Singapore's anti-gay law repeal done in calibrated manner

SINGAPORE - It took a while before Singapore came to a decision to repeal Section 377A of its Penal Code that criminalises sex between men.

Its Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman said this was because the effort in repealing the law was done in a manner that was calibrated.

He said the government had listened to and understood the concerns by the Malay-Muslims in the country over the decision to revoke the law.

This, Maliki said was because of worries that it might open the door for degradation of values, particularly on family values.

He said in Singapore, before making any decisions to move on any legislation, there will be extensive public engagement.

It was because there were people who were concerned about the impact particularly those who held on to certain conservative values, he said.

“And we know that (this is a concern) even (for) the Muslim community, so we engaged the Muslim community extensively.

“We spoke to the Asatizah (Islamic religious teachers), we spoke to community leaders. We explained to them what the repeal would mean, at the same time listen to their concerns, their worries.

“Their worries, understandably, were whether this will open the door for the degradation of values, particularly family values, the institution of the family and will it further threaten the formation of family, traditional forms of family, which they believe very strongly in.

“We take in that feedback, we understand their concerns,” he said during a fireside chat with the Malaysian press in conjunction with the 15th Malaysian Journalists Visit Programme, here.

He said this was one of the reasons why when the country repealed 377A, it came along with changes in the Constitution, to protect the definition of marriage to be one which was still heterosexual between a man and a woman.

He said any changes to that definition ought to be at the realm of the policymakers and not the courts.

Maliki also pointed out that the engagement was very thorough as there will always be sceptics in the community that continued to be concerned.

He noted that it did take time for the people to understand.

“We also engaged the LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders) community in the process. We tell them that this is really not an LGBT issue. It is really about criminalising (it).

“When we talk to young people, many of them have got friends who are in that community. They do not want to see that their friends are being treated as criminals for engaging in those acts.

“But they hold on to traditional values, they still hold on to the values of what the family ought to be. We struck a balance when we did that,” he said.

He added that the conservative community felt assured that their concerns were being addressed, particularly with regards to protecting and upholding the definition of family, given that a large portion of Singapore was still conservative in terms of their upbringing.

For Muslims, he said the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) had come up with an Irsyad (religious guidance) on how they should respond to the LGBT groups.

He said the Irsyad helped in giving guidance to the community adding that the LGBT groups should be respected as individuals.

“We are in no position to determine what they do. But I think the Irsyad has helped the community to also feel assured that they are supported by religious orders or religious teachers,” he said.

Maliki said during the process (to repeal 377A), Singaporean Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir was very much engaged and helped the government meet the religious community and that was when the latter issued the Irsyad.

He said in the process, engagement played a crucial role.

“We believe in the process, not just the outcome that we desire.

“We also engaged parents of students and met our parent support groups because they are concerned about what is happening in the schools.

“We give them assurance and told them that the education will not change. Our textbooks will still reflect the traditional values of family.

“If you give all these assurances before we move on the legislative changes, there is sufficient buy-in to make people appreciate the larger context and why the government is moving,” he said.

Maliki said it was never easy to deal with legislative changes as there were different segments of people who saw things in different ways.

However, he said the government in its effort, had engaged with the people as much as it can and tried to understand their perspective to find clarity in making a decision that everyone would be able to appreciate as something that was useful for the society in the country.

“I cannot say what we have will work in other countries, but what works here is for us and we continue to work in that format and that framework,” he added.

On Nov 29, last year, the Parliament of Singapore passed a bill to repeal Section 377A.

The law criminalised sex between consenting adult males.

It was introduced under the British colonial rule in 1938 and then added to the Penal Code by the colonial government.

The bill was assented by President Halimah Yacob on Dec 27, the same year and gazetted on Jan 3, this year, thus Section 377A was struck off.