The Workers’ Party (WP)’s Daniel Goh and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)’s Paul Tambyah have been ranked among the top five politicians in Singapore who have engaged positively in discourse concerning the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the country.
Sayoni, a Singapore-based non-governmental organisation championing the rights of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, on Wednesday (24 June) released its report on Singapore parties’ and politicians’ positions on LGBT issues based on evidence from 2011 to 2020.
Findings from the report — titled Rainbow Scorecard: Review of the Decade — were based on research done on “statements made by politicians, in Parliamentary Hansard records, social media, mainstream and independent news”, said Sayoni in a Facebook post yesterday.
The organisation added that it had also emailed more than 100 politicians for comments or updates on their positions.
Politicians were ranked and graded on the scorecard based on five criteria, namely:
- Their engagement with LGBT groups in Singapore;
- The consistency of their affirmative inclusion of LGBT issues in public discourse;
- The frequency of their affirmative inclusion of LGBT issues in public discourse;
- Their advocacy of non-discrimination or non-violence towards LGBT persons in Singapore; and
- Their demonstrable awareness of challenges faced specifically by LGBT persons in Singapore.
Asst Prof Goh and Prof Tambyah ranked fourth and fifth place respectively on Sayoni’s scorecard of politicians who are known to have positively engaged with LGBT issues. Both met three criteria from the five listed above.
HPB FAQs on homosexuality and bisexuality “factual” and “objective”, helps family members “understand and accept homosexuality as a fact”: WP NCMP Daniel Goh in 2014
Asst Prof Goh, a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, in 2014 lauded the Health Promotion Board (HPB)’s frequently asked questions on homosexuality and bisexuality as “factual” and “objective”.
“Informing people about homosexuals actually helps promote the family as a basic building block of society, as it helps family members understand and accept homosexuality as a fact. This reduces discord and strengthens bonds, making for a stronger society where homosexuals do not feel ostracized and alienated through no fault of their own,” he said.
While deciding not to push for the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code due to conflicting views within the party’s leadership committee, WP’s stance on LGBT rights entails supporting legislation aimed at a non-discrimination/non-violence component for all communities in Singapore.
Party chief Pritam Singh in response to Sayoni’s query in March this year that WP “has members/volunteers of the LGBT community who support us and we are grateful for their support”.
“I wrote a post on my Facebook page about Fanny Ler, who also volunteered for the Party in the 2015 elections,” he said, referencing the transgender parent whose story Mr Singh had shared on Facebook in May last year.
“In Singapore, one seldom learns about sexual minorities in a formal setting. Be it in NS or in schools for example, whatever one learns about sexual minorities in the first instance is more often than not, negative and usually derogatory,” said Mr Singh, adding: “Life for such individuals and their families is hard, challenging and difficult – until acceptance makes a breakthrough. We need not make it any harder for them.”
The Aljunied GRC MP and town councillor also said that his “engagement with the LGBT community mainly revolves around discussions with friends who [are] members of the community, some of whom have actively
chosen not to come out of the closet”.
SDP “has been very clear” that Section 377A “should be repealed”: SDP chairman Paul Tambyah in 2015
Prof Tambyah, the chairman of SDP, in 2015 stressed that SDP “has been very clear” that Section 377A — which criminalises sexual relations between consenting adult men — “should be repealed”.
This, he said when asked about the matter in an Inconvenient Questions interview, is “in line with the idea that there should be equality for all Singaporeans”.
“We also don’t believe that it makes sense to keep a law on the books if you have decided you are not going to enforce the law. So there has to be consistency in order for rule of law to be practised in Singapore,” added Prof Tambyah.
However, party chief Chee Soon Juan, in a statement which has since been removed from the SDP website, previously said that while the plight of the LGBT community must be dealt by the larger part of society with “compassion”, the community “must understand the sensitivities of those – including those who belong to religious faiths – who cannot yet accept an alternative to traditional sexual orientation”.
“Not everyone who cannot accept the homosexual lifestyle is homophobic. These are matters of the heart and of faith especially for our Christian and Muslim friends – matters which run deep into one’s being and cannot be argued away,” the statement read.
“The gay community must also realise that the law is only one aspect of the controversy. Even if Section 377a of the Penal Code is repealed, there is still the outstanding – and I suspect the predominant – issue of acceptance of homosexuality by society at large,” according to Dr Chee.
“I had stated in 2011 during the general elections that the SDP would not pursue a gay agenda. I say again: Neither the Party nor any of our members, including Vincent, will embark on a gay agenda,” Dr Chee said, in reference to SDP’s then-treasurer Vincent Wijeysingha, who resigned from the party two months after coming out publicly as gay.
“The only agenda that we have and will be pursuing is the urgent need to reduce the inflow of foreigners into our country, introduce a universal healthcare system, and make housing prices affordable,” Dr Chee stressed in his statement.
