observed that the protestors would turn violent under such circumstances. Xian Sheng replied that the protestors were in the wrong for reacting in accordance with mob psychology. Xian Sheng compared this to the incident where the police arrested the Baitiangong followers during the 6th Anniversary, noting that he had preemptively prepared the followers three months in advance not to respond to police provocation by turning violent.
Brother Too Hing Yeap retorted that he would respond by fighting back, noting that he could not sit back while being assaulted. Xian Sheng replied that this was where the one-on-one situation applied—preventing escalation into mob psychology where everyone turns frenzied and attacks as one. Even if an individual were to die in the fight, it was acceptable. However, if two police officers became involved, then another brother should step into the fight to make it two-on-two. Meanwhile, those with video cameras should record the transgressions of the police, demonstrating that the followers fought fairly one-on-one unless another officer intervened. Xian Sheng explained that such video evidence, once distributed publicly and overseas, would bring shame upon the police for their provocation and aggression against a peaceful gathering.
Returning to the sit-in protest, Xian Sheng explained that if protestors were to scatter when the police came in, they would have lost the momentum of the Reformasi movement. Xian Sheng noted that Tian Chua was right to sit down in front of the police water cannon truck during the Black Monday protest in April 1999. He showed no fear, being willing to sacrifice his life should the police truck insist on rolling over him to enter the area. The police were forced to come over, assault him, and drag him away.
Xian Sheng acknowledged that the authorities might even charge Tian Chua with attempted suicide for sitting in front of a moving truck, as they could not stick any other charges on him. Furthermore, the police were going to charge Sukma Dermawan, Azmin Ali (should be Azizan Abu Bakar), and Munawar Ahmad Anees with giving false evidence in court—specifically perjury—in connection with the Anwar Ibrahim trials, an offence that carried a maximum penalty of up to seven years’ imprisonment.
Xian Sheng questioned the impartiality of the police when it came to their own officers. He stated that Inspector-General of Police Rahim Noor should have been charged under Section 325 of Malaysia’s Penal Code for “voluntarily causing grievous hurt,” which carried an imprisonment term of up to seven years. Nevertheless, he was charged under Section 323 for “voluntarily causing hurt,” which carried a maximum imprisonment of up to one year. Xian Sheng studied the Penal Code and was therefore aware of what the police did to protect their own.
Brother Too Hing Yeap added that Rahim Noor should also be charged with corruption for abuse of power or position. Xian Sheng disagreed and said that Rahim Noor should be charged with abetment, just like the police officers abetting Anwar Ibrahim by carrying out his instructions. Abetting corruption carries a lesser degree of punishment. Nevertheless, since Anwar was charged with corruption, those police officers who abetted Anwar should also have been charged with abetting corruption for carrying out his orders. Nevertheless, the police were free from any charges of abetting corruption.
Recalling Brother Phuah Kim Yean’s case, Xian Sheng explained that the police were clearly abetting corruption by carrying out the instructions from the boss of Lim Hui Boon. Xian Sheng noted that the police officer who assaulted Brother Phuah Kim Hoe in the lockup should also have been charged under Section 323 for “voluntarily causing hurt,” just like Rahim Noor.
T) Those who tell lies are not true Muslims.
Xian Sheng expressed his shock upon reading the morning news that Sukma Dermawan and Azmin Ali admitted to giving false testimony in court under coercion. He explained that there is a key lesson here: under no circumstances, even under police torture, should one tell lies. As individuals who pray to GOD, we must practise the 2nd Spiritual Guideline: Fear nothing except the CREATOR, which means we do not even fear death.
Xian Sheng observed that if they were true Muslims, even under the pain of being repeatedly beaten by the police to tell lies, they should not have admitted to being sodomised by Anwar. He explained that if they were somehow beaten to death, that would have been a better outcome for them, as the police would have been answerable for their death.
Xian Sheng asked if the followers remembered the Maybank case where the police killed a person, and noted that the responsible police officer was jailed.
