Media Release: 7 October 2005

Government needs to show that it is not homophobic

People Like Us welcomes Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's assurance that the government is not homophobic (Straits Times 7 October 2005) and that it needs to accommodate the gay community's interests (Straits Times Online, 6 October 2005).

In his speech and Q&A with the Foreign Correspondents' Association on 6 October 2005, PM Lee said that performance and ability to continue to deliver results are what his government is measured by.

The measurables for determining the level of homophobia in the government's policies require ensuring that gay Singaporeans can live their lives without having to live in fear of the law or uninformed prejudice in a manner that is not experienced by heterosexual Singaporeans.

In particular, the following are critical to establish that the government's positions are not homophobic:

1. Decriminalisation of consensual gay sex and the equalisation of the age of consent; 
2. Equalisation of censorship standards between heterosexual and homosexual themes and content; 
3. Registration of gay-identified societies; 
4. Removal of homophobic bias in the Ministry of Education's curricula.

The Prime Minister thinks that managing backlash and divisiveness should be via placing restrictions and unjust laws against lesbian and gay Singaporeans. With respect, People Like Us is of the view that he is wrong.

Just as maintaining racial harmony is founded upon the core principle that people of all races are equal in law and policy, and racist speech frowned upon, so integration and acceptance of the gay community cannot be realised unless the government adopts a similar principle regarding sexual orientation, and recognises that the threat to social harmony comes primarily from homophobia.

The Prime Minister referred to people who objected to homosexuality as a "sin". The government should ask whether the opposition to gay equality is not a virulently vocal, religiously-motivated campaign by a small number of people that is in no way representative, but merely seem so because they have the clout and resources to make themselves heard. Policy-making by a secular government operating in a multi-racial society like Singapore should not be taken captive by the religious beliefs of segments of its citizens.

People Like Us trusts that Mr. Lee will continue to foster an all-inclusive society in Singapore where everyone regardless of race, language, religion or sexual orientation will be treated equally by the law and governmental policies so that we can all find our place in this country we call home.

7 Oct 2005
The Straits Times

Fear homosexuals? No, Govt sensitive to others too
by Peh Shing Huei 

The Singapore Government is not homophobic, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday, rejecting suggestions that it had an irrational fear of homosexuals.

But it must manage an environment in which there is maximum space for each person to live his own life without impinging on other people.

Thus it must remain sensitive to segments of the population which are uncomfortable with gays, he said during a question and answer session with members of the Foreign Correspondents Association.

He was replying to Time magazine journalist Jake Smith, who had asked how he felt about gays and said that the Singapore Government gives 'every impression of being somewhat homophobic'.

Rejecting this view, PM Lee said that he agreed with the view taken by his predecessor, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, that homosexuals 'are people like you and me'.

But the question, he said, was this: 'How do we provide the maximum space without it becoming intrusive and oppressive on the rest of the population and without causing a backlash which will lead to polarisation and animosity?

'That's our responsibility and challenge. It's very hard to do.' 

A balance, he said, needs to be struck between two opposing forces. 

On the one side are the gay activists who want more space and feel entitled to it. On the other are those who condemn homosexuality.

'There will be those who say this is wrong, it's a sin, not just a crime but a sin, stop it,' he said. 'Therefore, it's a dynamic balance and one which we'll have to manage very carefully.'

It is a problem his predecessors also grappled with. 

In 1998, during a call-in segment of a live CNN interview, a gay man had asked then-senior minister Lee Kuan Yew if gays had a place in Singapore as it moved towards a more tolerant society.

Mr Lee replied that it was a question of what a society considered acceptable, and Singaporeans were still largely very conservative.

Five years later, then-prime minister Goh Chok Tong said the Government was openly employing homosexual people, even in sensitive jobs.

While accepting of gays, PM Lee drew a line against gay marriages and parades. The annual Nation gay party, usually held in August, was banned this year.

He said: 'You can do that in Sydney and London and San Francisco, but I'm not sure you're allowed to do that in Singapore, because I think it will be offensive to a large number of Singaporeans and it will be very divisive.'
 
  
7 Oct 2005
Today

PM confident of strong poll showing, though it won't be 2001 again
by Derrick A Paulo

He may be coy about the timing of the elections, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong suspects that the backdrop in which they are held - and the results - could be different from what the last polls threw up.

The next General Election (GE) is unlikely to be held under the "truly exceptional circumstances" that gave the People's Action Party a  landslide win in 2001, he said yesterday at a Foreign Correspondents' Association luncheon.

"It was after the 911 bombings. There was a general alarm bordering on panic, perhaps, around the world. We went (to the polls) at that moment, and people gave us a resounding, overwhelming vote: Seventy-five per cent," he said. "I'm not hoping to have such a situation when I call elections."

On how job worries as well as the National Kidney Foundation and casino issues could factor into the polls, he said that the psyche of the electorate depends on many factors.

Whichever those factors are, though, he is confident that "we will have strong support and win a strong mandate". The GE was among a broad range of topics, including many domestic issues, which he tackled in a 50-minute Q&A session.

Coming off his recent trip to Bali, it meant that one of those questions was on how to deal with terrorism and Singapore's readiness for an attack.

Mr Lee said the Republic was doing "all that we can" to prevent a terrorist act. These include scans, precautions at hotels and shopping centres, and parking curbs, such as those at Holland Village.

But physical security can only go so far.

"You need to go beyond that, to within the society to make sure you know your people and your people are integrated into the society, (so) you don't have disaffected groups who feel this is not their country and (think), 'Well, what the hell, let's blow it up because I have no stake in this'," he said.

Which is why, he said, the authorities came down hard on the three bloggers who had posted racist comments online.

Preferring to err on the side of caution was also why Singapore banned satellite television years ago, although the Internet could change  that.

"You can get a lot of stuff on the Internet, but the Internet is not  quite the same as a satellite channel. Not yet. It may come, in which case we will have to review our position. But it has not reached that point," said Mr Lee.

The current cable TV situation is a "reasonable solution" to meeting the need for choices and a free flow of information while enabling the Government to intervene. So far, it has not had to do that, he noted.

The question of change, especially in the political system, has become standard on the "briefing paper of any Western journalist coming to Singapore", Mr Lee said wryly after the issue was brought up again.

While he reiterated the Government's disapproval of the liberal "Western model" for Singapore's purposes, Mr Lee listed the sort of changes he expects to see.

"I think in 20 years, our society will change. I think the politics of it will change. The issues probably will change, although the fundamentals of living in this small red dot will remain the same," he said.

Will one of those changes include a gay Cabinet minister, or is the Government homophobic? "I don't think we are homophobic," he replied, asserting his agreement with the views of then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong that gays are "people like you and me", in Mr Lee's words.

"But there are some segments of Singaporeans who may even disagree with that, and we have to be aware of that," he said.

These are factors the Government must take into account, he said, when gay groups want to "flaunt (their) gayness" through parades and parties like the Nation.05.

"I'm not sure I want to do that in Singapore because I think it will be offensive to a large number of Singaporeans and will be very divisive," he added.

In a brief 10-minute speech before the Q&A, he highlighted the need to encourage diversity but not division, especially when it comes to nurturing the next generation, one of four main tasks he identified as needed in the next 20 years.

The other factors Singapore's success would hinge on are: The ability to anticipate and manage trends, maintain competitiveness and cohesion, and develop a broad leadership group.