Aware Showdown
ACT 2
A NIGHT OF EMOTION
MOST HATED
Feminist Mentor no more
She called herself 'lion-hearted', yet was booed whenever she took the mike. Was Dr Thio Su Mien the mentor she claimed, or was she, as some say, simply patronising?
THE loudest jeers were reserved for feminist mentor Dr Thio Su Mien.
04 May 2009
THE loudest jeers were reserved for feminist mentor Dr Thio Su Mien.
Whenever she tried to take the floor, the audience would drown her out.
When Dr Thio came on the first time, the boos got so bad that a group of security guards started surrounding her, as if afraid the raucous crowd was going to pounce onher.
Dr Thio looked angry but took the mike anyway. She spoke about herself and her qualifications, including her position as the first female law dean in Singapore.
She brought with her a copy of the Aware book, Small Steps Giant Leaps: A History Of Aware And The Women's Movement In Singapore, in which she was featured.
She proudly held the book up, declaring herself a 'lion-hearted pioneer' and taunted the audience, saying that they should tear up the book since she was in it.
'Shut up!' the crowd screamed.
Dr Thio snapped back: 'You have no respect for your elders.'
Louder boos.
She added: 'You were falling asleep, you were not interested in your organisation...'
This riled the crowd further, who yelled that her three minutes of airtime was up.
Then she went back to her seat, which was in the front row of the stage.
She was seated next to Mrs Jean Marshall, 83, wife of the late David Marshall, Singapore's first chief minister. Mrs Marshall was there to support the old guard.
Later, Dr Thio sought the mike. Again, boos. The audience yelled as she tried to wrestle the mike from an Aware member who had been lining up to speak for some time.
She was told by other members to queue up like the rest did.
After some wrangling, Dr Thio finally got the mike. She went on to talk about Aware's constitution and why it should be adhered to.
'The constitution gives legitimacy and you need to be law-abiding,' she said.
Some members of the audience turned to each other and were overheard saying: 'That was so patronising'.
But after the vote of no confidence was announced in which the old guard won overwhelmingly, the confidence and aggression Dr Thio had displayed earlier faded.
Indeed, she appeared as if the wind had been knocked out of her sails.
In her final parting shot before she left, Dr Thio told The New Paper on Sunday: 'If they are happy for Singapore to be like this, then so be it.
'Let everything take its course.'
With that, she disappeared with the rest of her defeated exco.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28274.112
Monday, May 4, 2009
Aware: Seven-hour drama ends in dump
| Aware Showdown ACT 1 | |||||
| A DAY OF DECISION Seven-hour drama ends in dump | |||||
| Quietly, they entered the Aware fray, unaware of the drama they were about to cause. And last night, the new guard of Aware left (for a moment) as steathily as they had come, via the back door | |||||
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AT a hidden spot of Suntec City, the Feminist Mentor led her flock into a cargo lift.
The dirt-caked metal grill doors rumbled shut as a red siren sounded, and the women disappeared.
For a while, it seemed that was how the Aware saga would end.
Minutes earlier, the new exco had been handed a no-confidence vote. It was then given an ultimatum: Quit in five minutes.
But for almost half an hour, the new exco was nowhere to be seen.
And as reporters waited outside the cargo lift where they disappeared into, amid the forklifts, humming of machinery and faint smell of trash, the loud cheers of a crowd baying for blood floated in from the doorway leading to Hall 402.
For a while, it seemed they had left for good - as quietly as they had arrived.
In a night of high drama, this was the pivotal scene few saw.
They saw the taunts, the cheers, the shouting matches played out over microphones and giant speakers.
Some had queued for four hours to get in.
The women came - in matronly frocks and sultry black numbers, in tattoos and permed hair.
Inside the sprawling hall, the women took the nice green seats down the middle. The men, who had no voting rights, were relegated to one side on white plastic chairs.
'Wah, this is like a Muslim event man... girls one side and boys one side!' one usher quipped.
As soothing lounge music played, the audience sat awkwardly in their chairs, not sure if the one they're brushing elbows with was a friend or enemy.
Amid the sea of women, a shiny bald head stood out.
'Mr Siew Kum Hong (the Nominated Member of Parliament), can we request that you move to the men's section,' said president Josie Lau, as she opened the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).
Her request was immediately greeted by loud boos and taunts.
A grim-faced aunty clapped her hands furiously, trying to drown out the nubile young lass beside her waving a stalk of sunflower like a flag.
Ms Lau tried to control the commotion, shouting into the microphone repeatedly: 'Quiet, please!'.
The audience broke into boisterous chants instead.
The old guard explained that Mr Siew was there as a legal advisor to them, but the new exco wouldn't budge.
'There is nothing in the constitution that designates seats,' protested a member of the old guard.
