Pink. White. Icy. Warm. Bookish. Rowdy.
The six significant political and civil gatherings of 2014 can be best described with these words.
The annual Pink Dot SG event topped the largest gathering of people in Hong Lim Park, with 26,000 wearing pink to "support the freedom to love".
6,400 people wore white to protest against Pink Dot in a Faith Community Baptist Church service at Suntec City.
Members of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) also wore white at the refurbished Victoria Hall for the party’s 60th anniversary.
At nearby Asian Civilisations Museum, people gathered for an “alternative method" of expressing concern for Singapore at a Stand Up for Our Singapore event.
450 people attended a penguin-themed reading event at the National Library in the wake of the National Library Board's pulping of gay-friendly children’s books.
And back at Hong Lim Park again, protesters seeking more transparency in CPF rowdily disrupted a group of special needs children as they were about to start a dance item.
Our city district is getting a bit crowded with all these mass gatherings, even without adding the annual F1 race, National Day Parade, ZoukOut, and Chingay parade to the list.
Here’s a recap of the six significant political and civil gatherings of the year
1. Pink Dot SG
Number in attendance: 26,000 (including 20 security guards)
The six-year old event has never been so controversial - the social movement started out as a gathering of people to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, primarily calling for the repeal of 377A, which criminalises sex between men.
The event was thrown into the spotlight this year when a group of Muslims led by Ustaz Noor Deros urged people to wear white to return to ‘fitrah’ - or spiritual purity. Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC), led by Lawrence Khong, later joined in, declaring that his church will follow Deros’ lead.
Organisers of Pink Dot were unfazed despite the opposition and proceeded to hold the event, hiring merely 20 extra security staff for the event. Pink Dot has also been supported by an increasing number of corporate sponsors, with multi-national companies such as Google and JP Morgan amongst its ranks.
2. Wear White movement
Number in attendance: 6,400 at FCBC
Wear White, led by Islamic religious scholar Ustaz Noor Deros, published a promotional video on Jun 19, expressing their concern with Pink Dot SG being held on Jun 28, the first day of Ramadan.
Two days later, FCBC pastor Lawrence Khong - who is known for his anti-gay views - pledged his support, declaring that FCBC, along with 23 other churches in the LoveSingapore network, will ‘follow suit’. Some 6,400 Christians eventually wore white on a Jun 29 Sunday service at Suntec City.
The controversy surrounding Pink Dot and Wear White this year also led to an unprecedented amount of statements by religious authorities and ministers on the LGBT community. Some Singaporeans expressed support for Wear White, and most leaders urge Christians and Muslims to ‘act with grace and restraint’ so as to be ‘not involved in the crossfire’.
The Wear White movement has been a representation of a growing number of people who are publicly speaking out against the LGBT community - which has led to a number of controversies this year, such as the pulping of And Tango Makes Three, a children’s book depicting two male penguins adopting a penguin chick.
TOUCH Family Services, founded by Khong, had also attempted to organise a 'Red Dot Family Movement’ (later called FamFest) on the same day as Pink Dot, but its application was rejected.
3. PAP 60th Anniversary commemorative event and conference
Number in attendance: 6,000
Approximately five months after the controversy surrounding Pink Dot, an estimated 6,000 PAP activists wearing the party’s signature white convened at Victoria Concert Hall for its 60th anniversary.
The meeting was filled with nostalgia, with the original vintage microphone used in the party’s first meeting being used in its rally.
In a later conference held at the Singapore Expo, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the party’s secretary-general, ignited the General Elections fever, referring to the next GE (to be held by January 2017) as a "deadly serious fight".
"The next GE is about choosing a clear vision for Singapore, a capable leadership for Singapore, and a brighter future for Singapore,” he said. "Only the PAP is bringing different groups together. Only the PAP is solving problems and planning for the future. Only the PAP is putting forth a vision for Singapore…No other party does it better than the PAP!"
Several other political parties objected to that comment, with Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) leader Chee Soon Juan tweeting his Wall Street Journal op-ed at PM Lee.
Chee added in the SDP website that he had recently described a new vision for Singapore in an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal but PM Lee "ignores these and claims that the opposition has not articulated one".
4. Stand Up For Our Singapore
Number in attendance: 400
The field outside of Asian Civilisations Museum played host to Stand Up for Our Singapore’s carnival-style picnic celebrating ‘gratitude’ in May. With the slogan ‘More than a Miracle’, the organisers hoped to show ‘alternative ways to expressing our concern for Singapore’.
“We explore themes of how Singapore can be great… how Singapore can be resilient,” said organiser Wally Tham.
Participants interacted with a mutual stranger with the aid of conversational prompts, and wrote messages of gratitude to various people of different occupations.
The movement has featured different themes throughout its various editions, but they are all generally premised upon spreading positivity and goodwill in Singapore. This year’s Stand Up event was its fourth edition.
The movement followed up with a ‘secret’ picnic for domestic workers in June and a video encouraging children who felt ‘half-empty’ after their PSLE results in November.
5. Let’s Read Together
Number in attendance: 450
A penguin-themed reading event occurred at the National Library Board (NLB) headquarters on the heels of the pulped penguin saga in July.
Three children’s books - And Tango Makes Three, The White Swan Express and Who’s in My Family were initially withdrawn from the National Library Board’s shelves, with Who’s in My Family already pulped following feedback from a member of a public who was against the book’s pro-LGBT content.
The event was organised by writer and AWARE executive Jolene Tan and parent Germaine Eliza Ong. Copies of And Tango Makes Three and Who’s in My Family were made available at the event but the organisers chose not to link the gathering to the restricted books.
Permission from the police and the NLB were obtained by the organisers without difficulty. “The police actually got in touch with us first to ask us to meet them to discuss the event,” said Ong. “(They) just wanted to make sure that we were aware of the safety and other concerns of organising such an event.”
The books were eventually restored to the adult books section.
6. The ReturnOurCPF tetralogy
The turf at Speakers’ Corner saw more drama than ever with the Return Our CPF rally held continuously from June to September. Protest organiser Han Hui Hui, along with embattled blogger Roy Ngerng, held four editions of their Return Our CPF protests, each nearly a month apart.
Source: Photo taken by Lawrence Chong
Return Our CPF featured some of Singapore politics’ most dramatic moments - in its final edition, a phalanx of protesters led by Han Hui Hui heckled special-needs children performing at a YMCA event.
The protesters marched around the Speakers’ Corner green and intruded upon the YMCA event ground at least four times, with the intention of drawing the attention of Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck, who was the guest of honour. Eventually, the protesters were reported to have gotten close to Minister of State Teo, hurling vulgarities at him.
The drama overshadowed the previous three editions, which featured many opposition politicians in their lineup of speakers. Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam, ex-presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian and former SDP member Vincent Wijeysingha were present amongst the lineup. Most of them urged for political change and support for the opposition.
Notably, blogger Roy Ngerng had applied to be a nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) after being sued for defamation by PM Lee Hsien Loong for an article Ngerng published on his website.
The application was later turned down and Ngerng was found guilty of defamation in a summary judgement on November.
All photos taken by Ng Yi Shu unless otherwise stated.
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