PSG Scorecard

* Where an individual PAP politician has not made any public statement relating to the above metrics, the PAP's party position score result is used for the individual politician’s scorecard.

2024: Explained problems about the wokeness movement

In the West, they’ve got a movement called Wokeness, where you are super sensitive about other people’s issues and you become hypersensitive when other people somehow or other say things or mention things or refer to you without the respect which you or your super subgroup feel you are entitled to.

It leads to very extreme attitudes and social norms, particularly in some academic institutions, universities. You talk about safe spaces, you talk about appropriate pronouns, you talk about how “I’m about to say something which may be offensive to you. If you don’t want to hear it, perhaps you would like to leave now.”

And life becomes very burdensome. And I don’t think we want to go in that direction. It does not make us a more resilient, cohesive society with a strong sense of solidarity. We must be more robust.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/941537317716935

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2022: Announced the official repeal of Section 377A

I am very happy that Parliament today passed the Constitutional Amendment on the definition of marriage, and the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code.

It is a major milestone for Singapore. The outcome itself is significant. We are decriminalising sex between men – a longstanding issue, and not just for gay Singaporeans.

At the same time we are protecting the definition of marriage – as a union between a man and a woman – from Constitutional challenge.

https://www.facebook.com/leehsienloong/posts/pfbid02YoPpkUcpu5PtHMYgkzDgHMPGByrToFkMUji6i7GpWftZM85TGXCC7M1Ee3CMg3Pl

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2022: Prime Minister when Section 377A was repealed

For these reasons, the Government will repeal s377A and decriminalise sex between men. I believe this is the right thing to do, and something that most Singaporeans will now accept. This will bring the law into line with current social mores, and I hope, provide some relief to gay Singaporeans.

https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/National-Day-Rally-2022-English

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2022: Marriage is between a man and a woman

By and large, Singapore is a traditional society, with conservative social values. We believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, children should be born and raised within such families, the traditional family should form the basic building block of our society.

Most Singaporeans would like to keep our society like this. This is the Government’s position too. We have upheld and reinforced the importance of families through many national policies, and we will continue to do so.

https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/National-Day-Rally-2022-English

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2022: Marriage, schools, media and family-oriented policies will not change

But at the same time, most Singaporeans do not want the repeal to trigger a drastic shift in our societal norms across the board, including how we define marriage, what we teach children in schools, what is shown on free to air television and in cinemas, or what is generally acceptable conduct in public.

In our engagements and soundings over several months, this has come through very clearly. Among those with reservations, some feel strongly about s377A itself. But for most, their main worry is what they feel s377A stands for, and what they fear repealing it may quickly lead to. They also worry that this may encourage more aggressive and divisive activism on all sides. This is not only the concern of those with religious objections, but is shared by many non-religious people. Even many Singaporeans who support repeal want to maintain our current family and social norms.

The Government understands these concerns. We too do not want the repeal to trigger wholesale changes in our society. We will maintain our current family-oriented approach, and the prevailing norms and values of Singapore society.

https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/National-Day-Rally-2022-English

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2022: Definition of marriage cannot be constitutionally challenged

I do not think that for Singapore, the courts are the right forum to decide such issues. Judges interpret and apply the law, that is what they are trained and appointed to do. To interpret the law, what does the law say; to apply the law, how does it work in this instance. But judges and courts have neither the expertise nor the mandate to settle political questions, nor to rule on social norms and values because these are fundamentally not legal problems, but political issues.

This has been wisely acknowledged by our courts in their judgments dealing with such cases. But even so, those seeking change may still try to force the pace through litigation, which is in its nature adversarial. It would highlight differences, inflame tensions and polarise society, and I am convinced, this would be bad for Singapore.

We will therefore protect the definition of marriage from being challenged constitutionally in the courts. The legal definition is contained in the Interpretation Act and the Women’s Charter. We have to amend the Constitution to protect it, and we will do so.

https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/National-Day-Rally-2022-English

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2022: LGBTQ people can live their lives and participate in community

"PM Lee: However, like every human society, we also have gay people in our midst. They are our fellow Singaporeans – our colleagues, friends & family members. They too want to live their own lives, participate in our community & contribute fully to Singapore."

https://twitter.com/leehsienloong/status/1561329292784828416?lang=en

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2019: LGBTQ people are not inhibited from living or working in Singpore

“You know our rules in Singapore. Whatever your sexual orientation, you are welcome to come and work in Singapore. But this has not inhibited people from living, and has not stopped Pink Dot from having a gathering every year. “It is the way this society is: We are not like San Francisco, neither are we like some countries in the Middle East. (We are) something in between, it is the way the society is.”

https://www.facebook.com/pinkdotsg/posts/10157512306053304?ref=embed_post

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2017: PM Lee willing to live with 377A until social attitudes change

I think it's a law which is fair. If I remove it, I will not remove the problem, because if you look at what has happened in the West, if you look at what has happened in Britain, you decriminalised it in the 60s, your attitudes have changed a long way. But even now gay marriage is contentious. In America it is very contentious. Even in France, in Paris, they had demonstrations in the streets against gay marriage. My personal view is that if I don't have problem, this is an uneasy compromise. I'm prepared to live with it until social attitudes change.

https://fb.watch/rX1gIIg-yi/

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2016: Fault lines could grow over LGBT issues

"You could quarrel over LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) issues, for example, which are very deep fault lines between the right-wing and the left, the liberals and conservatives in America. You could quarrel over rich and poor. You could have distinctions between your party allegiances, and it could become fractious."

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/fault-lines-growing-beyond-those-of-race-religion

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2015: LGBTQ activists should not push their agenda

But neither I think if you ask most Singaporeans, do we want the LGBT ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community to set the tone for Singapore society. The society is basically a conservative one. It is changing but it is changing gradually and there are different views, including views especially from the religious groups who push back. And it is completely understandable. So, individually we have views on gays, on how it happens and how they should fit in. But the government view is that where we are I think it is not a bad place to be. There is space for the gay community but they should not push the agenda too hard because if they push the agenda too hard, there will be a very strong pushback.

https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/transcript-prime-minister-lee-hsien-loongs-meeting-asean-journalists-7th-asean

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2014: Factional politics divides society

It is more difficult now. Society is more diverse. Interests are less aligned. There are more special interests groups who form more easily. And yet, all the more in this environment, we have got to be able to navigate our next phase of nation-building together.

If we end up with factional politics, each group pushing for its own single issue – it could be race, language or religion which would be disastrous – we could have NIMBY (Not In My Neighbourhood) groups forming, you can have green agenda, anti-development, you could have those for gay rights, those against gay rights. There is no end to the ways in which you can divide up our society in pursuit of political advantage. And then, our politics would have failed Singapore.

I am describing what constructive politics consist of. But honestly, constructive politics depends on what we as political leaders do, how we act, the decisions we make, the standards we hold ourselves to. It does not just depend on institutions, on culture, on the general environment, something vague which I have no control of but cause me to do what I am doing.

https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=president-address-236

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2007: Defined family as a man and a woman bringing up children in marriage

Singapore is basically a conservative society. The family is the basic building block of our society. It has been so and, by policy, we have reinforced this and we want to keep it so. And by "family" in Singapore, we mean one man one woman, marrying, having children and bringing up children within that framework of a stable family unit.