Mr Siew was finally allowed to stay. The crowd almost brought the house down.
It was Old Guard 1, New Guard 0.
The opening salvo set the tone for the EGM, with one side booing when the other side cheered.
There was hooting, screaming and taunts bordering on racial slurs and religious insults.
The first half hour went past like this, with angry shrill voices blasting from the speakers.
'Escort them out!' shouted Ms Lau, referring to the hecklers.
In front of the angry crowd, the Aetos auxiliary policemen moved half-heartedly, unsure of who to obey.
Amid the impasse, an elderly usher, already bored, made a shadow of a dog on one of the projector screens and giggled to himself.
When a relative calm finally settled, Ms Lau proceeded with her speech.
But its content, mostly a rehash of what she has already publicly said, got the impatient crowd riled up again.
War of words
'Can you please listen? Can I say something? Can we move on? You are missing the point!'
These were the most often-heard phrases amid the war of words. For the men in the hall, it must have seemed familiar.
They took a back seat, making the occasional boo or cheer when it was safe to do so. But a few good men waded right in.
'I paid $40 to come here...' one man began, calling for calm. 'At an EGM, you follow the agenda strictly. We can debate until 10pm if you want. There are 3,000 of you here.'
But his voice was lost in the chorus of women's fury.
Another man put himself in the line of fire, pleading: 'Let's be sensible!'
A woman jumped to her feet, crying out: 'Emotional is not irrational!'
The liberals made their voice heard. It was harder to pick out the supporters of the new exco, who sat mostly silent, waiting for opportune times to clap furiously in support.
As the hours went by, the EGM descended into an open mike night, with long lines forming at the microphones, each spouting their displeasure, at times rousing, at times poetic.
Through it all, Ms Lau sat slouched on stage, her face radiating a zen peace.
At the front rows, the old guard sat smugly with equally serene smiles.
Through the war, a baby lay sound asleep in his mother's arms at the back of the hall, somehow oblivious to it all.
A woman fished out a novel, Marley And Me, from her handbag, and was soon engrossed in it.
In a less happy position was Mr Gregory Vijayendran, a partner of Rajah and Tann, legal advisor to Ms Lau's team.
He sat at a table below the stage - just 2m from the angry women taking turns at the microphone - stoically, unblinkingly, his hands clasped in front of him, still as a statue.
Nearly seven hours later, it all came to an end. And when it did, it was thankfully civil.
You have been wonderful people, the old guard told the new exco.
'But you have five minutes (to step down).'
Thank you, Ms Lau replied sweetly.
And after a time-out with their mentor in the dump, they returned - and bowed out.
NG TZE YONG, SHREE ANN MATHAVAN, BENSON ANG
and PEARLY TAN
When Margie riled Sally
A HEATED exchange broke out within the first hour when founding member and ex-vice president Margaret Thomas, 57, took the floor to speak, to respond to Ms Josie Lau.
Ms Lau was defending her decision to be on Aware's committee, but Ms Thomas interjected: 'Point of order Josie, I'm sorry but you're over your three minutes.'
A visibly-angry Sally Ang, the outgoing assistant honorary secretary, shouted: 'Shut up and sit down.' Ms Ang's outcry drew loud shouts of 'You shut up' from the audience. Many stood up in protest.
There were also cries for Ms Ang to be escorted out. Ms Lau apologised. After more screaming from the audience, Ms Ang relented. She said: 'I offer my apology but I hope that everyone gives the president a chance to speak without being interrupted.'
'Don't harass me, I'm just a man'
AMID the emotion and anger, there were moments of levity.
One such moment was provided by 'concerned father' Marshall Lee.
The father of three daughters began his turn on the floor by paying tribute to the previous exco's ex-president Constance Singam.
He admired her for her smile and how nurturing she was, just like 'his own mother', he said.
As the crowd turned restless and jeered him, he went on to say bizarrely: 'I'm only a man, not a woman. I'm just a man don't harass me.'
Shortly after, one of the volunteers presented him with a sunflower, perhaps as a gesture before leading him off the floor.
He then insisted on giving this same flower to Ms Singam, who accepted it after some persuasion.
Red, white and new
COLOUR-coded camps aren't confined to Thai politics. Yesterday at Suntec City, those at the EGM, too, showed their colours.
The new guard wore red; those who supported the previous committee and old guard wore white.
Before the meeting started, white shirts were seen at the escalators distributing We Are Aware packages which included a list stating why a no confidence vote should be carried.
They also distributed sandwiches and bottled water to the crowds, some of whom had queued for over an hour for the EGM.
During the meeting, the white shirts were more vocal, shouting in support whenever members of the old guard took to the mike. Supporters of the new guard showed support quietly, by clapping when their committee made a point they agreed with.