According to Xian Sheng, Anwar’s associates should have accepted being beaten instead of telling lies, if they were true Muslims. Telling lies showed that these three were not true Muslims. Under the pain of torture and threat, they admitted to being sodomised by Anwar.
Brother Too Hing Yeap told Xian Sheng that Munawar’s declaration stated that he was not physically tortured but suffered from mental torture, which disoriented, confused, and broke them until they were not of sane mind when they signed the confession. Xian Sheng clarified that the mental torture was sleep deprivation, where they were awakened whenever they fell asleep.
Xian Sheng explained that the Malaysian police emulated the Nazi secret police known as the Gestapo, who employed sleep deprivation to break down a person’s resistance.
Xian Sheng argued that there was nothing to fear, because when the worst of sleep deprivation hit them, they would simply fall into a deep slumber that even chopping off their hands would not cause them to wake up.
Xian Sheng laughed when he read Azmin Ali’s confession. The police had taken photos of his genitals from the front and back and threatened to release these intimate photographs to the public and media. Police officers, including ASP Rodwan Yusof, practically stripped him naked to take photos of his private parts at Bukit Aman police headquarters. Azmin testified in court about the severe police abuse he suffered while detained in September 1998. Xian Sheng even joked with his Malay friends, saying that Azmin could have just laughed over it instead of telling lies that he was sodomised. The joke was that Azmin could become famous since his private parts were made public for the world to see, and he could go around telling others that Rahim Noor took his photo because he was jealous of his private parts.
Xian Sheng summarised that he found it ridiculous for Azmin to tell lies just because the police took photos of his private parts. Xian Sheng acknowledged the mental torture, such as sleep deprivation, suffered by others, but maintained that a person who prays to GOD would fear nothing, except the CREATOR.
(U) GOD’s consciousness to remind them they are praying to GOD.
Xian Sheng explained that there was no excuse for Anwar’s three associates to tell lies, as the situation was very serious with Anwar being charged with sodomy. If they were never sodomised by Anwar but testified that they were, and corroborated that testimony with affidavits, they gave false evidence—an offence under Section 193 of the Penal Code, punishable by up to seven years in prison. Therefore, Xian Sheng said these three (Azizan Abu Bakar, Sukma Dermawan, and Dr Munawar Anees) deserved to go to jail for telling lies.
Xian Sheng questioned why they would tell lies in the first place. The lie was meant to help the police frame Anwar, but then they denied that they were sodomised by Anwar. Therefore, Xian Sheng maintained that they deserved to be jailed for lying.
Xian Sheng asked for the opinions of the followers on whether they deserved to be jailed for five years. Here, Xian Sheng explained the reason that imprisoning them was good for their own spiritual salvation and good for the Muslim world as a whole—to remind them that they are praying to GOD. Xian Sheng suggested that it could be GOD’s consciousness imposed on them to remind them that they are praying to GOD.
(V) Xian Sheng does not like those who tell lies in court.
Xian Sheng referred to Brother Tan An Bin’s case, where he was summoned to court for attempting to hit a police officer with a steering lock. Brother Tan An Bin’s lawyer, Mr Selvanathan, advised him to tell lies in court to avoid prosecution. Please refer to 09A-2000 G for more information.
Xian Sheng told Brother Tan An Bin not to listen to Selvanathan’s counsel to lie in court, but to tell the truth. Xian Sheng described Selvanathan as a useless lawyer for teaching his clients to tell lies in court. Xian Sheng told Brother Tan An Bin to tell the court exactly what happened that caused him to lose his temper and almost strike the police officer in the head for attempting to elicit a bribe from him.
The court bound him over for two years for good behaviour, prohibiting him from striking any police officer during those two years. Xian Sheng joked that Brother Tan An Bin could strike any police officer in the third year.
Xian Sheng explained that Brother Tan An Bin had told the truth and therefore, the court granted him a lenient outcome. However, if Brother Tan An Bin had lied, Xian Sheng said that GOD’s Consciousness would ensure he was jailed.
