Following two days of intense debate and a petition presented to Parliament by a NMP, Singapore's anti-gay law 377A – a relic of its colonial past – will remain as the proposed amendment Bill was passed on Tuesday evening.
Lawmakers in Singapore began a rigorous debate on the retention or repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code in the Parliament yesterday as voices calling for equal treatment of Singapore's gay citizens was heard possibly for the first time in the Parliament House.
The parliamentary petition organised last weekend had garnered 2,519 signatures from Singaporeans and Singapore residents, organisers revealed in a press statement on Thursday.
For the first time in the history of forums on gay issues in Singapore, a member of parliament from the ruling People's Action Party and a Nominated Member of Parliament were part of a 5-member panel convened to discuss whether homosexual acts should remain criminalised.
Never enacted in the United Kingdom, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and its identical twins in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore and other former colonies was for export only, says professor emeritus of law Douglas Sanders.
As Singapore is looking at its first major review of its Penal Code in more than 20 years, the National Council of Churches has praised the government for its proposal to retain laws criminalising homosexual acts, and for the first time advocated the specific inclusion of lesbians in its scope.
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