300
Number of members before saga
3,000
Number of members after saga
65%
Members voted against new exco
35%
Members voted for the new exco |
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28274.110
AWARE old guard makes new blood a priority
AWARE old guard makes new blood a priority
SINGAPORE : No meeting date has been set, but the old guard AWARE executive committee - voted back into power two days ago - has set out its priorities.
Top of which is how to manage its now-swollen base of around 3,000 members, many of whom joined only in the days leading up to the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Saturday.
“There’s so much more we can do now because we have so many more people … we will look at how to extend the use of new media and engage younger people,” AWARE’s new president, 57-year-old Dana Lam, said on Sunday. She was speaking on Talking Point on MediaCorp TV Channel 5, and to TODAY. Ms Lam said there is “a heavy responsibility now” to keep the new members interested.
Exco member Margaret Thomas told TODAY that managing the membership is now the “biggest challenge” for AWARE. “We have to get in touch and find out more their interests,” said Ms Thomas, 57, an AWARE founder member.
What the Exco won’t be doing though, is to change the direction of the 24-year-old advocacy group.
“I don’t expect us to be in great hurry to go in new directions. There are very good programmes in place,” Ms Lam told TODAY. “(These) will carry on.”
Different views will be taken on board, but they will have to be taken into context, added Ms Thomas.
“If we do something that the majority of people feel is wrong, we will consider what is wrong and needs to be changed. But just because someone barks, it does not mean that you change your path.”
An immediate task is to arrange for a handover and retrieve official documents from the previous team, as well as restore confidence with AWARE’s sponsors and programme users. “One of the first things might be to contact our subcommittees chairs and restore them in their position,” said Ms Lam.
On the S$90,000 supposedly spent by the previous Exco, Ms Lam said: “It’s a little too early for us to comment on (talk of a law suit). We have to go into the office and look at what has actually been going on before we make a decision.”
Correcting certain impressions of AWARE brought on by the saga is another priority.
For one of the six new faces on the 12-woman committee, Ms Hafizah Osman, content development manager of Mocca.com, the task ahead is to “get back on track” and “ensure that the passion and commitment (at the EGM) … are captured and harnessed for AWARE”.
The leadership coup had made the 39-year-old mother of two young children “sit up” and take on an active role. With women from different races and religions on the new committee, she is “confident” that AWARE “will be able to hear the different voices in society”.
As for criticism that AWARE has not been organised, Ms Lam said this is inaccurate. “We don’t have enough volunteers, we may be a little slack in the administration. It has always been difficult to get busy people to give us the time, and advocacy is not a very popular kind of thing to do.”
The loopholes in the constitution - that enabled the takeover on March 28 - were already in the process of being thought out.
“We were not fast enough to put it into fact. What are the lessons learnt? I think we have to be more vigilant … Of course, we are now going to look at that and change the locks on our back doors.”
- TODAY/il
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.215
SINGAPORE : No meeting date has been set, but the old guard AWARE executive committee - voted back into power two days ago - has set out its priorities.
Top of which is how to manage its now-swollen base of around 3,000 members, many of whom joined only in the days leading up to the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Saturday.
“There’s so much more we can do now because we have so many more people … we will look at how to extend the use of new media and engage younger people,” AWARE’s new president, 57-year-old Dana Lam, said on Sunday. She was speaking on Talking Point on MediaCorp TV Channel 5, and to TODAY. Ms Lam said there is “a heavy responsibility now” to keep the new members interested.
Exco member Margaret Thomas told TODAY that managing the membership is now the “biggest challenge” for AWARE. “We have to get in touch and find out more their interests,” said Ms Thomas, 57, an AWARE founder member.
What the Exco won’t be doing though, is to change the direction of the 24-year-old advocacy group.
“I don’t expect us to be in great hurry to go in new directions. There are very good programmes in place,” Ms Lam told TODAY. “(These) will carry on.”
Different views will be taken on board, but they will have to be taken into context, added Ms Thomas.
“If we do something that the majority of people feel is wrong, we will consider what is wrong and needs to be changed. But just because someone barks, it does not mean that you change your path.”
An immediate task is to arrange for a handover and retrieve official documents from the previous team, as well as restore confidence with AWARE’s sponsors and programme users. “One of the first things might be to contact our subcommittees chairs and restore them in their position,” said Ms Lam.
On the S$90,000 supposedly spent by the previous Exco, Ms Lam said: “It’s a little too early for us to comment on (talk of a law suit). We have to go into the office and look at what has actually been going on before we make a decision.”
Correcting certain impressions of AWARE brought on by the saga is another priority.
For one of the six new faces on the 12-woman committee, Ms Hafizah Osman, content development manager of Mocca.com, the task ahead is to “get back on track” and “ensure that the passion and commitment (at the EGM) … are captured and harnessed for AWARE”.
