LGBT support rally gathers more numbers than population paper protests

Onepaper. Two protest rallies. Number of attendees – varies dependingon what you read. Organisers claim that the first rally held onFebruary 16, drew close to 4,000 people, while news report had putthe number close to 2,000. The second rally,  which coincided withthe May Day, was attended by more than 5,000 people, claimed theorganisers. News agencies reduce that figure to just around 3,000.People had gathered to protest against the 6.9 million projectedpopulation of Singapore in 2030 - or “worst case scenario” asNational Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan later clarified –indicated in the Population White Paper put forward by the NationalPopulation and Talent Division (NPTD). 

Anotherissue. Another protest. But no conflicting reports on estimates.Unanimous agreement had put the number of attendees of the June 29event to well-over 20,000 – a record turnout. The event evenmanaged corporate sponsors such as Google, Barclays, Park RoyalHotels, CooperVision, The Gunnery and JPMorgan. People had gatheredto campaign for the rights of the Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in Singapore.

Firstto the population paper protests.

It all startedwhen Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean released the PopulationWhite Paper titled, A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore,on January 29, 2013. It was the population policy roadmap to addressSingapore’s demographic challenge as illustrated by thecity-state's total fertility rate of 1.2 in 2011, which is way belowthe replacement level of 2.1. Teo emphasised on the Paper'sthree-pronged objective of - strengthening the Singaporean core byencouraging Singaporeans to procreate, creating good jobs forincreasingly better educated Singaporeans, and ensuring a highquality living environment for all. “However, to prevent ourSingaporean population from ageing and shrinking, we will take inimmigrants, but at a measured pace,” he said.

Andthis “pace” as indicated in the Paper would mean that“Singapore’s total population could reachbetween6.5 and 6.9 million by 2030. The resident population (comprisingcitizensandPRs) is projected to be 4.2 to 4.4 million, ofwhichcitizens alone will make up 3.6 to 3.8 million,asthe growth in the citizen population slows.” The Paper also dealtin detail various bread-and-butter issues concerning all Singaporeansincluding marriage and parenthood incentives, employment prospects,public housing, transportation, healthcare facilities and a greenerenvironment.  

Suddenly, thefigure of “6.9 million by 2030” in a country where immigrationhas been a hot topic since the general elections of 2011, took overthe public discourse by storm. The Parliament too hotly debated theissue for five days – the longest in recent history,  and passed anamended motion voting along the party lines with 77 People's ActionParty (PAP) votes against the rest. The amended motion put forward byPAP's member of parliament from Holland-Bukit Timah GroupRepresentation Constituency Liang Eng Hwa recognised “that thepopulation projections beyond 2020 are for the purpose of land useand infrastructure planning, and not a population target”. 

Even after thata section of the public, led by a non-profit society, Transitioning –Unemployment Support Service (TUSS), remained unconvinced. Itorganised the first rally in February and followed it up with anotherin May. While the first rally focussed only on the Population WhitePaper, the Labour Day rally was a mixed bag with issues such as humanrights, increasing wage gap, insufficient central provident funds andlanguage campaigns, all being discussed. Though these ralliesattracted politicians from the National Solidarity Party andSingapore Democratic Party, as well as few former candidates ofSingapore's presidential elections, the main opposition Workers'Party (WP) was not represented. Later, WP issued its own populationpaper with “a projected population of 5.6 to 5.8 million in 2030,of which 3.4 to 3.5 million would be Singapore citizens”.

Now, to theLGBT support rally or Pink Dot, as it had come to be known as, whichsurprisingly attracted more than twice the numbers that populationpaper protest rallies managed. 

Organised byPink Dot Sg - a non-profit movement, the event marked its fifthedition this year. In 2009, the number of attendees were 2,500, whichrose to 4,000 in 2010. Last year, the attendance was 15,000, withabout 6,000 more attending this year, “consistently making Pink Dotthe largest gathering to take place at Hong Lim Park since theinception of the Speakers’ Corner in 2000”, according to themovement's website. Apart from big sponsors, the event hadparticipants from 20 different community groups including Young OutThere, Pelangi Pride Centre, OogaChaga, Maruah and Sayoni. Localmedia celebrities were also in full attendance.

The issue wasthe constitutionality of Section 377A of Singapore's penal code[which criminalises gay sex] being challenged in two separate courtcases. The Court of Appeal, when allowing a claim challenging theSection to be heard in court last year had said “we are notdeciding here that 377A is inconsistent with Art 12 as that goes tothe merits of the Application. We are merely deciding that it isarguably so”. Article 12(1) of Singapore's constitution states “Allpersons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protectionof the law”. The matter is still sub judice with the finaljudgement been eagerly awaited.

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