On Capitalism And LGBT Freedoms In Singapore

At a recent Singapore Tech Forum, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong lauded LGBT individuals as “valued members of society”. PM Lee’s comments quickly drew the ire of the local LGBT community across social media (see Kyle Malinda-White’s commentary here) for an obvious reason: the Singapore government’s attitude towards gay and lesbian people has always been one of reluctance. At best, moderated acceptance. As reported in Bloomberg:

“These things shift, but we have to give them time,” Lee said during a question-and-answer session at the Singapore Tech Forum, where he used a keynote address to promote the country to the industry. “I think it is unwise to force it, because there will be a push back and you’ll end up with polarization and be in a worse place than we are.”

Consider the similarity in tone to Lee Kuan Yew’s remarks from a 1998 CNN interview:

“It’s not a matter which I can decide or any government can decide,” said Lee. “It’s a question of what a society considers acceptable. But what we are doing as a government is to leave people to live their own lives so long as they don’t impinge on other people. I mean, we don’t harass anybody.”

Yet, there’s no question that Singapore’s laws treat heterosexuality and homosexuality differently.