The leadership coup had made the 39-year-old mother of two young children “sit up” and take on an active role. With women from different races and religions on the new committee, she is “confident” that AWARE “will be able to hear the different voices in society”.
As for criticism that AWARE has not been organised, Ms Lam said this is inaccurate. “We don’t have enough volunteers, we may be a little slack in the administration. It has always been difficult to get busy people to give us the time, and advocacy is not a very popular kind of thing to do.”
The loopholes in the constitution - that enabled the takeover on March 28 - were already in the process of being thought out.
“We were not fast enough to put it into fact. What are the lessons learnt? I think we have to be more vigilant … Of course, we are now going to look at that and change the locks on our back doors.”
- TODAY/il
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.215
How to lose an EGM vote
How to lose an EGM vote
SINGAPORE: Did their inexperience and naiveness, or perhaps their under-estimation of the competition, contribute to the downfall of Aware’s new guard team on Saturday night?
The first time round, the old guard and their supporters were caught sleeping, but at Saturday’s extraordinary general meeting of the Association of Women for Action and Research, they were out in full force to turn the tables on the new Executive Committee that had pulled off a shock takeover a month ago.
The veterans came out with guns blazing, as they shot question after question that left Ms Josie Lau and her team on the defensive for the most part of the six-hour marathon session.
The new guard had come prepared with power point slides and introductory speeches — but the crowd would not listen. Their quiet, reserved voices were no match for the fiery passion of the other side.
They had no track record to fall back on — when they instead did a presentation of Aware’s past achievements, this drew thanks from the Old Guard for highlighting their work.
As one veteran Aware member even told them, if the new team wanted to present their case, they should have, like the Old Guard, prepared supporters to take the microphone.
Instead, the new guard’s main defender was self-declared “feminist mentor” Thio Su Mien, whom they introduced as someone who would “give a more balanced view”.
Suffice to say, this did not go down well with the crowd. They barely listened to Dr Thio, showering her instead with jeers.
Did the young Exco lose the vote in part because they were not truly prepared for the showdown?
Were they over-confident of controlling the crowd? Did they believe they could set the agenda for the day without contest?
Perhaps, they underestimated the boldness of the other group, which had supporters such as Nominated Member of Parliament Siew Kum Hong, newly-proposed NMP and theatre director Loretta Chen, and Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics president Bridget Lew.
Ms Rose Tan, a new Aware member and chairman of a public relations company, observed that the new guard team were “six nice ladies” but “inexperienced and not ready” to lead Aware.
Just look at the veteran civil rights advocates they were up against, she pointed out. Past presidents Dana Lam and Constance Singam; founding member and ex-journalist Margaret Thomas, just to name some.
It even seemed like members from the floor were giving the Exco a lesson on running a civil society group. Why, for instance, didn’t the Exco seek pro-bono help in holding the EGM, instead of paying for everything?
Did they realise, when they installed CCTVs in the Aware headquarters, that this would hinder women going in to seek help and compromise the privacy of volunteers?
But perhaps, Saturday’s outcome was already decided before the EGM.
Many who turned up were self-confessed supporters of Aware’s “old guard” era.
Others came because they had read media reports on how the new team had “infiltrated” Aware with their allegedly anti-gay and religious stance, and wanted to tick them off.
One giveaway sign: Even before the arguments were made, some Aware members were already seen checking off their voting slips. - TODAY/fa
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.214
SINGAPORE: Did their inexperience and naiveness, or perhaps their under-estimation of the competition, contribute to the downfall of Aware’s new guard team on Saturday night?
The first time round, the old guard and their supporters were caught sleeping, but at Saturday’s extraordinary general meeting of the Association of Women for Action and Research, they were out in full force to turn the tables on the new Executive Committee that had pulled off a shock takeover a month ago.
The veterans came out with guns blazing, as they shot question after question that left Ms Josie Lau and her team on the defensive for the most part of the six-hour marathon session.
The new guard had come prepared with power point slides and introductory speeches — but the crowd would not listen. Their quiet, reserved voices were no match for the fiery passion of the other side.
They had no track record to fall back on — when they instead did a presentation of Aware’s past achievements, this drew thanks from the Old Guard for highlighting their work.
As one veteran Aware member even told them, if the new team wanted to present their case, they should have, like the Old Guard, prepared supporters to take the microphone.
Instead, the new guard’s main defender was self-declared “feminist mentor” Thio Su Mien, whom they introduced as someone who would “give a more balanced view”.
Suffice to say, this did not go down well with the crowd. They barely listened to Dr Thio, showering her instead with jeers.
Did the young Exco lose the vote in part because they were not truly prepared for the showdown?
Were they over-confident of controlling the crowd? Did they believe they could set the agenda for the day without contest?
