Second Minister for Finance and Transport Minister Lim Hwee Hua addressed some 360 students from 54 secondary schools

Asked by a student to elaborate on laws to protect secularism here, she referred to the recent leadership tussle in the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) and [...]]]> Source: The Straits Times 4 Jun 2009 Page B6

Second Minister for Finance and Transport Minister Lim Hwee Hua addressed some 360 students from 54 secondary schools

Asked by a student to elaborate on laws to protect secularism here, she referred to the recent leadership tussle in the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) and said, “In this common space, we cannot impose our religions on others. All of us have to carefully guard against that.”

What is the situation in Singapore? DPM Wong emphasised the secular nature of the political arena and how keeping ‘religion’ and ‘politics’ separate was a key rule of political engagement.

What this means specifically is that [...]]]> Source: The Straits Times 27 May 2009 Page A18 (Edited excerpt from a speech by NMP Thio Li-ann in Parliament yesterday.)

What is the situation in Singapore? DPM Wong emphasised the secular nature of the political arena and how keeping ‘religion’ and ‘politics’ separate was a key rule of political engagement.

What this means specifically is that laws and policies derive their legitimacy not from divine sanction but from a democratically elected government. Law generally applies to and equally protects all citizens, regardless of race, religion or social status. Clearly, the Singapore model of secularism is anti-theocratic in that religious tenets and secular law are separated, not conflated.

While anti-theocratic, the Singapore secularism is not anti-religious. This is a vital distinction.

Imagine that there is a religious organisation in Singapore which believes that it is immoral for teenage girls to be forced to expose their arms, legs and faces when they go to school. They say: ‘There’s a line that God has drawn for us, and we don’t [...]]]> Source: The Straits Times Page A22, 20 May 2009
Article by: Kishore Mahbubani

Imagine that there is a religious organisation in Singapore which believes that it is immoral for teenage girls to be forced to expose their arms, legs and faces when they go to school. They say: ‘There’s a line that God has drawn for us, and we don’t want our nation crossing that line.’  Hence, since the teachers of Singapore are enforcing the rule, this religious organisation marshals its members, takes over the Singapore Teachers’ Union and uses it to advocate the argument that female teenagers should be ‘free’ to choose whatever dress they want to wear to school. They argue that it is wrong to impose the corrupt Western school uniforms on young women of their religion.

Please note that the above is not a hypothetical example. This argument over school uniforms has been played out in France. Should we allow this to happen in Singapore too?

As I said, Government policy on homosexuality is settled, and will not change as a result of lobbying by pressure groups. However, the Government was worried about the disquieting public perception that a group of conservative Christians, all attending the same church, which held strong views on homosexuality, had moved [...]]]> Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/specialreport/view/1525/1/.html, retrieved 14 May 2009

As I said, Government policy on homosexuality is settled, and will not change as a result of lobbying by pressure groups. However, the Government was worried about the disquieting public perception that a group of conservative Christians, all attending the same church, which held strong views on homosexuality, had moved in and taken over AWARE because they disapproved of what AWARE had been doing. This raised many qualms among non-Christians, and also among Christians who believed that this was an unwise move in a multi-racial, multi-religious society. It was much more dangerous because now religion was also getting involved, and it was no longer just the issue of homosexuality.

In late March a secretive group of conservative Chinese Christian ladies surreptitiously took over the executive council of AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research), an advocacy group that has done much to promote women’s rights. Half of the new council attend the same church. They were jolted into [...]]]> Source: http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13611576, retrieved 11 May 2009

In late March a secretive group of conservative Chinese Christian ladies surreptitiously took over the executive council of AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research), an advocacy group that has done much to promote women’s rights. Half of the new council attend the same church. They were jolted into action by AWARE’s alleged pro-gay agenda, particularly in sex-education courses taught at some schools. “Are we going to have an entire generation of lesbians?” bemoaned Thio Su Mien, their 71-year old matriarch.

It would be a huge setback to teenagers’ personal development if sex education, per se, were to be pared back or sanitised because parents do not want their children to be given the ‘wrong message’. This is not a debate about liberal versus conservative. That is a digression. At [...]]]> Source: The Straits Times Page A18, 8 May 2009
Editorial

It would be a huge setback to teenagers’ personal development if sex education, per se, were to be pared back or sanitised because parents do not want their children to be given the ‘wrong message’. This is not a debate about liberal versus conservative. That is a digression. At issue is how best to guide a teenager through a delicate growing phase.

