2022: Concern about slippery slope following repeal of Section 377A

At this point it is worth noting that for most conservatives, opposition to the repeal of 377A is premised not on the act nor the actors itself, but what the repeal may lead to – what I alluded to earlier, of that tide, or slippery slope of what they view as same-sex unions, adoptions and surrogacy by same-sex couples becoming the norm.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Religious Singaporeans concerned about religious freedom

Recent interviews with apex religious leaders in the media show that it remains a complex issue. However, they do acknowledge that the prerogative of repeal lies with Parliament, as long as the rights of the religious are protected, what they believe in and what they can preach.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Marriage is only between man and woman

Marriage is a bond that draws a man and woman together. It is a natural relationship framed not just by love but promises of commitment and responsibility. Marriage aligns with the way in which men and women live interdependently and bring out the best of each other. Marriage is a faithful, exclusive, lifelong union of a man and a woman, joined in an intimate community. It is the bedrock of families and conversely, society as well.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Marriage is ordered toward procreation and family life

A man and a woman commit themselves to each other, for better or for worst, to the wondrous responsibility of bringing children into the world and caring for them. The call to marriage is also woven deeply into how society works, into the human spirit itself. Man and woman of course, are equal, however, are created differently but made for each other. This sexual difference draws them together in a mutually loving union that should be always open to family.

Therefore, erasing the connection between gender and marriage changes the fundamental nature of a marital union, which is to nurture society’s next generation. Unlike other relationships, marriage has the potential to create and nurture new lives, making it a unique institution.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Marriage is a public good to be protected

For these reasons, states recognise the marriage of a man and woman as a public institution in its laws. Marriage is protected and honoured because it makes an exclusive and indispensable influence over the common good of society. The real problem today is a view that marriage as simply a formality or a fad with no social obligations, that it is just a private and personal decision between two persons with nothing to do with wider society.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Why the state must regulate marriage

But marriage is not just a religious or cultural institution. It is a legal institution as well. In a heterosexual marriage, by bringing children into the society, the state has an obligation towards the couple and their children. For this reason, marriage requires the state to intervene and regulate it because of the social implications. If it is just a relationship between two ordinary people, we do not regulate ordinary friendship or even platonic friendships.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Wished that heterosexual marriage be codified in the Constitution

I do support the constitutional amendment, but as some would be aware, I would have preferred to push for heterosexual marriage to be enshrined or codified as a fundamental liberty in our Constitution. Yet, I acknowledge that that same high bar for a constitutional amendment in the future would apply to defining marriage in the Constitution right now.

In as much as the current amendment would not be considered equivalent to enshrining marriage, it offers a clear definition of marriage as it currently stands, as a union between a man and a woman. I hold the Government to its word that under its watch that no redefinition of marriage will take place. And even if a future government does so, it will perhaps require a repeal of Article 156 that we are introducing, as it would be made redundant.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Education must uphold definition of marriage

Education, the key leveller for society, that is widely available for all in Singapore, must continue to ensure that our curricula continue to uphold the definition of marriage and family.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Media must hold established norms

And in the media space, print and in broadcast, must also help to shape the norms as currently established.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Asked whether institutions are protected from declining services for LGBTQ ideology

So, what protections are there to ensure that businesses and other institutions, such as religious organisations, are freed from legal challenges regarding teachings and beliefs on marriage? For example, if a religious institution declines to conduct a ceremony for a transgender or same-sex couple, will they be subject to a lawsuit? There are many other implications and I hope that the Government would be able to clarify this.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Against discrimination in schools and workplaces

I must also emphasise that I am not unsympathetic to the experiences of rejection, violence and vilification that the LGBTQ+ community faces. I know many of them and I am honoured to enjoy the friendship of many as well. I am also aware of the targeting of religious and social conservatives online by trolls and those opposed to their views on traditional marriage and family.

We must therefore come down hard on discrimination in all its form in the workplace, in schools, in the public sphere. We should treat bullying and harassment seriously, be they in physical or virtual spaces, for all parties in this debate. We must endeavour to build a more equal society for all, not just for one, because whatever the label applied to each of us, we must first acknowledge the wholeness and dignity of each person as an individual being.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=bill-605

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2022: Asked questions about 377A survey

To ask the Minister for Communications and Information with regard to the recent REACH survey on attitudes towards LGBTQ (a) what were the reasons for the unusually high volume of responses in a short timeframe; (b) whether the survey is restricted to only Singaporeans and permanent residents; and (c) whether the Ministry considers the survey results to be representative of attitudes towards LGBTQ due to concerns over the mobilisation of respondents by various groups.

https://www.facebook.com/zayam/posts/pfbid026fK9Xge3GyrCygoRP6Ut2Gb5axFDQr5DfmUpH2QAyc7HtLzJX9dpyQeZR1d1umKDl

https://www.mci.gov.sg/media-centre/parliamentary-questions/response-to-recent-reach-survery-on-attitudes-towardss-lgbtq/