Perhaps, they underestimated the boldness of the other group, which had supporters such as Nominated Member of Parliament Siew Kum Hong, newly-proposed NMP and theatre director Loretta Chen, and Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics president Bridget Lew.
Ms Rose Tan, a new Aware member and chairman of a public relations company, observed that the new guard team were “six nice ladies” but “inexperienced and not ready” to lead Aware.
Just look at the veteran civil rights advocates they were up against, she pointed out. Past presidents Dana Lam and Constance Singam; founding member and ex-journalist Margaret Thomas, just to name some.
It even seemed like members from the floor were giving the Exco a lesson on running a civil society group. Why, for instance, didn’t the Exco seek pro-bono help in holding the EGM, instead of paying for everything?
Did they realise, when they installed CCTVs in the Aware headquarters, that this would hinder women going in to seek help and compromise the privacy of volunteers?
But perhaps, Saturday’s outcome was already decided before the EGM.
Many who turned up were self-confessed supporters of Aware’s “old guard” era.
Others came because they had read media reports on how the new team had “infiltrated” Aware with their allegedly anti-gay and religious stance, and wanted to tick them off.
One giveaway sign: Even before the arguments were made, some Aware members were already seen checking off their voting slips. - TODAY/fa
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.214
A NIGHT OF EMOTION: Feminist Mentor no more
A NIGHT OF EMOTION: Feminist Mentor no more
She called herself ‘lion-hearted’, yet was booed whenever she took the mike. Was Dr Thio Su Mien the mentor she claimed, or was she, as some say, simply patronising?
THE loudest jeers were reserved for feminist mentor Dr Thio Su Mien.
Whenever she tried to take the floor, the audience would drown her out.
When Dr Thio came on the first time, the boos got so bad that a group of security guards started surrounding her, as if afraid the raucous crowd was going to pounce onher.
Dr Thio looked angry but took the mike anyway. She spoke about herself and her qualifications, including her position as the first female law dean in Singapore.
She brought with her a copy of the Aware book, Small Steps Giant Leaps: A History Of Aware And The Women’s Movement In Singapore, in which she was featured.
She proudly held the book up, declaring herself a ‘lion-hearted pioneer’ and taunted the audience, saying that they should tear up the book since she was in it.
‘Shut up!’ the crowd screamed.
Dr Thio snapped back: ‘You have no respect for your elders.’
Louder boos.
She added: ‘You were falling asleep, you were not interested in your organisation…’
This riled the crowd further, who yelled that her three minutes of airtime was up.
Then she went back to her seat, which was in the front row of the stage.
She was seated next to Mrs Jean Marshall, 83, wife of the late David Marshall, Singapore’s first chief minister. Mrs Marshall was there to support the old guard.
Later, Dr Thio sought the mike. Again, boos. The audience yelled as she tried to wrestle the mike from an Aware member who had been lining up to speak for some time.
She was told by other members to queue up like the rest did.
After some wrangling, Dr Thio finally got the mike. She went on to talk about Aware’s constitution and why it should be adhered to.
‘The constitution gives legitimacy and you need to be law-abiding,’ she said.
Some members of the audience turned to each other and were overheard saying: ‘That was so patronising’.
But after the vote of no confidence was announced in which the old guard won overwhelmingly, the confidence and aggression Dr Thio had displayed earlier faded.
Indeed, she appeared as if the wind had been knocked out of her sails.
In her final parting shot before she left, Dr Thio told The New Paper on Sunday: ‘If they are happy for Singapore to be like this, then so be it.
‘Let everything take its course.’
With that, she disappeared with the rest of her defeated exco.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.213
She called herself ‘lion-hearted’, yet was booed whenever she took the mike. Was Dr Thio Su Mien the mentor she claimed, or was she, as some say, simply patronising?
THE loudest jeers were reserved for feminist mentor Dr Thio Su Mien.
Whenever she tried to take the floor, the audience would drown her out.
When Dr Thio came on the first time, the boos got so bad that a group of security guards started surrounding her, as if afraid the raucous crowd was going to pounce onher.
Dr Thio looked angry but took the mike anyway. She spoke about herself and her qualifications, including her position as the first female law dean in Singapore.
She brought with her a copy of the Aware book, Small Steps Giant Leaps: A History Of Aware And The Women’s Movement In Singapore, in which she was featured.
She proudly held the book up, declaring herself a ‘lion-hearted pioneer’ and taunted the audience, saying that they should tear up the book since she was in it.
‘Shut up!’ the crowd screamed.
Dr Thio snapped back: ‘You have no respect for your elders.’
Louder boos.
She added: ‘You were falling asleep, you were not interested in your organisation…’
This riled the crowd further, who yelled that her three minutes of airtime was up.
Then she went back to her seat, which was in the front row of the stage.
