The LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community have a part to play for the nation, and a democratic country accepts everyone who lives here, said Abas Kasmani in the Progress Singapore Party (PSP)’s Facebook Live broadcast on Wednesday (17 June).
Mr Abas – who is a workplace safety senior trainer – was one of the panellists in the PSP’s virtual Meet-The-People session that was held last night.
During the Facebook Live session, a question was raised about the opposition party’s stance on the LGBT and the Pink Dot SG movement – a non-profit movement in support of the LGBT community.
In response, Mr Abas cited his previous walkabout where he was asked the same question by a European woman. He replied to her that “LGBTQ people are human” and the community has been in Singapore for “centuries”.
“They have a part to play for the nation,” he noted. “The law is already in place, but carry on living your life here. We are democratic and we accept everyone who lives in Singapore.”
New citizens understand the sentiments that S’poreans have towards the Govt
One audience asked about the PSP’s point of view on giving the new citizens in Singapore the rights to vote in the general election, as many Singaporeans opined that new citizens tend to vote for the ruling party and therefore should not be eligible to vote.
Mr Abas answered the question, noting that his friends – who are new citizens in Singapore and have been living in the country for more than 15 years – can understand the sentiments that Singaporeans have towards the Government.
“They can see the difference after becoming citizens,” he added. “And it’s not only one or two persons who said this.”
With regards to the eligibility of becoming new citizens in Singapore, Mr Abas opined that the Government should look into their commitments in contributing to the nation before granting them citizenship, adding that new citizens should also go through the national service.
“We have to look at whether they are committed. Are they going to the national service? Because they will know what Singapore really is if they go through the national service,” he noted.
PSP opposes the minimum sum of CPF
According to Mr Abas, the party opposed the Government’s minimum sum for the Central Provident Fund (CPF), adding that the “pioneer generation” work hard to earn for the CPF.
“Even though some of them do not meet the minimum sum of the CPF, the least we could do is to provide good consolation money that they ask for. So probably we’re looking at 50k or 80k,” said the PSP’s member.
Mr Abas asked about the Government’s objective of keeping the CPF fund and not giving it to the citizens.
“On the other hand, I wanna talk about the CPF that was kept inside there. What was it used for? I don’t know what was it used for. I think we should give it to the citizens,” he added.