Feelin' Good, a party organised by gay and lesbian media and events company Fridae, has been cancelled after the venue, Ministry of Sound, received a telephone call from local police on Friday evening demanding that they cease venue provision for the event.
According to Mr. Clement Lee, executive director of Ministry of Sound's parent company LifeBrandz, Mr Kelvin Yeo, Compliance Management Officer from Tanglin Police called on Friday evening after office hours demanding that the club cancel the event, failing which enforcement officers would come to the club on Sunday to shut the party down. The reason given by the police to Mr. Lee over the telephone was that the party would 'promote gay activities'.
Whilst Singapore laws prohibit gay sex, there are no laws against being gay. As recently as 2003, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong was interviewed in Time Magazine about the Singapore government's non-discrimination policy for employment in the civil service, and was quoted saying gays are 'just like you and me'.
Singapore has a thriving gay scene that includes more than dozen organisations, bars and establishments catering primarily to a gay or lesbian clientele. Feelin' Good would have been Fridae's first party in Singapore in more than a year and a half, featuring popular Australian DJ Kate Monroe.
In response to previous criticism by current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that Fridae's parties 'should not be targeted at gays alone' (December 2004), Feelin' Good has been actively promoted to the mainstream public through a variety of media, including Lush 99.5FM radio and local publications IS and Juice.
'The reaction from the police has been completely unexpected,' said Dr Stuart Koe, CEO of Fridae. Feelin' Good is simply a party, not unlike any party held at clubs all around Singapore. There is no legal justification for what the police has done. This is yet another example of institutionalised discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Fridae regrets the turn of events and will offer full refunds to ticket holders. Please refer to the website www.fridae.com/feelingood for the refund process. We would also like to thank the community and our sponsors for your continued support and understanding.
First off, I would like to say that yours truly hasn’t been to a single gay party, pub or club in her entire life. So I am really wondering how the Homosexuals were able to “encourage” me to enter a gay lifestyle. I am sure it has absolutely nothing to do with all those cute girls I was fawning over from young, when I didn’t even know that lesbians could get it on.
Secondly, I’d like to offer my condolences to Mr Kelvin Yeo for having been made the national (and international) laughing stock, and having to be the mouthpiece for our darling government who just LOVES to control the lives of its citizens to a tee.
Thirdly, I’d like to tell all the gay citizenry in Singapore: emigrate, darlings. As soon as you can – leave this hell-hole behind, and don’t look back. Don’t hope for anything from Minilee, or that he is any different from his father.
Maybe what Fridae should do is to organise mass deportation to other countries for all gay and lesbian people – let’s see if Minilee steps in and says that it would promote a “gay lifestyle”, or is not “in their national interests”.
Comments
victoriasecret said,
March 26, 2006 at 10:00 pm
pleine.. we careful with what you write…
it may offend others.. (e.g. ‘minilee’.. ) you may jsut get sued…
lublub said,
March 26, 2006 at 11:13 pm
I’d like to point out that i have written a few scathing articles of the ‘gahmen’ on my own blog. And many others have done the same as me.
And we have yet to be sued.
Also, if we even have to ‘police’ ourselves and be politically correct on the only platform (the internet) that comes closest to offering perfect freedom of expression… then we are no better than countries such as iran or china whereby censorship is extreme.
I think u might have forgotten something. if we are afraid of going against the tide, if we are afraid of voicing out our true opinions.. then we are politically apathetic. And if everybody acts the same way. No dictatorship (not that i’m accusing s’pore of having one) will ever be brought down, no societal change for the better will take place. if ppl acted this way, we would still be living in the 19th century whereby women are lower than men and blacks have no civil rights.
just becos i disagree with someone and i dun take the mainstream view, does not imply that i dun have the right to voice it out. and this is also what this whole blog and forum is about anyway. the whole EXISTENCE of this website itself is liable to be removed/censored and its site admin sued. becos it seems that we are ‘promoting the gay lifestyle’ by building a place for sexuality discussion.
so if you say that pleinelune cld be sued for her remarks, then we might as well remove this entire blog for being too ‘controversial’.
victoriasecret, the thing is, i can see where u’re coming from when u say we might be sued. And I understand why u might be concerned about this becos the govt is indeed homophobic and who knows what they cld do right? when i first read ur post, i almost wanted to agree w u. then i realised that what u said was HOW i used to think last time before i finally accepted myself and learnt to think for myself. maybe u say this becos u place the interests of mainstream society as 1st piority. but have u ever thot that maybe what mainstream society wants u to be… might not be what u REALLY are?
it is becos ppl started thinking for themselves as individuals and questioned all that was swallowed blindly as eternal truth (w/o exploring the real reasons why) that we can say what we want today.. on such a forum.. w/o fear of repercussion. And even though the threat might be present (like u said), it does not deter us.
