Take Your Mama - Scissor Sisters

 So PERGAS (Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association)  has now come out to weigh in on the HPB’s FAQs on homosexuality. And it’s exactly what you expect. I really don’t know where to start with this. Perhaps that we’re a secular society? And that religion has no say in what the HPB puts up? Perhaps I should start with the part about the HPB “implicitly showing support towards same-sex behaviour.”  

You know what? Since you they took the time to make a nice eight point list, I will too. So here it is. The eight reasons PERGAS has got this all wrong. (I’m gonna also post the eight point PERGAS made so the whole argument will be clearer for everyone, instead of switching back and forth between my post and theirs.)

1. (PERGAS) This response is to record Pergas’ disappointment to the Health Promotion Board’s (HPB) recent FAQ on sexuality.

Why are they disappointed? I understand that homosexuality is against their faith. And I am not saying that they should embrace homosexuality. But as a religious organization, their views are not applicable to the entire country. We have multiple faiths here in Singapore. Some are vocal about their opposition of the “gay agenda” whatever that means, (here’s looking at you Pastor Khong) others like myself, support the their right to love whoever they want. It doesn’t affect my life if John loves Michael. Why should it? I’m happy they are loving instead of hating. That alone is worth something.

2. (PERGAS) Pergas finds that the FAQ is insensitive towards the prevailing view of the Singaporean society. This is as reflected in the recent Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) survey which reported that 78.2% of Singaporeans views are generally conservative towards same-sex relation. As a national health board, Pergas is of the view that HPB should not have presented its FAQ in a manner that can be construed by some as tacit support in normalising same-sex relations.

I’m still trying to figure out how exactly the HPB is “supporting” and “Normalising” same sex relations. The FAQs provide answer to the people that might have issues with their sexual identity. That is the HPBs job. To help our people regardless of religion. Just because it goes against a certain faith, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. To take down the FAQs and to pretend that Singapore doesn’t have people who NEED it, is short sighted and downright unfair. Our LGBT community has every right to those FAQs. If they help even one person feel less ostracized and less like an outcast from society, it has done it’s job. So many people live in fear of what would happen if their friends and family were to find out about their sexual orientation. These FAQs are for them. They are human beings just like us. And they don’t deserve to live in silence and fear just because they love another human being. That's absurd.

3) (PERGAS) Pergas views that the message should be directed at the importance of a traditional family unit rather than implicitly showing support towards same-sex behaviour.

At which point did the HPB’s FAQs state that straight people should magically turn gay? How are they casting aside the traditional family unit by answering some frequently asked questions? Did at any point the HPB say that being gay was “in”? That it was “cool” No. They did not. Having FAQs does not in any way show support of same sex relations. Like I said before, stop pretending that people don’t need these FAQs. So this point, is flat out moot.

4) (PERGAS) Pergas would also like to note that the FAQ is in contrast to the state’s pro-family policy. The pro-homosexuality stance reflected in the FAQ undermines the traditional family unit which is essential in building our society.

Against the state’s pro family policy? How? Now that these FAQs are up, straight people are suddenly gonna become gay, left and right? Whether or not these FAQs are there, gay people will be gay, and straight people will be straight. Taking down these FAQs will not lead to a sudden disappearance of homosexuality. Taking down these FAQs will not suddenly make all our gay individuals turn straight, marry the opposite sex and start a family. How could you even think this way? It’s worrying. And it’s disheartening.

5) (PERGAS) Pergas would like to assert that the family unit is a fundamental institution of human society. According to the higher objectives of Islamic Law, the family unit serves to bring in new generation and preserve the existence of humankind. For that reason, Islam gives attention in establishing a family only through the legal marriage of a man and woman. Any form of extra-marital or same-sex relations are hence prohibited in Islam.

This point would absolutely hold water if this was an Islamic state. But guess what? It’s not. Why are we bringing in religion into this? Why are we talking about the “higher objectives of Islamic law”? What does religious law have to do with how we govern a secular state? Absolutely Nothing.

6) (PERGAS) Notwithstanding the above, Pergas would also like to emphasize that in no way the ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender’ or LGBT should be ostracised by the society. In line with the teachings of Islam which promote love and mercy, we must avoid rejecting them as individuals and should treat them with love and compassion.

Really? REALLY? Here you are, demanding the seizure of a few questions that might help some of our Singaporeans in a time of internal conflict. It is extremely hard to take what you just said, without a whole sack of salt.

7) (PERGAS) Pergas also advise Muslim to convey the true message of Islam and guide our Muslims LGBT to the right path. Meanwhile, Pergas also encourages those Muslims who are facing sexuality issues, such as tendency towards homosexuality/bisexuality to seek proper religious guidance and psychological guidance from asatizah (religious teachers) and counselors who have knowledge on Islamic perspective in this matter.

Seek religious guidance if you feel you’re gay. Conversion therapy. Pray away the gay. This is a whole other can of worms which, if I were to open, will take a whole other post. But in short. No. It doesn’t work. In fact, the repercussions of driving people against themselves with the guilt of pseudo scientific “therapy” like this, was so bad, It’s outright banned in a few countries. And are religious people qualified to be giving out psychological advice? Is that even safe? Maybe the HPB should look into that.

