This week saw Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (PM Lee) give his National Day Rally speech. In many ways, this speech made history for the fact that it announced the decriminalisation of gay sex, something that activists and other interest groups have long been pushing for – and something the authorities have always avoided.
Given that authorities have long made clear that no one would be prosecuted under this law, it is still a huge step forward in the right direction – a formal and public acknowledgement from authorities that someone’s sexual orientation should never be a crime. Unsurprisingly, therefore, this speech was well received by the younger generation, in particular, Generation Z.
While gay sex has been decriminalised, PM Lee made clear that the definition of the institution of marriage will be tightened to ensure that it reflects only the union between a man and a woman to exclude the possibility of gay marriage.
In his speech, PM Lee appealed to the understanding of rights activists, seemingly hoping that the decriminalisation of gay sex would appease the community for now. For those outside the community, this may well be good enough for now as well and, from a cynical point of view, a well-handled tactical move by the People’s Action Party (PAP).
By announcing this at the National Day Rally Speech, PM Lee is making clear to both hardline religious groups and gay rights activists that the Government has heard both sides and has provided a compromise position. Given that most Singaporeans are from neither camp, this will be a “good enough” solution to put the issue to bed – a convenient way to nip a potential election flash point ahead of time.
It is noteworthy that while hardline conservatives have aired their disappointment, gay rights activists have mostly been happy with the outcome despite PM Lee’s statements on gay marriage. Is this a sign that there might be more of “religious agenda” than “gay agenda”?
On the part of the opposition parties, and especially the Workers’ Party (WP), this may have been a lost opportunity to capture the attention of the young. The WP has traditionally and notably never touched on LGBT issues, perhaps believing it to be a political hot potato that might backfire on it. The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has also never touched on this issue.
In playing the “careful” game, have the PSP and the WP handed this gift horse to the PAP?
Perhaps, the WP recognises this and quickly issued a statement to turn the attention of Singaporeans back to the “bread and butter” issues, such as the Goods and Services tax.
And perhaps, the WP is right to remind Singaporeans of the pressing issue of rising prices ahead. With global inflation showing no signs of abating, the Managing Director of the country’s central bank the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Ravi Menon has said that Singapore must get used to higher prices moving forward.
“The era of cheap money, cheap labour, and cheap energy is over,” he said at the launching of his book, The Singapore Synthesis: Innovation, Inclusion, Inspiration, on Tuesday (Aug 23), at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in the National University of Singapore.
He underlined the challenges the country faces, which include a reduced labour force as well as higher qualifying salaries for non-resident workers.
“We can no longer rely on cheap labour to power our economy and society; and we should not, as we forge a more inclusive society.”
Amongst other things, the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the inequalities in the world. From the Singaporean context, it laid bare just how overly reliant we are on cheap foreign labour and just how unfairly they are treated.
Even as we collectively feel the squeeze, this is also an opportunity to create something better for all of us and in this, the Government will need to work with its citizens. Could postponing the impending GST rise be something that could help Singaporeans? Yet, this does not seem to be something that is being considered at the moment, despite the continual exhortations of the WP.
As we celebrate the decriminalisation of gay sex, I hope that the Government does not use the goodwill this announcement has brought them as a “get out of jail free card” to push the cost of living crisis under the carpet.