This week saw various Workers’ Party (WP) members of parliament (MP) in the spotlight, justifying and explaining the way they voted in relation to the repeal of section 377A. While MPs Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim, Leon Perera, Jamus Lim and He Ting Ru voted for the repeal, Faisal Mainap, Dennis Tan and Gerald Giam voted against it. Leader of the Opposition, Mr Singh explained that he did not utilise the party whip in relation to this issue – meaning that WP MPs were free to choose how they wished to vote.
The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) on the other hand, did impose the party whip and its MPs all voted for the repeal and it went through as a result. In a speech in Parliament, Minister for Law and Home Affairs, K Shanmugam said that while homosexuality was a sin in some religions, not every sin is a crime. Though Mr Shanmugam can be viewed as a conservative with his belief in the mandatory death penalty, I was heartened that he made clear the difference between religiosity and the penal code.
Ultimately, Singapore is a multi-religious country. It is therefore not fair to impose what is considered a sin in some religions as a crime on all Singaporeans, who do not all ascribe to that same religion.
Singapore is a secular country and for it to be a safe space for all religions, the will of one religion should not trump another. Religion is personal. State policy is for all and all MPs, elected by constituents should take heed of this when making decisions.
While it is understandable that one’s religion is one’s guiding light for one’s actions, there needs to be an awareness that not everyone ascribes to one’s personal faith. Perhaps, the best way to decide how to vote is to canvass one’s constituents.
Political parties utilise the party whip to ensure that their MPs support its policies. The differing approaches on this issue indicate that for the PAP, ensuring that homosexuality isn’t a crime is part of its core policy while for the WP, by not imposing the whip on this issue, is indicating that the repeal of 377A is not a key policy matter for them.
And, this might well be a reflection of where Singapore is at the moment. Most Singaporeans are ambivalent on the issue as it does not affect them personally. They are more concerned with livelihood issues such as the impending GST hikes and the rising costs of living, issues that the WP has been fighting hard on.
We must remember that as a party with only a smattering number of seats in Parliament, how the WP voted would not have made a difference in the result anyway and they have to concentrate their resources on the day-to-day issues that affect the physical lives of the average Singaporean.
At the end of the day, it is probably unwise to write off any politician or political party on a single issue. That would be binary, divisive and unconstructive. It is also imperative to remember that the WP has stood united despite not utilising the whip and some Singaporeans have praised the WP for its stance.
Ultimately, let’s remember that the will of the people is what will bring about change. Not just a reliance on politicians.
As the late Queen Elizabeth once said in a speech to the United Nations: “… I have also witnessed great change, much of it for the better, particularly in science and technology, and in social attitudes. Remarkably, many of these sweeping advances have come about not because of governments, committee resolutions, or central directives – although all these have played a part – but instead, because millions of people around the world have wanted them…”
Back to the daily grind now. The rising costs of everything continue to be a problem for Singaporeans as netizens react to news of the new Certificate of Entitlement (COE) price, which is now at S$81,802 for commercial vehicles as a result of the tender that took place on Wednesday (Nov 23).
“This is not right,” said one netizen. “We need to overhaul this COE system.”
Based on The Strait Times reports of the tender, the COE price for goods vehicles and buses bagged the highest increase at 7.2 per cent.
“Jia laut for the local SME and Hawkers,” wrote another online user, “120K for a van or pickup truck…”
One shared a comment calling on the LTA to be transparent with the system of deciding the premiums. “Sick and tired of the premium on all categories especially the commercial vehicles and motorcycles,” the person said.
Moving on to our closest neighbour, Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim becoming the prime minister has led Chairman and Group CEO of the Petra Group, Vinod Sekhar to say: “Good guys win. It may take longer and hurt a lot more. Ultimately, good guys win. They just have to remain the good guy….”
For any opposition politician, this is a piece of powerful advice…. “remain the good guy”. How do you do that? Always remain self-aware. Always remain accountable. Always know where you stand with the people’s wishes.
Ending off on a funny note – Passengers experienced a technical glitch on the MRT display monitors as destinations became “Sext” instead of Serangoon and “Bolo Kene” instead of Boon Keng stations. This glitch no doubt drew mirth from commuters – giving them a break from the monotony of commute.