Janet Ang

Mr Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this debate. I am mindful that the subject concerns sensitive matters of religious beliefs, sexuality and identity.

I stand to speak what I believe and beg the indulgence of everyone who may not necessarily hold the same view. We all have friends and family who may hold a liberal view or a conservative view when it comes to matters concerning sexuality and morality. At the same time, we all have friends and family who are LGBTQ persons.

The long public debate of the status of Section 377A of the Penal Code has weighed heavily on all sides and has divided our society and even families. To see the half-cup full, I would say that during this time, especially since 2018, the parties holding differing views have learnt more about each other's perspectives and engaged in dialogue with the Government directly or indirectly with one another. The Government has listened and the proposed amendment to the Constitution along with the repeal of 377A of the Penal Code will soon bring the debate to a legislative closure.

I hope that after today's debate and after this House has decided, we will move forward together as one Singapore, upholding our pledge to be one united people, respecting each other's dignity as human persons, and upholding the Singapore family built on marriage between a man and a woman and the children they birth and raise to be the bedrock of our society.

I declare I am a Catholic and have been brought up knowing that my Creator is a loving God and He loves everyone. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches Catholics that the men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity, even as they are called to chastity. Pope Francis in his encyclical Amoris Laetitia, The Joy of Love, wrote, and I quote, "We would like before all else to reaffirm that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while every sign of unjust discrimination is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression and violence."

The Catholic Church's position is clear. Homosexual acts are sinful, but homosexual orientation is not. The Archbishop of Singapore, His Eminence Cardinal William Goh, in a statement in August 2022, after PM's National Day Rally speech on this matter of repealing 377A, has come out to say that the Church is against the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people.

And so, supporting the repeal of 377A is not the issue. Rather, the issue is with regards to the rights of the Catholic Church to teach and practise our beliefs, regards to the family and marriage as defined between a man and a woman, according to natural law.

As we have all heard over these two days in Parliament, his concerns on this issue matter to more segments than just the Catholic Church. Several Honourable MPs have referred to the youth survey conducted in September by news media today. Here is an excerpt from the news report, and I quote, "The demographically representative survey, which polled 1,000 respondents aged between 18 and 35, was carried out between September 5 and 16. Almost 7 in 10, 68% of youths polled said that the repeal of section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises sex between homosexuals, is positive for inclusivity in Singapore. But when asked if same-sex marriage is wrong, the respondents were generally divided, with 37% agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement, and 33% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. The remaining said that they were neutral."

At the same time, 62% of the respondents felt that it was important to uphold and safeguard the definition of marriage as that between a man and a woman. There have been various polls done over time, and while they may not all be statistically significant, I believe they do sufficiently tell the story.

First, the Singaporeans are sympathetic towards decriminalising gay sex. Two, Singaporeans are divided on the acceptance of same-sex relations. And three, the majority of Singaporeans, both young and old, believe that it is important to uphold and safeguard the definition of marriage as that between a man and a woman.

After much prayer, research and listening to many, including my own daughters, repealing 377A is the right thing to do, and doing so will send a statement to the LGBTQ community that they are safe being who they are, even if their behaviour may not be accepted by the mainstream community in Singapore.

Supporting the repeal is not the issue. Many in the House have said the removal of anti-gay sex laws in some countries saw the issue of same-sex marriage falling under the spotlight. And there are large segments in Singapore who care deeply about marriage as defined currently between a man and a woman, as well as family norms such as how children are brought up and what is taught in school.

Most people have come to accept that gay sex is a matter of private individual choice. Same-sex marriage, however, is effectively changing a social institution contrary to what most Singaporeans believe and are ready to accept. For me, marriage is a sacred bond between man and woman, committing fidelity to each other so long as they both shall live, and bringing forth children to form a family and fulfil the natural order of the transmission of life.

In fact, this Parliament has declared 2022 as the Year of Singapore Families. Singapore families want to be confident that in Singapore we will be able to freely guide our children on what we believe to be right and wrong. Likewise, for us Catholics, the Catholic Church needs to be confident that her rights to preach and to teach in the parishes and Catholic schools, according to Catholic beliefs, will be protected. As we have heard in these past days, the same is true for other religious communities and even for non-religious Singaporeans.

I would therefore like to ask the Minister to clarify a few points to help address concerns and worries in the minds and hearts of Singaporeans, even as we move to support the repeal of Bill 377A.

A. With the amendment to the Constitution, are there still circumstances where the definition of marriage is that between a man and a woman can be subjected to challenge? What are those circumstances and how will the Government deal with such circumstances?

B. Will the Christian and Catholic churches be assured that they will continue to be free to preach against gay sexual acts? Cardinal William Goh has spoken of his concerns that we may be drawn into a situation as in the West, where we cannot even say that a same-sex relationship is wrong. For the Catholic Church, this would not be acceptable as the Church must have freedom to continue to teach in the Catholic schools and from the pulpit what we believe and practise what we teach.

C. How will the MOE handle sexuality education in our schools, both public and private, and assure Singaporeans that Singapore's family and social norms based on traditional Singaporean values be protected? Bullying and cancel culture must not take root in our educational institutions and our society.

D. We should not allow a culture where people of religion are ostracised, attacked for espousing their views or their disagreements with LGBT viewpoints, and vice versa. Singapore has worked hard to create inter-religious harmony in our society. How will the Government protect and safeguard this precious strength and asset of our country?

Let me close by reiterating my desire that after today's motions are carried, the LGBTQ community amongst us will feel reaffirmed that they are safe being who they are. And together, all of us as Singaporeans, we will rise above differences in views and beliefs and respect each other's dignity as human persons. We will work together to prevent cancel culture to take root in our educational institutions, our workplaces and our society. We will maintain our religious freedom to practise and teach what we believe to be right and wrong. We will uphold Singapore's societal norms where marriage is the union between a man and woman, and that married couples live as role models for their children and children's children. And we will not disregard the importance and essential need to have the holistic family as the bedrock of our society. And finally, we will continue to dialogue, to listen with compassion and kindness to one another.

Mr Speaker, notwithstanding my clarifications, with hope and trust, I stand in support of the amendment to the Constitution and the repeal of the Penal Code 377A. Thank you.