In the case of Baitiangong followers, Xian Sheng advocated that they go all out to tell the truth. Xian Sheng expressed his dislike of people going to court and telling lies.
(W) GOD will bless the truthful.
Xian Sheng provided another example of Baitiangong followers telling the truth in court. He was referring to Brother Ah Leong and Brother Ah Kian, who told the court that the police wanted to extract bribes from them. The police wanted bribe money from them, but they refused to pay and were jailed for their defiance. Xian Sheng stated that it was fine for them to be jailed for refusing to bribe the police.
Xian Sheng compared the sorry state and bad publicity of the police force with the standing of the two of them. The police earned a bad name for abetting corruption to try to frame Anwar, but the two of them did not receive any bad reputation.
In fact, Xian Sheng referred to and praised them every time he wanted to speak about something good about Baitiangong followers. Xian Sheng said this is what GOD would do for people like them. GOD will bless them because they are truthful.
Xian Sheng added that to tell the truth and to go to jail for it was even better for them. Their refusal to pay the police and going to jail instead was better for them.
The courts were by then well aware of Baixian staff, so much so that when the police saw that the lorries were driven by Baixian staff, they would no longer try to stop and harass them for bribes. Xian Sheng mentioned that Brother Ah Kian told him that when a police officer stopped his lorry and saw that he was a Baixian staff member, the police quickly told him to move on and dared not even ask for money. Xian Sheng concluded that it was good for us in Baixian, but the police would go on harassing other lorry drivers in Kuala Lumpur.
Xian Sheng highlighted that the difference between telling the truth and telling lies is who will eventually suffer for the lies. Since Baixian staff have proven that they do not fear going to jail, the police would have to think twice before daring to slap them with false summonses for not paying them bribes. These Baixian staff might have to go to jail, but when they have their day in court, the police would suffer in the end.
(X) Bad things will happen to those who incriminate Baitiangong followers.
Xian Sheng warned that these crooked magistrates, police inspectors, and others know that they will suffer in the end, as they will pay for their sins in death. (That is because they are Muslims and would know about the consequences of sin.)
Xian Sheng told the followers to believe him when he said that they cannot escape punishment upon their death. They are alive now and, as police officers, can flaunt and abuse their power and authority. Nevertheless, there are no guarantees that they will not get into trouble during their lifetime.
Xian Sheng said that if Brother Ah Kian were to keep track of the police officers who framed them and put them in jail, Xian Sheng assured the followers that things would eventually happen to those officers. Xian Sheng explained that as long as Brother Ah Kian and Brother Ah Leong were alive and kept praying to GOD, GOD might say, “My goodness, these are people of GOD, and yet, for telling the truth, they can go to jail.”
Xian Sheng then contrasted this with what happened to Anwar’s associates. Initially, they told lies, but later told the truth, yet they still ended up in jail. Xian Sheng noted that it was good that this happened to Sukma, Azizan, and Dr Munawar. The reason Xian Sheng explained was that all of them would not dare to tell lies the next time, despite how the police might coerce them. Xian Sheng acted out a scenario in Malay demonstrating that it was not worthwhile to tell lies, translated into English as: “Damn, we were told to tell lies, otherwise they would whack us. They told us to lie, and we lied. But when we told the truth, we were also in the wrong. But if we had been dead set on lying to the end, perhaps we would have been fine. Nevertheless, we do not want to play this game the next time, and will tell the truth instead.”
Xian Sheng expressed hope that if any of Anwar’s associates were to be arrested in the future, they would tell the truth, even under the pain of torture. The police would not be able to manipulate them then. People would learn this lesson about telling the truth.
Nevertheless, Anwar would still be charged for sodomising his wife’s driver, Azizan Abu Bakar. Whether Anwar actually sodomised Azizan was another issue. Whether Azizan was telling the truth was another issue. Xian Sheng said that there were still other corruption charges that they planned to charge Anwar with. Xian Sheng was not sure how many years Anwar would have to be imprisoned as these charges would not be running concurrently, but consecutively as they were of different categories. Xian Sheng laughed at the thought that Anwar could be blocked from politics as he would face his existing six years plus another 3 + 3 + 3 for a total of 15 years in prison. Nevertheless, Xian Sheng said that his sentence could be pardoned if something else happened, like the main protagonist, Mahathir, were to die.