Becos freedom is so much more than conformity and compliance. that is what i think we all live for and fight for. Not to be caged up and told what to say and what to think. But to be able to be the ppl we want to be.. and say the things that resonates truth in our hearts.
pleinelune said,
March 26, 2006 at 11:48 pm
*stands up and applauds lublub* I could hug you right now.
Clyde said,
March 27, 2006 at 5:46 am
If the two-faced government continues to insist on running the country in this manner with their thumbs stuck up their *sses, then I suggest they stop whining when they complain about emmigration issues and a declining Singaporean birth rate.
It exceeds my ability to comprehend how exactly an organised gathering of people in an indoor avenue making no effort to shadow their identity is possibly a threat to the public by luring unknowing individuals and turning them ‘gay’. The extremist homophobia of the police verges on harrassment of the community. Few actions I would reccommend if they gay community truly believe in their civil rights are (a) seek legal advice on where they stand in hosting such activities, (b) take legal action against the state if applicable, and/or (c) jump on the boycott wagon and take your stand against Ministry of Sound. If the law is not clear whether it is homophobic or not, the club should have no reason to cave into pressure from the police over unwritten laws.
These may seem futile in a near-totalitarian nation. But what’s lacking in this country is any form of challenge towards the government by the people. They need to be challenged in the courts of law to draw their homophobia into the limelight and clarify legislation on such activities. Leaving it to the police’ own indiscretion is not good enough.
May I also say, albeit not the first, that minilee is an idiot. If anything else, proof that it runs in the family.
Mier said,
March 27, 2006 at 10:46 am
VictoriaSecret does not identify as gay, lublub. That’s probably why mainstream is priority for her.
pleinelune said,
March 27, 2006 at 7:36 pm
Oh yes… attracted to women but NOT gay. There is absolutely no oxymoron in that.
Anyway, Clyde, it is absolutely futile – you can see what happened to Dr Chee for challenging the system.
Kelvin Wong said,
March 28, 2006 at 12:06 am
Although I disagree with what have happened, I think we cannot naively see every issue like this as “anti-gay”, just as some feminist sees every statement from men as discriminating to women, even though it may be true. There may be a few forces here, including competitions (gay) which would like to see Fridae lose out and even those who don’t like Fridae. Don’t forget that Indignation 05 was sort of a successful despite the nation 05 ban. Not forgetting, also, that the Fridae parties has been perceived by some as high-booze, high-drugs and rough-sex (i.e. unsafe sex) and its was over touted in the International media. Of course, str8 full-moon parties also probably have the same elements, but maybe not touted as loudly. Just as the raid at Happy was not an anti-gay raid, it was a drug raid, albeit with gay people…
jjade said,
March 28, 2006 at 8:01 am
Fridae is a lifestyle portal for gay men and women, and less a space for gay activism. Unfortunately, Fridae has continually perpetuated the gay stereotype of (quoting kelvin) “high-booze, high-drugs and rough-sex” with its parties and with media pictures of gleaming, half-naked bodies groping each other that again reinforce the gay lifestyle. It’s fascinating, but not entirely pleasant to the heterosexual.
Fridae’s prominence in the gay culture has actually, i believe, accentuated unhealthy gay stereotypes. If attention is to be focused on gay rights, Fridae is not the way to go. More attention should be paid in forging links between the homosexual and heterosexual communities, through gay activism conferences for example.
You’re more likely to win votes with educated, intelligent discourse and sensible arguments (i really like Alex Au!) than Fridae parties. On the same note, PLU, Red Queen, Sayoni etc are better representatives of queerness in Singapore than Fridae. Fridae is an online gay magazine, not exclusively a gay activist site and much of it is dedicated to celebrating the spectacle of queerness, eg. through its parties. It’s not going to win any moral votes in this case.
There’s no point raging against government and calling them a laughing stock when most of the straight world couldn’t care less about you and me. No point being sarcastic and and angry because no one’s going to change things that way, not in Singapore anyway. Instead, you’ll be the laughing stock of the straight world, nodding away in agreement that the “gay problem” has been stemmed once again. For Singapore to lose the pink dollar in favour of moral high ground is surprising to me, but it happened and it happened for a reason whatever it may be. It’s for us to work around these problems, and come up with better arguments that will persuade and engage.
That said, the arts scene is doing a great job in gay activism. And NAC isn’t hindering them. It’s a good thing ya?
Akikonomu said,
March 28, 2006 at 2:15 pm
“And NAC isn�t hindering them. It�s a good thing ya?”
As far as I understand, the NAC knows which in the arts scene are gay, and which are giving space for gay visibility. The unspoken agreement is NAC will not mention the H or G or L words in public.
