Civil Society

December 17th was the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. In conjunction with that, community-based sex workers rights’ advocate group Project X shared a harrowing story about a Filipina sex worker being abused by a client. The story is difficult to read but important to highlight. Project X says that this sex worker was sexually abused as consent …

One of the human rights activist who played a major role in helping Youtuber and blogger, Amos Yee seek political asylum in the US now wants his status revoked. The change in position isn’t new as Melissa Chen, originally from Singapore, has been vocal about her disagreement over the ‘cause’ Yee has chosen to align himself with of late and …

There is a "tragic underbelly" in Singapore amidst the Republic's economic prosperity, said Labour Party Senator for Tasmania and Chief Opposition Whip in the Senate Mrs Anne Urquhart, and that is "the plight of the one million low-wage migrant workers" hailing from "developing countries across Asia". Speaking in the House of Senate in the Australian Parliament on 13 Nov, Senator Urquhart …

Singapore’s leading women’s rights and gender equality group AWARE kicked off their Aim For Zero campaign last week with a hard-hitting video featuring 10 women courageously opening up about their sexual violence and harassment. Their stories give us a glimpse of some common experiences among sexual violence survivors: battling victim-blaming attitudes, unsympathetic employers who took no action, or parents who …

Following the announcement made by Malaysia's Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong regarding the Cabinet's decision to abolish the death penalty, Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said that the Government will be reviewing the death penalty in relation to drug abuse. Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday (13 Nov), Mr Liew noted that the death penalty …

The Singapore government’s use of overly broad criminal laws, oppressive regulations, and civil lawsuits severely curtails freedom of speech and assembly, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. “Singapore promotes itself as a modern nation and a good place to do business, but people in a country that calls itself a democracy shouldn’t be afraid to criticize their …

The Nature Society Singapore (NSS) has released a 16-page position paper calling for more land to be set aside for wildlife at the new forest-town of Tengah. Specifically, NSS is asking that a total of 220ha of land at two ends of the 700ha site be preserved as a refuge for animals. Accepting that the proposal will reduce the number …

Statement by local anti-death penalty non-government organisations, We Believe in Second Chances and Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign We strongly urge the Singapore government to halt the execution of Prabu N Pathmanathan, a Malaysian convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore, scheduled to be carried out on Friday 26 October at dawn. Prabu was convicted for committing several acts preparatory to and for …

New York City-based literary non-profit Singapore Unbound has called upon Singaporean writers to explicitly condemn and to petition against the imprisonment of artist Seelan Palay, which it has deemed to be "an attack on free speech." Founder Koh Jee Leong declared in a public statement on Monday (22 Oct) that "the right is enshrined not only in the European and …

Statement by MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture) to welcome the announcement that the Malaysian Cabinet has finally decided to abolish the death penalty, and that the needed Bill will be tabled at the next Parliamentary session, now scheduled to begin on 15/10/2018. In the evening of 10 October 2018, the 16th World Day Against the Death Penalty, it …