Singaporean PM says `heterosexuals should set the tone'

Heterosexuals should set the social tone in Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said in remarks published on Sunday defending why his government will not decriminalize gay sex.

"My view is that gayness is something which is mostly inborn. Some people are like that, some people are not. How they live their own lives is really for them to decide," Lee said in remarks carried by the Sunday Times.

But he added: "I think the tone of the society should really be set by the heterosexuals, and that's the way many Singaporeans feel."

Lee, the son of Singapore founding father Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀), was explaining the government's decision to leave untouched a section in the penal code which makes sexual acts between males a crime despite introducing several proposed changes to the code.

Singapore may legalize oral and anal sex in private between consenting heterosexual adults under proposed changes in the country's first major penal code amendments in 22 years.

Lee, responding to a student's question at an open forum, said the majority of Singaporeans were strongly against repealing the law on homosexual acts, the newspaper reported.

Gay rights activists have slammed the law, which dates back to British colonial days, and argued it should be repealed.

Singapore has in recent years eased social restrictions in a bid to shake off its reputation as a culturally sterile and ultra-conservative society. Some clubs are allowed to open all night while skimpily-dressed bar-top dancers and service staff work in some establishments.

In July, British actor Ian McKellen, who is openly gay, joined the calls to repeal the law which he said may affect a vibrant business city such as Singapore. He was in town as part of a Royal Shakespeare Company tour.

"It's about time Singapore grew up, I think, and realised that gay people are here to stay," McKellen said.