The cover story of today weekend:

Weekend � July 5, 2003

COMMENT/Elisia Yeo
elisia@newstoday.com.sg

AT its most pragmatic, the Singapore Government has changed a major social paradigm � allowing the hiring of gay people into Government � to ensure the country's economic survival.

Although a point virtually ignored by the Singapore media, Time Asia in its July 7 issue reported Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong as saying that the mindset change was inspired in part by not wanting to exclude talented foreigners who are gay.

Speaking about such foreigners, PM Goh said: "We would employ you as long as you declare yourself, I mean in certain positions, in Government.

"In the past, if we know you are gay, we would not employ you but we just changed this quietly."

Open declarations would prevent blackmailing of gay employees in sensitive positions, he added. His announcement is significant for two reasons.

The first is that his progressive statement signals that Singapore should be tolerant of all people, regardless of sexual orientation.

The second significant reason contains more of a sting.

In talking about hiring gay people in the context of the hunt for foreign talent, a message being conveyed is that perhaps if it weren't for foreign talent, homosexuality would be less acceptable.

There is also the perception that the Government is prepared to treat foreigners better than its own citizens, long a bitter pill for many Singaporeans.

While many in the gay community are happy to live their lives while the Government turns a blind eye, for others this notion is insulting and has set Singapore's Internet community buzzing.

The next step lies in how the Government will now deal with the many anomalies that might crop up.

Much like those foggy OB markers, there are no forms or clauses which define in writing the Government's recruitment policy towards gay people.

PM Goh is flagging a change in mindset rather than on paper. Eventually, he wants to see a more tolerant society to embrace both gay locals and foreigners. He told Time: "Let it evolve and in time to come the population will understand that some people are born that way."

But in the meantime, it is unclear how people would go about declaring themselves as gay or how and when recruiters would ask potential employees about their sexual orientation.

And this is not even taking into consideration the issue of breach of privacy.

In another sticking point, PM Goh implied to Time that the penal code, which in effect criminalises homosexual sex, would remain unchanged, even if the Government hires gay people.

"It's more than just the criminal code. It's actually the values of the people," argued PM Goh.

"The heartlanders are still conservative. You can call it double-standard but sometimes it's double-standard. They are conservative and for the Muslims, it's religion, it's not the law."

This sets up a potentially absurd situation where the Government will have among its ranks people who might be going home each night and engaging in illegal activities.

Said gay rights activist Alex Au, who otherwise welcomed the statement: "The law itself puts a stigma on gay people and encourages people to stay in the closet rather than be open."

The view that Singapore must move in pace with its largely conservative society is often used by the Government when justifying the slow pace of social change.

But in the tug of war about how fast Singapore should free up society, both conservatives and liberals have ample evidence proving their point � and, therefore, the difficulty of defining what stage Singaporeans are really at.

While an academic survey in 1999 showed students largely had negative attitudes about gay people, another one in 2000 by the gay advocacy group, People Like Us, showed the exact opposite.

Meanwhile, other entrenched Government policies send the message that being gay is still not acceptable.

Cuts are regularly made on the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in which two characters are lesbians.

Only last month, Singapore Press Holdings' MediaWorks was fined $15,000 by the Media Development Authority for broadcasting an interview on Channel i with actress Anne Heche, during which she talked about her lesbian relationship with comedienne Ellen Degeneres.

"Broadcasting programmes which glamourise and promote lesbianism is considered a major breach of the (Free-To-Air TV Programme) Code," said a statement on the MDA's website.

The coming days � in which PM Goh will also examine the report of the Remaking Singapore Committee � will show how the Government will deal with these thorny issues.

But any debate will at least be a welcome change.

Bloody Bigots.