Among a record 11 parties set to contest Singapore’s election tomorrow, there has been virtual silence on one of the conservative city-state’s most controversial issues: gay rights.
Advocacy groups have stepped up awareness campaigns with scorecards for politicians and online rallies in the past few weeks over what they see as everyday discrimination that stems from a rarely used, colonial-era law banning sex between men.
However, for some gay Singaporeans, casting their vote in the mandatory ballot would serve as a reminder that they have few political allies on one of the issues that matters most to them.
Photo: Reuters
“It’s a non-topic with the parties, the choices we have,” said Victor Ong, a 44-year-old Singaporean who lives with his British husband, Harry, whom he married four years ago in London. “As much as I want to make my decision based on their stance on that, there isn’t any material to work with.”
Ong’s marriage is not recognized in Singapore, meaning that the couple are not eligible for some benefits, such as housing and taxes.
They also said that they avoid public displays of affection due to worries about social norms shaped by Section 377A of Singapore’s Penal Code, which effectively criminalizes them.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) has previously called the law an “uneasy compromise,” as society “is not that liberal on these matters.”
There is no mention of gay rights or Section 377A in the manifesto of his People’s Action Party, which has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965 and is widely expected to be returned to power — or that of any other party in the election.
Of the four main parties contesting, only the new Progress Singapore Party responded to a request for comment.
A spokesman said that the party did not object to removing criminal punishment for homosexuals, but that the debate over Section 377A was a “proxy combat zone” for other issues, such as family structures and marriage.
However, advocacy groups do sense a growing awareness around the issue, especially after India repealed a similar law in 2018.
“That tacit acceptance of the status quo is giving way to a sense of frustration amongst the younger voters,” said Clement Tan of Pink Dot SG, which last month hosted an online rally for Singapore’s LGBTQ community.
An ally has emerged in Lee Hsien Yang (李顯揚) — the prime minister’s estranged brother and son of the city-state’s modern-day founder, Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) — who has become a vocal critic of the government in the run-up to the vote.
“The tidal wave against discrimination on sexual orientation has swept across the world,” Lee Hsien Yang, whose son is gay and married overseas, told reporters. “The British, from whom we ‘inherited’ 377A, have repealed it decades ago. A repeal merely decriminalizes and ends this discrimination.”
Nearly 70 countries around the world criminalize gay sex, mainly in Africa and the Middle East.
Rights group Sayoni changed tack ahead of this election. With parties mum on the issue, it decided to score individual politicians on their LGBTQ stance by reviewing public comments that they had made and ranking them from A to F.
Ong said that he would vote based on “basic needs,” but he hopes that the future would bring change from a younger generation more supportive of gay rights.
“We are sons and daughters of Singapore, whether we are gay or straight, and to vote, I think it should be accounted for,” Ong added.
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