She was seated next to Mrs Jean Marshall, 83, wife of the late David Marshall, Singapore’s first chief minister. Mrs Marshall was there to support the old guard.
Later, Dr Thio sought the mike. Again, boos. The audience yelled as she tried to wrestle the mike from an Aware member who had been lining up to speak for some time.
She was told by other members to queue up like the rest did.
After some wrangling, Dr Thio finally got the mike. She went on to talk about Aware’s constitution and why it should be adhered to.
‘The constitution gives legitimacy and you need to be law-abiding,’ she said.
Some members of the audience turned to each other and were overheard saying: ‘That was so patronising’.
But after the vote of no confidence was announced in which the old guard won overwhelmingly, the confidence and aggression Dr Thio had displayed earlier faded.
Indeed, she appeared as if the wind had been knocked out of her sails.
In her final parting shot before she left, Dr Thio told The New Paper on Sunday: ‘If they are happy for Singapore to be like this, then so be it.
‘Let everything take its course.’
With that, she disappeared with the rest of her defeated exco.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.213
AWARE SHOWDOWN: Religious leaders back Archbishop
AWARE SHOWDOWN: Religious leaders back Archbishop
By Aaron Low
Key religious leaders in Singapore have thrown their backing behind the Anglican Archbishop’s stand that churches - and religious bodies in general - should stay out of the affairs of secular organisations.
Leaders of Buddhist, Taoist, Catholic and Protestant bodies said they agreed with Dr John Chew’s statement that the pulpit should not be used to push social or political causes.
They declare that secular organisations should stay secular, while religious organisations that want to propagate their beliefs should do so to their own members.
‘We feel that organisations which are meant to be secular in nature, to better serve the general public, should always be kept secular, while other organisations with non-secular or religious stances are free to propagate them to their own members,’ said Venerable Kwang Sheng, president of the Singapore Buddhist Federation.
‘It is best that members of a secular society be always mindful of the objectives of the society, and to respect secular points of view, so as to foster harmony for society at large,’ he added.
Archbishop John Chew, who is head of the local Anglican diocese as well as president of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS), issued a statement on Thursday saying the NCCS does not condone churches getting involved in the leadership tussle at the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware).
This came about a few days after Pastor Derek Hong of the Anglican Church of Our Saviour urged the women in his flock to support the new leaders at Aware, most of whom attend his church.
One of his statements during that Sunday sermon - ‘It’s not a crusade against the people, but there’s a line that God has drawn for us and we don’t want our nation crossing that line’ - caused many ripples of concern among Singaporeans.
Pastor Hong issued a statement on Friday saying he regretted his actions on the pulpit and that he would be ‘more sensitive to similar situations in future’.
On Saturday, the head of the local Catholic Church, Archbishop Nicholas Chia, weighed in on the issue.
Responding to The Sunday Times, he too stressed the importance of drawing a clear line between secular and religious organisations.
While religious organisations can give their opinions on secular organisations,’we don’t go into their affairs’, he said.
He added: ‘Aware is secular. If there are issues, the Government can look into it. If it is a religious organisation within the church, we will handle it.’
The head of the Taoist Mission, Reverend Master Lee Zhiwang, told The Sunday Times: ‘Secular organisations should be run based on what’s best for the people, including respect for individuals’ religion and values.’
‘Religious groups should not be involved in this matter. Let members of Aware resolve their own issues,’ he added.
Even as these religious leaders spoke out against interfering in the affairs of secular organisations, however, other religious organisations preferred to let their silence speak.
The City Harvest Church, a Protestant church with 24,000 members in Singapore, reflected a sentiment common among many of the 30-plus church groups contacted by The Sunday Times yesterday when it said: ‘We feel the Aware matters should be resolved internally by their own members. We are not in a position to comment.’
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.212
By Aaron Low
Key religious leaders in Singapore have thrown their backing behind the Anglican Archbishop’s stand that churches - and religious bodies in general - should stay out of the affairs of secular organisations.
Leaders of Buddhist, Taoist, Catholic and Protestant bodies said they agreed with Dr John Chew’s statement that the pulpit should not be used to push social or political causes.
They declare that secular organisations should stay secular, while religious organisations that want to propagate their beliefs should do so to their own members.
‘We feel that organisations which are meant to be secular in nature, to better serve the general public, should always be kept secular, while other organisations with non-secular or religious stances are free to propagate them to their own members,’ said Venerable Kwang Sheng, president of the Singapore Buddhist Federation.
‘It is best that members of a secular society be always mindful of the objectives of the society, and to respect secular points of view, so as to foster harmony for society at large,’ he added.
Archbishop John Chew, who is head of the local Anglican diocese as well as president of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS), issued a statement on Thursday saying the NCCS does not condone churches getting involved in the leadership tussle at the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware).