8) Finally, Pergas wishes to state its readiness to be consulted on potentially sensitive issues such as this matter in the future. This is to ensure that the interests of all groups are represented in the consideration of government agencies such as HPB.

SINGAPORE ISLAMIC SCHOLARS & RELIGIOUS TEACHERS ASSOCIATION (PERGAS)

I hate to keep returning to the same point, but really, secular state. I’m having trouble with the reality of this. I find it almost impossible to believe that PERGAS is offering itself as council for future decisions of the government. Is secularism that much of an alien concept? Religions have no bearing on the running of a secular state. And rightfully so. Singapore has many differing religious beliefs. Not everyone is Muslim. Not everyone is Christian. The government cannot and should not be expected to seek clearance from religious societies for their decisions. Please do not try and control everyone in this country with your holy text. Not everyone believes what you do.

Now to wrap up. I could have been a lot more biting with this post. I could have been my usual self and torn them a new one. But I didn’t. Why? Because I don’t think PERGAS is coming from a mean place. I honestly don’t think they’re trying to bully the LGBT community in Singapore. But at the same time, they need to look at their statement and perhaps reflect.

Don’t worry, with the amount of homophobia and vitriol the LGBT community is facing online by hateful bigots, the claws will be out again soon.

The Times They Are a-Changing' - Bob Dylan

It all started with the Amy Cheong saga and a FaceBook status update I made.

  

Shane Gill: Ok. Enough. Amy Cheong has paid for her sins. She lost her job. Enough. Everyone complains about foreigners but this shows we can hardly tolerate our own Singaporeans. She said what she said. She lost her job. Enough. She's still one of our own.

Within the hour, I received a private message in my inbox. Name's have been changed for privacy reasons of course. 

Perhaps enough Shane of 'everyone complains about foreigners'. In my country I would be considered a racist and a bigot if I went on the way you do. This foreigner felt very unwelcome here when she read your comments in the last months she lived in Singapore. I've gone home now, where I try to remember to be respectful to those who have changed areas if the city by migrating from Asia. in Singapore I gave my skills and love to thousands of kids and the local economy got all of my earnings returned to it. Do you really want a works in which no one is free to live beyond their countryside boarders? Your country and mine would never have developed as they have were that the case. And where would our ancestors have been if they had been surrounded by your attitude towards foreigners?

I like when people respond with differing views. We really need more of it. Too many people just refuse to speak, frightened perhaps,  when their opinion differs. And that's sad. Here's my response.

big·ot
[big-uht]
noun
a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.

rac·ist
[rey-sist]
noun
1.
a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that a certain human race is superior to any or all others.




Hi Linda

Racist. Bigot. Extremely strong words. Perhaps you misunderstood, perhaps you skipped over a few details. Never have I criticized the people who have come to my country seeking better a future. They are entitled to it. If I felt I could better provide for my family in a foreign land, I too would go. It only makes sense.

You have taken my criticism of my government’s policies as criticism of the individual. I have an issue with the rate at which my government has opened the floodgates on immigration. The infrastructure of Singapore is under such severe strain that the Prime Minister himself has acknowledged the fact that the immigration policy needs to be looked at.

As you have so wisely observed in your country, I too am grateful for all the people from other countries that have made Singapore what it is today. The flats built, the roads paved, the grass cut. I see these things. They do not fall beyond my field of vision. I understand. But my people are suffering. Wages are being depressed to the point of poverty. Many foreigners are hired do the job at a fraction of the cost of a Singaporean. Our old cannot retire. They clean fast food outlets and it breaks my heart, Linda. The falling birthrate has the government pointing squarely at the people when they fail to see the people are struggling to feed themselves, let alone start a family.

I have never called for the picture you painted. Where people live and work only where they come from. I just ask for some semblance of sanity at which our gates are open. I understand where progress has brought this country but I do not think it is ok to sacrifice the people for the sake of progress.

Racist. Bigot. Linda my dad owns a shop in Race Course Road. I have sat by the road side and eaten meals with foreign workers from India and Bangladesh. I have been the best man at a Muslim wedding. My best friend is gay and from the Philippines. I have gone into mosques, churches, temples, and have actually knelt and prayed in them. Before I was a teacher I spent six years serving our military and reached the rank of Sergeant First Class. With people of all races and creeds. I have cried and bled with these people. And they with me. I have a tattoo in my flesh that states that everyone is the same.

I read your message just before I stared teaching five classes. And I must say those words hit me rather hard. If you were ever offended by my updates on FaceBook, and if you ever felt unwelcome in this country, I am truly sorry. That was never what I meant to do. I hope you’re happy where you are right now. And I hope you have the life you’ve always wanted. I will never stop fighting for the rights of my people.


Much love (and I mean it)
Shane Gill

 

Know Your Rights - The Clash.

