Sopstories

My sentiments exactly! Well said. Except the part of regulated press perhaps …

Social Cohesion

13. Sir, economic progress and prosperity will not mean much to our country if

we are not able to maintain our social cohesion. That ours is a fragile democracy

of many interest groups is a constant reminder to all of us to be mindful of the

need to preserve our national unity through civil discourse and mutual respect of

views, even if these are not necessarily shared by all. More importantly our social

cohesion must also be founded on the key values that our society has come to

embrace; values that define who we are and what we stand for as a people.

14. The recent incident involving the takeover of AWARE by a group of

concerned Singaporeans demonstrates how fragile our society is. For a brief

period of time, our nation was on the boil. What turned out to be a relatively

simple and lawful act of democracy suddenly turned into a deeply polarized and

heated debate between the Christian Right and the homosexual and lesbian interest

groups. The spotlight was quick to focus on a few key groups, rightly or wrongly;

namely the Church, as seen to be represented by supposed usurpers, the old

leadership who were seen to champion the rights of the homosexuals and the

lesbians in Singapore, the Ministry of Education who denied all knowledge of the

instructor’s manual for the Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) in schools run

by AWARE, and of course the press.

15. Sir, I do not intend to go into the rights and wrongs of the way in which a

group of concerned ladies decided take over the leadership of a voluntary welfare

organization, save to say that I find it odd that democracy suddenly takes on a very

different meaning when a group of new members decide to legitimately contest in

an election to determine a new agenda. I also find it odd that many of the members

who did not bother even to attend the most important meeting in the year to elect a

new leadership should now decide to raise a howl of protest after the event. If

they, meaning the older members, were that concerned in the first place, I believe

they should have taken a more active role in the affairs of the organization.

Perhaps, AWARE should have been more selective of its membership? The

question of who should be given the right to vote has deep philosophical

implications that would be applicable not only to AWARE, but for Singapore as

well.

Role of the Media

16. Of the few protagonists involved in the saga, I would like to mention the role

of the press in reporting this spat. One self evident condition of a free press in a

democracy is the need to be responsible, impartial and to present the facts as

neutrally and objectively to the readers. One wonders whether the press can be

truly called upon to discharge that duty when some of its own members feel rather

passionately about the issues in the public domain. The recent saga surrounding

AWARE is one but one example. I will quote one email that I received from one

Cheryl Ng. I must add that I do not know Ms Ng and I have not verified the

substance of her email. However, I would say that I would not be surprised if it

were true and would be very concerned if it is. Her email reads:

“I’m also surprised and deeply troubled that the reporting in The Straits

Times has not been honest in presenting the full picture to the public,

especially concerned parents following the AWARE saga. There was a

concerted effort by both the press and TV coverage not to mention the

significant presence of the homosexual community. If I had not been there, I

would never have known the truth.

a) In fact, I witnessed the main reporter responsible for blowing up

the whole AWARE story….hobnobbing with the homosexual fraternity at the

EGM.

b) Some members of the press and TV were candidly jubilant as

they celebrated the passing of the ‘no confidence’ vote by punching their

fists in the air and hugging the ‘old guard’ they were standing with.

c) In the sweep of fervent support, the constitutional amendments

were also made to allow men and foreign women full voting rights (in a local

women’s association that makes the CEDAW report on the state of women

in Singapore). In the perspective that such an amendment was thrown out

in the previous AGM, the motives may be called into question. The press

made no mention of this important development.

I question the cover-up in the press.

In review of newspaper coverage of AWARE developments, I’m also

beginning to think that press focus on the sensitive issue of religious

involvement was but a calculated red herring thrown out to manipulate

public sentiments.

Sir, I am pleading for the authorities to look into this matter as I am

becoming increasingly alarmed that minority groups with a political agenda

may not have just reached its grasp into a vulnerable women’s group, and

through it attempt to distort our children’s views on sexuality, but has

actually infiltrated the press to block out news and prevent the public from

accessing the truth. I actually feel frightened that the press in Singapore can

attempt to shape my views as it wishes by misinformation or partial

information”

17. The accusations brought up by Ms Ng have once again raised the question of

whether there should ever be an unregulated press. In reporting the matter, the

editors and journalists could have looked at the issue as one of the conservative

group in our society taking on the liberals rather than be quick to frame this in the

context of the Christian Right against the homosexuals and the lesbians. True,

many of the ladies came from the same church. However, the same may be said of

any group who comes from any organization. But that alone does not mean that

they represent the organization. I do wonder if the press would have been so quick

on the take if it were women from another faith who took up the cause instead. It

is unfortunate that by framing this episode as one that carries a religions

undertone, the whole debate deeply polarized our society very quickly.

18. Apart from the press, the education ministry in the early days of the AWARE

leadership struggle has maintained consistently that they did not look into this

matter as no complaint was made by any parent. Not surprisingly, what followed

was a deluge of complaints from parents which then prompted an investigation by

the ministry. The outcome was an implicit acceptance of the serious nature of the

allegations against the CSE programmes run by AWARE. I am grateful to note the

ministry has now tightened the procedures on the appointment of course providers

in the area of sexuality education.

19. The AWARE saga is as much about the kind of values we want to promote in

our society as it is about leadership struggle. To build a socially cohesive society,

all interest groups must recognize and accept the fundamental building blocks of

our society that have come to represent our values on families and relationships.

Our values change if at all by evolution than by revolution. Aggressive

proselytisation by fringe groups, whether carried out by insidious means or

otherwise, will only invite a backlash from mainstream society. This is not how

our society should be run. Social cohesion requires the active participation of all.

In this particular episode, one wonders if the education ministry had taken a more

proactive stand in the first place by being more vigilant, the leadership struggle

and the ensuing polarization of our community would not have taken place in the

manner that it did. The question that some have asked is whether a formal

complaint must be made from someone before the ministry will act on a matter

which it has heard about and which comes under its purview. Displaying

annoyance at being dragged into the sorry saga does not help with the confidence

recovery process in the aftermath.

20. Sir, we have done extremely well as a country over the years; and I can say

with great confidence that we will continue to do well in the years to come. The

President’s speech for the new session of Parliament has done much to reinforce

that confidence. The question is not whether we will do well, but how much better

we will do. I strongly believe that if we are able to pull together and collectively

work at overcoming the challenges that lie before us, there will always be a clear

blue sky with a rainbow spanning over it for Singapore. With that Sir, I join my

colleagues in thanking the President for his speech.

21. Thank you.

Sin Boon Ann