This came about a few days after Pastor Derek Hong of the Anglican Church of Our Saviour urged the women in his flock to support the new leaders at Aware, most of whom attend his church.
One of his statements during that Sunday sermon - ‘It’s not a crusade against the people, but there’s a line that God has drawn for us and we don’t want our nation crossing that line’ - caused many ripples of concern among Singaporeans.
Pastor Hong issued a statement on Friday saying he regretted his actions on the pulpit and that he would be ‘more sensitive to similar situations in future’.
On Saturday, the head of the local Catholic Church, Archbishop Nicholas Chia, weighed in on the issue.
Responding to The Sunday Times, he too stressed the importance of drawing a clear line between secular and religious organisations.
While religious organisations can give their opinions on secular organisations,’we don’t go into their affairs’, he said.
He added: ‘Aware is secular. If there are issues, the Government can look into it. If it is a religious organisation within the church, we will handle it.’
The head of the Taoist Mission, Reverend Master Lee Zhiwang, told The Sunday Times: ‘Secular organisations should be run based on what’s best for the people, including respect for individuals’ religion and values.’
‘Religious groups should not be involved in this matter. Let members of Aware resolve their own issues,’ he added.
Even as these religious leaders spoke out against interfering in the affairs of secular organisations, however, other religious organisations preferred to let their silence speak.
The City Harvest Church, a Protestant church with 24,000 members in Singapore, reflected a sentiment common among many of the 30-plus church groups contacted by The Sunday Times yesterday when it said: ‘We feel the Aware matters should be resolved internally by their own members. We are not in a position to comment.’
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Men play active role in meeting
Men play active role in meeting
It was a women’s meet but the issue of men came to the fore repeatedly.
Barely minutes after the meeting started yesterday, a woman raised an objection.
She asked: Why was Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong, a man, allowed to be seated on the right side of the hall, a section reserved for women who were eligible to vote.
Like ordinary members, men can pay $40 annually to join the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) as associate members, but they have no voting rights and cannot be elected to the executive committee.
Even so, about 300 or so men - many of whom signed up on the spot - attended yesterday’s meeting. They sat on the left side of the hall together with foreign women, who were also not allowed to vote.
While the crowd rumbled with cheers and jeers, Mr Siew remained in his seat in the fifth row, unflinching. A member from the old guard clarified that Mr Siew, who joined Aware last October, served as its legal adviser and should be allowed to remain. The grumbles then died down and the meeting started.
Although the atmosphere among the men in the crowd was calm at first, it grew more lively as the afternoon passed. Several chuckled when the Aware exco members exchanged sharp remarks with female members on the floor.
‘She was a man in her previous life. Short and sharp,’ joked one man loudly when Ms Josie Lau addressed the audience, causing several men around him to snigger.
There were generally two types of men: Young, articulate men in their 20s or 30s who went to see the issues of civil society being discussed, and men in their 40s to 50s who were mostly fathers and went with their wives.
About two-thirds of the men seemed to be supporters of the old guard. They cheered and pumped their fists when anyone made rebuttals to the points laid out by the team led by Ms Lau. Some heckled and booed as passionately as the women.
‘You should get out,’ yelled one man to Ms Lau’s team.
At one point, the men broke into sonorous chants of ‘Where were you?’ when former Aware president Constance Singam asked Ms Lau’s team where it had been in the group’s two decades of existence.
Several men also volunteered as ushers, helping with registration and the distribution of free bottles of water, sandwiches and flowers.
Some men arrived after 3pm and were not allowed to register and denied entry. They kept vigil outside the hall.
‘It’s very frustrating to hear loud cheers and noise inside and be able to only peep through the door cracks,’ said fresh graduate Ed Chan, 30, who stood by the entrance for more than seven hours.
Those who supported the veteran Aware members generally wore white T-shirts with the words ‘We are Aware’ printed in red.
Those who supported MsLau’s committee wore red shirts with the word ‘Aware’ printed in black.
Analyst C.F. Lam, 47, who was wearing a red shirt, said he was attending the meet ‘to defend family values’.
Referring to Aware’s Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programme, which Ms Lau’s team had criticised for promoting homosexuality, he said: ‘I pay taxes and I want to know what my children are being taught in school. If they are being taught the wrong things, we should speak up.’
Another father, Mr Farid Hamid, 45, took a different stance.
Addressing the crowd during the question-and-answer session held while the votes were being counted, he identified himself as a Muslim father of three girls.
He said he would be ‘proud’ for his teenage daughters to go through the CSE programme as ‘they need to make informed choices, not submit to dogma’.
The issue of male membership was also brought up for scrutiny.
On the accusation that the inclusion of male members has become a mask for male homosexual activists to forward their cause, former chairman of Aware’s male chapter, Mr Tan Wah Kiat, 37, said: ‘The only masks I wear are SKIIs (facial masks) and I share those with my wife.’
