Faishal Ibrahim

Mr Speaker, in Malay please. Over the past few months, the Government has been listening to the feedback of its members and the community, including the Malay-Islam community, who want to uphold the traditional view of a family unit, where a marriage of man and a woman, and children, is brought up in the family atmosphere. The Government has fully supported this, and is taking steps to protect the definition of marriage and the challenges that arise from the Constitution and the basic principles of marriage.

This step ensures that any change to the definition of marriage can be discussed and determined through Parliament, and not through the court. The Prime Minister has previously said that the decision of the court could bring about a situation of victory for the people, and that Parliament is more likely to deal with important social issues such as this, as it can refer to various groups and take feedback.

The Prime Minister also announced in the National Day Rally that the Government is heading towards the approval of Section 377A, and that the judges do not have the expertise or mandate to deal with political issues or make decisions on norms and social values.

I want to assure the community that there will be no change in the Government's stance on marriage and family. The same goes for the principles that base the current definition of marriage, which remain unchanged.

The Government has taken the decision to approve Section 377A and protect the definition of marriage as it is the right and principal thing to do, and is not a legal or security issue related to homosexual behaviour. The community has changed since the last time the Parliament discussed Section 377A in 2007, and most Singaporeans today accept that sex between men is not a crime.

Approving Section 377A is also a way to remove the psychological and physical pressure from homosexuals' lives, so that we can move forward as a community that respects each other as family, friends and homosexual colleagues. There is also a risk that Section 377A will be cancelled by the court based on the fact that it violates the protection of homosexuality, and if this happens, the definition of our marriage, the laws and the principles related to it will be subject to similar legal challenges.

In conclusion, the move by the Parliament and the approval of Section 377A is a threat to the approach taken by the Government to avoid the definition of marriage and to avoid the change by the court while doing the right thing and the right thing to maintain the unity and cohesion of the community.

Earlier, I touched on some of the main concerns expressed by the Muslim community regarding the violation of Section 377A and the implications of the changes. I would also like to explain that there is no change in the laws and the principles related to marriage because it is not the Government's intention to cause unstable transition to our society.

Allow me to give a few words about the information received by the Government during the session of our approach. First, I understand that the Muslim community wants to protect religious values and family. Therefore, I would like to refer to the guidance of the Muslim community regarding the LGBT issue. The Muslim community has explained that in Islam, only the sexual relations between husband and wife are allowed. I agree that these values should be protected and encouraged. At the same time, the Mufti also acknowledged that we live in a multi-ethnic society and we must respect differences in views and show humanity to Muslim people who are LGBT. As a Muslim, we should do good and show empathy to our Muslim brothers and sisters who have different views from us.

Secondly, there are concerns that the LGBT rights violation will undermine religious freedom. I would like to explain that the approval of Section 377A will not undermine the freedom of the Muslim community to practice religion and this freedom will be protected by the Constitution. The Muslim and LGBT leaders can continue to preach about Islam and homosexuality, including doing so in a manner that involves more religious activities, as long as it is done in a humane manner, without crossing boundaries, and without invoking hatred or hatred towards others. The community should also refer to the guidance provided by Mufti.

Importantly, I would like to emphasize that freedom to practice religion must be balanced with mutual acceptance, respect, and show humanity to our society. This is very important to maintain social harmony. In the case of sensitive issues, we are free to disagree with each other and we should be given space to express our opinions and concerns. However, in order to achieve a different perspective, we must adopt principles that understand each other, respect each other, and show humanity to our society.

In a previous interview, Mufti said that the approval of Section 377A is a complex and difficult social issue to achieve balance for all parties, including the government and religious groups. As a society, we must continue to receive guidance and values from Islamic teachings in terms of discipline and action, even though changes are taking place in the laws of the country. We must be careful not to make it an issue of discussion that will undermine the good relations between the peoples that we have been struggling to build up so far.

As leaders of Islam, we should not only focus on our personal views and attract the hearts of our society. We must also consider what is best for our society in terms of the perspective of the Singaporean community as a whole. This is to ensure a comprehensive unity and enable us to move forward together.

In line with what Mufti said, even though homosexuality is a sin, the community cannot reject and ignore them. We must remain principled and balanced, even though we have different opinions and see what is best for society as a whole. This is why the government supports the two amendments to Section 377A and the amendment to the marriage protection bill.

In our efforts to move forward, I urge everyone to remain calm and to remain humble, while we strive to achieve a consensus on the progress of Singapore as a community, as a common goal, as a common goal. I would also like to express my gratitude to the leaders of the community and my colleagues for sharing their views and supporting the government on this matter. We have heard their opinions and will continue to work closely with them to address this issue. I am touched by their efforts to continue to strengthen our country's development ecosystem, even though we sometimes face difficult issues.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.