What you then have is a toleration by NAC for gay issues in the arts scene – but imposed under the enforcement of invisibility for those not in the know.
And frankly, I’d rather intelligent, well-adjusted homosexuals leave Singapore out of a failure of the whiteshirts to liberalise the country and national discourse, rather than have them leave just because a gay party was shut down.
justme said,
March 28, 2006 at 2:54 pm
Fridae is no representation of the gay community in Singapore. Sometimes i just wish they’ll stop sounding like they are. But again, there are gay institutions like spaces that are obviously gay but pretends not to be calling themselves ‘inclusive’. What a load of crap! I’m not sure which one is worse.
jade said,
March 28, 2006 at 6:00 pm
i’m all for dialogue and feedback sessions, which i reckon will make for better engagement than getting angry and pushing agendas in a manner that will not impress. And i hope the well-adjusted, intelligent gay men and women stay to work out differences instead of flying off…
pleinelune said,
March 28, 2006 at 6:15 pm
If the ONLY issue was that of this party being cancelled, I wouldn’t even be bothered. But rather, this is the latest addition to a string of gay stuff the government has been banning, and it gets rather sickening after a while. Why stay and suffer under people who go out of their way to make life difficult for you?
If they would just leave us alone to our own devices – which is to not hinder us, but also not help us, then fine. I can live with that. But not to an extent where every move we make is watched and clamped down at the earliest opportunity.
jjade said,
March 28, 2006 at 9:11 pm
my best mates are gay and out. they’re loving life in singapore. i’m not sure, but where does the “suffering” through government regulation come in?
pleinelune said,
March 28, 2006 at 9:53 pm
If you are I-dont-care-about-anything-as-long-as-I- get-to-pick-up-hot-guys kind of gay guy [or hot girls for lesbian for that matter], then it wouldn’t matter to you. As long as you don’t try to get married, or buy a house with your partner, or try to get health benefits for your ailing spouse. Or you have no desire to see people like yourself on screen or read a gay book, or good heavens, have sex with your partner [because that's technically illegal]. And god help you if you are a gay teacher, because going by what happened, they’ll dismantle the school to get rid of your homo cooties. Don’t ever try to donate blood or sperm either, or tell your army buddies or doctor that you are gay. If you observe� all these and more, then, Singapore is the happiest place on Earth for a gay person! *waves arms feebly in the air*
jade said,
March 28, 2006 at 11:25 pm
The point is, it’s like that all over the world. Don’t pinpoint the Singapore government for its legalities when the majority want it that way. Parents (or at least those that i know of, in case i essentialise) do not want to be taught by a gay teacher. Remember the incident at St Francis Methodist School (er, i think that’s its name) where a gay teacher was fired and the school was subsequently disinfected at the insistence of parents? The poor gay man was humiliated and sidelined for no other reason than that he was gay. Minilee has put it clearly too, that the government needs to balance between the majority conservative and the Other.
In response to your comment on body fluid donation. First things first – this ban on blood and sperm donation by gay isn’t a Singapore thing. The “progressive” United States only just very recently removed the ban. Check this out. It’s not new.
In Singapore’s case we are slow in catching up but with reason – the government has been alerted to a statistical increase in aids within the gay community and no thinking person would relinquish the ban. I try to speak with logic here, assuming the POV of a person with governmental powers. The gay community has hit back but the numbers are worrying. I am not writing in defense of the government but i implore for common sense. Singapore isn’t going to change overnight, not especially when the gay community here is only just establishing itself into the mainstream, ie. a recognised/acknowledged group of people unlike before, when GLBT was an underground movement. The fact that spaces like Fridae and Sayoni can be set up without reprieve is already a step forward for the community. More and more homosexual men and women are going to be “initiated” into the community and statistically speaking, so will the number of Aids cases involving gay men or even woman. (larger dating/cruising pool, more meat to catch mah..)
In the case of spousal rights for gay couples, i believe that Singapore isn’t ready for it. Times are changing but now isn’t the time. The youth are accepting of homosexuality, by and large by the normalising of homosexuality in the media, especially the internet. Again, slowly but surely, slowly but surely. One day, but not today.
It’s great that there are various spaces to meet the needs of the gay community in Singapore – Fridae and HerStory for lifestyle, PLU and co. for support and activism. No need for dramatics, our time will come soon, but not today. Criminalising of gay sex has already been struck down in HK and Fiji, and i think that’s a first step to acknowledging homosexual coupling as legal. The judiciary system in Singapore? I’m not sure how it works, but it’s slow and we’ll bid our time.
jade said,
March 28, 2006 at 11:26 pm
*bide* not bid.
encloset said,
March 30, 2006 at 2:38 am
Yup, yup – a lot of issues, a lot of angles to consider…
*lays out the map of the world and plays chak chak kuti*
*sighs*
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