In “Activists dismiss Singapore gay sex ban repeal” (Report, August 23) you chose to focus on and even accentuate divisions, rather than our efforts to find common ground.
For example, the statement by the 22 LGBT+ groups you cited did not just regret the continued illegality of same-sex marriage.
It also welcomed the repeal of Section 377A of the Singapore penal code, which criminalises sex between men, as a “historic milestone”.
Most Singaporeans now accept LGBT+ people and believe that decriminalising sex between men is the right thing to do. But most also believe marriage should be between a man and a woman.
We are amending our constitution to ensure same-sex marriage cannot become legal through a court challenge. It can only happen if one day parliament legislates to allow it.
The current ruling party has said it will not do this, but neither will it tie the hands of future parliaments. Surely that is how parliamentary democracy should work?
Section 377A is indeed a “colonial-era law” imposed by Britain — first in India in 1837, and later all over its empire, including Singapore.
Similar laws persist in the majority of countries in the Commonwealth, and LGBT+ rights remain divisive issues in many societies, including in Britain.
The Church of England, for example, is deeply divided over same-sex marriage.
Last month, in an address to more than 650 bishops attending the once-a-decade Lambeth conference, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, reaffirmed that gay sex is a sin.
Meanwhile Anglican churches in the global south reject homosexuality.
Yet some Anglican churches in the west conduct same-sex marriages. If such divisions can occur within the same religious communion, imagine the differences that could exist in multiracial Singapore, one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world.
The government is seeking a political accommodation that balances different legitimate views and aspirations.
We hope to keep society together, not tear ourselves apart in righteous fury.
TK Lim
High Commissioner of Singapore
London SW1, UK