(Y) You must help the police by reporting criminal activities.
Xian Sheng said that Baitiangong followers must always remember his instructions to report any suspicious activities involving firearms, illegal narcotics, and dangerous drugs that they know of around their neighbourhood. However, if they were worried that their identity would be exposed when reporting these activities to the police, they could pass the information to Xian Sheng to report on their behalf. If they were worried their names would be recorded by the police, they could write a note without leaving their names or signature, and slide the note under his room door. Xian Sheng gave the outline: “So-and-so brought a sidearm. I have seen him carrying it. He is a very suspicious character.” Xian Sheng noted that the same note could also be used for dadah or dangerous drugs.
Xian Sheng explained that he dared to inform and provide information to the police, to the extent that he personally looked into a gang running a credit card scam. The reason was that while crime today does not involve us directly, one day we could be the victim of a robbery. Xian Sheng specifically pointed to the guns that are used in robberies and not just the gangsters themselves. Different gangs operate in different zones, but the gun used for a robbery could be passed around among these various gangsters. Xian Sheng explained that guns could be rented nowadays, used by a gang member to kill someone, returned, and rented out again like a rental service for gangsters. The gun runners rent out guns for gangsters to commit robberies, and if the robbery is successful, these gun runners get a cut from the robbery as well.
Xian Sheng highlighted one of the complications associated with rented firearms that hinders the police from successfully investigating certain homicides. A gang member who rents a firearm to commit a murder may ultimately end up being killed, while the rented firearm is subsequently found to have been used in various other murders—murders that were not necessarily committed by that specific gangster.
This is why Xian Sheng advocated that we must help the police in cases involving dangerous drugs, firearms, and other criminal activities, although we do not like the police force because of the attitude and behaviour of some police officers. However, we cannot make arrests ourselves, but require the police to be involved. This is why we need to give this information to the police.
Xian Sheng admitted that he had given a lot of information to the police over the years on various criminal activities ranging from theft to dadah or dangerous drugs. The top police officers were well aware of Xian Sheng’s contribution, as he would ring them directly to pass on the information. The information included tips from the brothers and sisters who preferred to stay anonymous. Xian Sheng would call the top cops and give them his details and the information. Xian Sheng said that it was up to the police to make use of the information, as he had done his part as a responsible citizen.
Xian Sheng named Datuk Zaman Khan, who was the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Bukit Aman, who received his information and claimed the kudos for himself in the early years. Xian Sheng noted that Zaman Khan had conveniently forgotten that Xian Sheng gave him the information to make the successful arrests.
Despite not getting due credit, Xian Sheng did it because he did not like the gangsters who go around robbing, bullying people, and selling dadah. Once again, Xian Sheng reminded the followers that one day, the gangsters could approach his children to sell drugs if Xian Sheng did not take active action to get rid of them. This is the reason why he encouraged the followers to pass on any information they had on dadah to the police to take action.
Xian Sheng was previously a member of the National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA) for Batu and Kepong Baru, and sat on the anti-dadah committee in Jinjang. Xian Sheng had handed over a lot of information to the police that led to the arrest of many drug operations. Xian Sheng reiterated that the police made the drug busts based on the information he had given to them, rather than the police pursuing the information on their own initiative.
Xian Sheng gave a stern reminder that the same gun that we did not report could be the gun that is used to rob us in our homes, or worse, the gun used to kill our family members or relatives during a robbery.
We require the police force, despite the force having both good and bad officers, as we need them to do their jobs to arrest criminals, since we cannot do so ourselves. Therefore, we should pass any information to the police for them to act upon. Xian Sheng concluded that it is not important that the police get all the credit for the information we provide, as long as the criminals are put behind bars for our general safety.