However, MOE’s assessment is that in some other aspects, the guide does not conform to MOE’s guidelines. In particular, some suggested responses in the instructor guide are explicit and inappropriate, and convey messages which could promote homosexuality [...]]]> Source: The Straits Times Forum Page A25, 7 May 2009
Letter by: Jennifer Chan (Ms), Press Secretary to Minister for Education

However, MOE’s assessment is that in some other aspects, the guide does not conform to MOE’s guidelines. In particular, some suggested responses in the instructor guide are explicit and inappropriate, and convey messages which could promote homosexuality or suggest approval of premarital sex.

As a man I should stay out of women’s affairs but as a concerned Singaporean, I cannot help but do my fair share by hailing the victory of Aware’s old guard over the usurpers last weekend at Suntec City.

There is no place for religious fervour in civil society. As Cherian [...]]]> Source: http://singcitizen.com/portal/2009/05/being-aware-of-diversity-in-our-civil-society/, retrieved 5 May 2009

As a man I should stay out of women’s affairs but as a concerned Singaporean, I cannot help but do my fair share by hailing the victory of Aware’s old guard over the usurpers last weekend at Suntec City.

There is no place for religious fervour in civil society. As Cherian George rightly put it in his article[1] today in The Straits Times, “God’s word cannot be the final word on how collective decisions are made in the public sphere’. One person’s God may not be another’s. Let us not impose on others one’s religious views. Civil groups work on uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values, and not on imposed directives from a group with a religious slant.

As a 50-something Singaporean and one who had been brought up in the shadow of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s administration, I had all along thought that Singaporeans were like me — reticent and unwilling to take up the public cause — preferring instead to let the brave ones lead the charge and risk being rebuked by the establishment in the event they stray past the boundary markers. So, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the younger generation — i.e. those younger than me — have not inherited my generation’s inertia but instead have risen to the occasion to protect their civic space from being overrun by people bent on promoting their voice as the only right voice of women.

Thankfully, the saga did not reach an impasse which would have necessitated the Government’s intervention to preserve the peace though I suspect some behind-the-scenes action might have taken place resulting in the various religious bodies here coming out with messages extolling tolerance and restraint by the different religious groups.

On the subject of sexual education programmes in our schools, I understand the toppled Aware committee’s concerns on the risk of homosexuality being preached to our students as a norm but I would like to point out that today’s students are totally unlike those of their generation. Today’s students have the Internet to turn to to find out all they need about sex. Parents cannot effectively exercise control over their access to such information on the Internet. They can trottle access at home but there are so many places outside the home where their children can access the Internet. What instead is needed is to put safe information on sex and sexuality in the hands of our children and teach them how to protect themselves against unwarranted intrusion into their private spaces thereby keeping them safe from peer influences. What certainly is not needed is simply preaching them that certain sexual practices are wrong because God has said it is wrong, for the young ones are impressionable and unstoppable when they have decided to do things they want to do and no amount of preaching can help. We were young once, remember?

So a comprehensive sexuality education programme that brings sexuality into the open and teaches students sensitive topics such as homosexuality in a neutral way will counter whatever inaccurate information that our youngsters might browse through in their Internet forages for information on sex and sexuality that they seek in their tumultous adolescent years.

[1] The Straits Times Page A21, 5 May 2009 ‘Pertinent lessons from a fisaco’

In contrast, the new exco was uniformly Chinese Christian, with six worshipping at the same church. They apparently did make an attempt to address criticisms of their homogeneity. A Malay woman wearing a tudung was brought in to help with registration at the [...]]]> Source: The Straits Times Page A21, 5 May 2009
Review article by Li Xueying, Political Correspondent

In contrast, the new exco was uniformly Chinese Christian, with six worshipping at the same church. They apparently did make an attempt to address criticisms of their homogeneity. A Malay woman wearing a tudung was brought in to help with registration at the meeting.

The Aware battle was not between the profane and the sacred, but between those who understand Singaporean secularism and those who apparently do not. The concerted steps they took to rid its leadership of its traditional diversity showed that the insurgents did [...]]]> Source: The Straits Times Page A21, 5 May 2009
Review article by Cherian George for The Straits Times

The Aware battle was not between the profane and the sacred, but between those who understand Singaporean secularism and those who apparently do not. The concerted steps they took to rid its leadership of its traditional diversity showed that the insurgents did not want merely to be part of a conversation; they wanted to be the only voice.