In response, Ms Lau turned to the exco’s appointed legal counsel from Rajah & Tann and asked if the Aware Constitution provided for a men’s chapter.
When the lawyer said it did not, former Aware president Braema Mathi replied that ‘there are feminist men today’ and that ‘they should be equal partners in the feminist movement’.
But not all the talk was serious.
Several men who took the microphone also elicited much laughter and jeers.
One joked that he was inspired by the meeting to ‘write a book and call it Women Are From Mars And Men Are From Venus’.
Trainer Marshall Lee, 47, said of the heated atmosphere: ‘One woman I was sitting next to hissed at me as though she was Catwoman. I feel so harassed. Don’t harass me. I am only a man.’
debyong@sph.com.sg
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.211
It was a women’s meet but the issue of men came to the fore repeatedly.
Barely minutes after the meeting started yesterday, a woman raised an objection.
She asked: Why was Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong, a man, allowed to be seated on the right side of the hall, a section reserved for women who were eligible to vote.
Like ordinary members, men can pay $40 annually to join the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) as associate members, but they have no voting rights and cannot be elected to the executive committee.
Even so, about 300 or so men - many of whom signed up on the spot - attended yesterday’s meeting. They sat on the left side of the hall together with foreign women, who were also not allowed to vote.
While the crowd rumbled with cheers and jeers, Mr Siew remained in his seat in the fifth row, unflinching. A member from the old guard clarified that Mr Siew, who joined Aware last October, served as its legal adviser and should be allowed to remain. The grumbles then died down and the meeting started.
Although the atmosphere among the men in the crowd was calm at first, it grew more lively as the afternoon passed. Several chuckled when the Aware exco members exchanged sharp remarks with female members on the floor.
‘She was a man in her previous life. Short and sharp,’ joked one man loudly when Ms Josie Lau addressed the audience, causing several men around him to snigger.
There were generally two types of men: Young, articulate men in their 20s or 30s who went to see the issues of civil society being discussed, and men in their 40s to 50s who were mostly fathers and went with their wives.
About two-thirds of the men seemed to be supporters of the old guard. They cheered and pumped their fists when anyone made rebuttals to the points laid out by the team led by Ms Lau. Some heckled and booed as passionately as the women.
‘You should get out,’ yelled one man to Ms Lau’s team.
At one point, the men broke into sonorous chants of ‘Where were you?’ when former Aware president Constance Singam asked Ms Lau’s team where it had been in the group’s two decades of existence.
Several men also volunteered as ushers, helping with registration and the distribution of free bottles of water, sandwiches and flowers.
Some men arrived after 3pm and were not allowed to register and denied entry. They kept vigil outside the hall.
‘It’s very frustrating to hear loud cheers and noise inside and be able to only peep through the door cracks,’ said fresh graduate Ed Chan, 30, who stood by the entrance for more than seven hours.
Those who supported the veteran Aware members generally wore white T-shirts with the words ‘We are Aware’ printed in red.
Those who supported MsLau’s committee wore red shirts with the word ‘Aware’ printed in black.
Analyst C.F. Lam, 47, who was wearing a red shirt, said he was attending the meet ‘to defend family values’.
Referring to Aware’s Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programme, which Ms Lau’s team had criticised for promoting homosexuality, he said: ‘I pay taxes and I want to know what my children are being taught in school. If they are being taught the wrong things, we should speak up.’
Another father, Mr Farid Hamid, 45, took a different stance.
Addressing the crowd during the question-and-answer session held while the votes were being counted, he identified himself as a Muslim father of three girls.
He said he would be ‘proud’ for his teenage daughters to go through the CSE programme as ‘they need to make informed choices, not submit to dogma’.
The issue of male membership was also brought up for scrutiny.
On the accusation that the inclusion of male members has become a mask for male homosexual activists to forward their cause, former chairman of Aware’s male chapter, Mr Tan Wah Kiat, 37, said: ‘The only masks I wear are SKIIs (facial masks) and I share those with my wife.’
In response, Ms Lau turned to the exco’s appointed legal counsel from Rajah & Tann and asked if the Aware Constitution provided for a men’s chapter.
When the lawyer said it did not, former Aware president Braema Mathi replied that ‘there are feminist men today’ and that ‘they should be equal partners in the feminist movement’.
But not all the talk was serious.
Several men who took the microphone also elicited much laughter and jeers.
One joked that he was inspired by the meeting to ‘write a book and call it Women Are From Mars And Men Are From Venus’.
Trainer Marshall Lee, 47, said of the heated atmosphere: ‘One woman I was sitting next to hissed at me as though she was Catwoman. I feel so harassed. Don’t harass me. I am only a man.’
debyong@sph.com.sg
http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=28024.211
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