SINGAPORE: Law Minister K Shanmugam has said Singapore will not
decriminalise gay sex but the courts have the power to decide how the
law, Section 377, is applied. Section 377A of the Penal Code deems sex
between men a crime.
A recent ruling by the New Delhi High Court legalising gay sex
between consenting adults in India raised questions on whether
Singapore might go the same way. Both countries share the same Penal
Code, inherited from the colonial British.
In a dialogue with Punggol residents on Sunday, Mr Shanmugam said
Section 377 will remain as homosexuality is still not accepted by most
Singaporeans.
He said: "We have the law. We say it won't be enforced. Is it
totally clear? We, sometimes in these things, have to accept a bit of
messiness. And the way the society is going, we don't think it's fair
for us to prosecute people who say that they are homosexual."
But he said that while the government will not take the lead in
repealing the law, the legal courts in Singapore have the power to
decide how Section 377 is interpreted and applied.
Mr Shanmugam, who is also the Second Minister for Home Affairs,
said the government will play a more active role in other areas, such
as creating ways for new citizens and Permanent Residents to interact
with the community.
But he said all parties must also make an effort. "It's not a quick
process. You can't wave a magic wand and say, 'oh, integration takes
place'. It takes many years. And why talk about foreigners? Even
amongst ourselves, different races, religions - how long has it taken
to get to this stage?"
During the hour-long dialogue, one resident noted that the minister
had spoken of affirmative action for Malays five years ago and asked if
he felt this was still necessary.
In reply, Mr Shanmugam said the community had come a long way, but
clarified that he was not calling for a quota system at the time.
Instead, success must be founded on meritocracy.
Mr Shanmugam said: "We don't talk about quotas, that's not our
approach. We don't talk about...so many places for Malays, so many
places for Indians, so many places for Chinese. That's a wrong way to
go. It has got to be meritocratic. But assuming 10 people make the
cut-off, try and look for some who are also from the Malay community."
- CNA/ir
YESSSSSSS
SINGAPORE IS A GAY HUB!!!!!!!!
"But assuming 10 people make the cut-off, try and look for some who are also from the Malay community."
If that is not quota, what is it?
Well educated person and clever people like to play with words this way.