Discrimination - Singapore style

A few days ago, there was an article in the newspaper regarding this condominium in Singapore that told a security agency that they didn’t want Indian security guards, I thought, “wow, Singapore is starting to be very bold in their discrimination”.

Today in the Straits Times forum page, there were a lot of people who cried foul about this, saying that discrimination and bigotry should have no place in a society in Singapore. Now that got me thinking, if it was an ad for no gays wanted or allowing of a gay activity (like a forum, talk or party) would these people still say things the same way or is anti-discrimination only for races or age or religion but not sexual orientation. Well, this is what Martha Luther King predicted when he was fighting racism in America. He said (to paraphrase) “a threat to anyone's basic rights is a threat to everyone's basic rights”. This is so true. I speculate that the committee of the condominium is Chinese (most probably), effluent and English speaking, which makes them think that their own prejudices are valid. It starts off with one group and it will extend to others, this is how discrimination works, especially when one group of people think they are better and more superior to another. And as we can see, it has started. Discrimination against minorities in Singapore is nothing new, starting with older workers, going onto gays and lesbians and now race. Well, we have no anti-discrimination laws here. Lets see how long the gahmen can pretend that these laws are not needed but then even if they do, the GLTB community will NOT benefit from it.

These people, like the right wing Christians in Singapore, who think that their own opinions and values (which are religiously based) are the opinions and values of the whole of Singapore, don’t these people know that Christians only account for at most 20% of Singapore’s population!* It is not even the a simple majority of the population. Gosh, who are they to dictate to the masses? Preaching to a mostly Buddhist population. Good examples are the casino where they believed their opinion hold the ultimate truth because their religion is the ultimate truth, see that is discrimination by itself. The other is the fight against AIDS, they are so against preaching condom usage that it has started to make matters worse. There are more and more people in Singapore who are having sex without a condom, especially with people they don’t know. They believe their own morals is right, but they account for less than 20% of the population, who are they, the minority, to dictate, to the majority that they should be faithful to one partner. Their words fall on deaf ears but do they know that? No! So instead of AIDS support groups like Afa going the, use a condom route, they are forcing them and indeed the gahmen to go the abstinence route. Is this working? Nope, but they still will not change their tune because they believe they have the ultimate true. When will people realise that if another doesn’t belong to your group, they will never listen. Imagine, the LOUD minority.


*In 2000 the number of people who declared that they are Christians was 14.6% (up from 12.7% in 1990). Compare this with people who declared that they were Buddhist in 2000 was 42.5% (up from 31.2% in 1990)