Sayoni noted that Dr Chee in 2013 remarked that “[h]omosexuality is a complex issue modern society must deal with” and that “[n]o one is going to be able to wish away the LGBT community or pretend it doesn’t exist”.
“It will take patient dialogue from both sides of the divide. But until we do, let us not be mired in confrontation and impatience. Instead, let us find a way to resolve our differences in love and understanding,” he added.
SDP member Damanhuri Abas — who was fielded as a candidate in Marsiling-Yew Tee in the 2015 general election — has been subject to claims of expressing objection against the repeal of Section 377A.
Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam placed third on the list. He also met three criteria from the five listed by Sayoni.
Last year, Mr Jeyaretnam in response to the HIV registry data leak wrote in a blog post that the fear of being on an HIV registry deters people from getting tested, and such fear “is compounded by the fact that Singapore criminalizes homosexuality and has no anti-discrimination laws”.
He advocated the abolishment of the HIV registry or at least making the registry anonymous, in addition to calling for the repeal of Section 377A, Sayoni found.
PAP’s K Shanmugam, Tan Chuan-Jin in top two of Sayoni’s scorecard
Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, the only politician on the list to have met all five criteria, topped the scorecard for his multiple public involvements in LGBT issues, from his engagement with LGBT groups such as The T Project and Oogachaga to his comments on amendments to the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act which protect LGBT persons against religiously-motivated violence.
“Everyone should feel safe in Singapore. We will not tolerate any threats made to physical safety. No one should threaten someone because they were LGBTQ; and likewise, no one should threaten someone else, because of religious affiliation,” said Mr Shanmugam in a Facebook post.
Parliament Speaker and former Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin came in second on the list. Mr Tan, in commenting on the HIV registry data leak last year, urged the public not to “drag these issues into the fray” as “heterosexuals do contract HIV too”, adding that LGBTQ people should be treated with “dignity and respect, care and compassion” as “fellow humans”.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, however, has previously said — in explaining why the government has not decided to repeal Section 377A — that the provision has not prevented individuals to whom the legislation might apply from “living”, and has not hindered the influx of talent into Singapore’s technology industry.
Responding to a question from a member of the audience at the Smart Nation Summit at Marina Bay Sands on 26 June last year regarding making Singapore’s legislation more inclusive for individuals who are not heterosexual, Mr Lee said that Section 377A “remains on our legislation, and it will for some time”.
However, he stressed that retaining the particular piece of legislation does not mean Singapore is hostile towards the LGBT community, as Section 377A “has not stopped Pink Dot from having a gathering every year”.
“You know our rules in Singapore. Whatever your sexual orientation, you are welcome to come and work in Singapore.
“It is the way this society is: We are not like San Francisco, neither are we like some countries in the Middle East. (We are) something in between […] And I think in this framework, it is completely possible for us to have a vibrant tech and cultural scene,” added Mr Lee.
PPP chief Goh Meng Seng, PAP’s Lee Bee Wah among bottom five politicians on Sayoni’s scorecard
Politicians who made the bottom of the list are People’s Power Party (PPP) chief Goh Meng Seng, PPP chairman Syafarin Sarif, PAP’s Vivian Balakrishnan, WP’s Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, and PAP’s Lee Bee Wah.
Their comments have ranged from Mr Goh and Mr Syafarin’s purported denial of the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando to Dr Er Lee’s alleged flippant dismissal of concerns brought up by Ready4Repeal volunteers regarding Section 377A, according to Sayoni’s findings.
Sayoni concluded, based on its findings, that the lack of response from political parties “highlights how LGBT citizens cannot depend on party politics to represent their interests”.
“Political parties choose the politically expedient option of following the dogma of majority rule when canvassing for votes, causing them to pursue the interests of a majority they perceive to be “conservative”, at the expense of minority groups.
“Furthermore, as our scorecards of individual politicians have shown, politicians themselves have largely differing views on LGBTQ issues even within a single party,” the organisation added.
Co-founder of Flying Caterpillars Charles Sng opined that it is also “easy to let a few politicians play good cop” when one party “has the overwhelming majority of seats”, such as in the case of the PAP with Mr Shanmugam and Mr Tan Chuan-Jin.
The repeal of Section 377A, as well as the formulation and enactment of concrete policies to remove institutional discrimination against LGBT persons, would serve as a better benchmark in assessing politicians’ support for one of Singapore’s more marginalised communities, commenters opined.
Civil rights activist and social worker Jolovan Wham argued that PAP politicians need “to be held to a higher standard” as they have greater power “to change things” with regards to LGBT rights in Singapore with a smaller risk to themselves than those in alternative parties.
“The consequences of someone like Shanmugam or TCJ making LGBT affirmative statements is significantly different to opposition party figures like Paul Tambyah or Kenneth Jeyaretnam. We cannot assume a level political playing field in evaluating their position on LGBT issues,” said Mr Wham.
Read Sayoni’s Rainbow Scorecard: Review of the Decade report in full below:
Fullscreen Mode