Service. The word instantly bring about pictures of smiling faces, laughing voices and an all around good feeling. Right? WRONG! A few things have happened to me in the last few days which I need to tell you about for the sake of your own safety. Lest you expect better from these places and get your heart broken.

Lets start with the little confectionary/bread shoppe at Yishun MRT. It was called something else before and I cannot remember what. But now, it has undergone renovation and is called...... You ready?....... "Thousand Taste." On the scale of dumb names. This ranks pretty high. So I go into "Thousand Taste" expecting the bread experience of my life. I bought my favourite, the vintage tuna bun. I placed two on my tray, looked at them lovingly and went over to the counter for payment. I pay $3 and step outside. As soon as I'm out, I take a bite. A rather large bite. TUNA BUN MY FUCKING BALLS! The bun was the size of my hand. The amount of tuna in it, was the size of a bottle cap. Yes yes, I am exaggerating a little but trust me. There was so little tuna in there I was left feeling like a fool. And I do not like feeling like a fool. Look, I know some of you are gonna say, "The fuck did you expect for $1.50?" I expected a lot more thats what. If you need to charge me $2, or even $2.50 to make a better damn bun, do it! But don't make your customers feel like you just cheated them. I'm never going there again. The feeling of being made a fool of is not a nice one.

Next up on this service agenda. This restaurant called Shiu Yakiniku. Ok what happened here was someone bought a Groupon voucher and had a really bad experience at the restaurant, and put it on Stomp. Now things on stomp are really one-sided and you will never know the full story. Here's the link for the complaint.


http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/got_service_or_not/906460/we_dine_at_restaurant_with_groupon_voucher_but_get_treated.html

Like I said, we really can't judge this one as one can say anything on Stomp and get away with it. Just the nature of the platform. But what we CAN judge is the response the restaurant gave. Also through Stomp. Here's the link for the response.

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/got_service_or_not/909724/patrons_who_dined_using_groupon_voucher_werent_treated_like_dirt.html

You know when you write a response letter to a complaint, you would think the most important thing was placating the disgruntled customer and also preserving the sullied name of your establishment. Not here. Whoever wrote this letter went into battle to refute each point the customer brought up. Shields out, swords drawn. This is the way you write a response to a complaint? It achieved nothing. It made every one who read it feel that the restaurant had no class. No class. Multiple commenters on Stomp said they would never step into this restaurant. Was that the aim of your letter? To push your name further into the mud? Where's the service?

Lastly, on this rather long post which is not a waste of time because YOU need to know about these places. I was sick on sunday night. Which was the eve of Chinese New Year. I went to the clinic in Sembawang MRT. Guess what. Consultation charge alone WITHOUT medicine. $80. WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK??!! How can they do this? Are they living in their own little make believe society? How can a DOCTOR do that? People are sick. Everywhere else is closed. So what if you're the only one open? Is that how a doctor thinks? That fucking heartbreaking man. So no, I didn't see the doctor. And I was sick until Wednesday. And I had to miss a day of work. One of the lines in the classic Hippocratic Oath states that, "I will keep them from harm and injustice." I don't think that fee was justice.

So there it is.

1. Put tuna in tuna buns.

2. Respond to complaints with heart. Not your sword. Which in this case was blunt as fuck.

3. In certain professions, when you make it all about money, you look like a very bad person.

Locomotive - Guns N' Roses.

SMRT. What happened? People jammed packed in overcrowded trains. So much so that I have personally seen two fights break out on the morning rush hour trains in the last three months. Fares that keep inching upward, (not to forget the change of ticket which worked like a cash injection). Train breakdowns more often than ever before. Every morning when I go to work, I have to wait for three trains before I can fight my way into the sardine can of a cabin. And this week, cake of cakes! Three breakdowns.

Now I am not saying that trains cannot break down. It happens. Accidents happen. But three? In three days? And with the CEO saying shit like “People can board the trains – it is whether they choose to." Seriously? I mean, what the fuck was going through her head when she strung those words together? She cannot be talking about the same trains I'm on. Because there is no way in HELL people chose whether or not they wanted to get on those trains. There is no space for anything in that warzone. Then theres the furore about the gentleman smashing that train window when the people stuck in the stranded trains started having difficulty breathing. The official statement given by jolly ol SMRT was, "He should not have done so but (considering the situation), he will not be penalized." YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING SHITTING ME! The fact that they even say the word 'Penalized" during a situation like this shows how disgustingly disconnected they are from us, the lowly people. Their precious malfunctioning train is more of an issue to them than the safety of the commuters on board.

Then of course there's that video making its rounds on facebook where a SMRT "Enforcement Officer" is shown fining a poor lady who had committed the unspeakably heinous crime of sucking on a sweet. Shows you the priorities of an organization with its head stuck so far up it's own ass it's not even funny. So how Ms Saw? You gonna do what a whole lot of Singaporeans are asking you to do? "Give up your seat?" Well let's sit back and see what happens over the next few days. Buckle up, it's gonna be a hell of a ride. Oh wait a minute....