May 07, 01:03 PM 
514 Chai Chee Lane 03-16, Singapore 469029 Mothership Memo is Mothership’s daily brief on the important headlines of the day. We will also contribute our views on the issues at hand.
Pro-family Red Dot event at Padang cancelled
The authorities rejected an application by TOUCH Family Services to hold a pro-family event ("Red Dot Family Moment 2014") at the Padang on the same day as the event for gay rights (28 June).
The application was rejected because they "did not find TOUCH's proposal to be suitable for the use of Padang", with the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) proposing alternative sites for the event. TOUCH said it was cancelling the event.
The event aimed to “celebrate the International Year of the Family 2014 and to highlight the important role of family in nation building as part of the SG50 celebrations”. TOUCH Family Services is an affiliate of TOUCH Community Services. It was founded by Faith Community Baptist Church senior pastor Lawrence Khong, well-known for his views on homosexuality.
The incident raises many questions for both the authorities and TOUCH Family Services.
Questions for the authorities
1. According to the Straits Times, MSF declined to provide more details on why the application was rejected. Why was Padang deemed unsuitable for the event?
2. TOUCH claimed that the four alternative sites offered by MSF were not as accessible. Why did MSF decline to name the four sites?
3. If Padang was not suitable, did MSF offer a alternative central location like the Marina Bay? Afterall, MSF was using the Lawn at Marina Bay to celebrate the International Year of the Family on 14 June.
Questions for TOUCH Family Services
1. There is no specific date to celebrate the International Year of the Family. MSF chose to celebrate the International Year of the Family on 14 June. Why did TOUCH choose to celebrate the event on the same day as the Pink Dot event?
2. Why did TOUCH cancel the event just because Padang was unavailable? Could TOUCH compromise on the venue or the date of the event? TOUCH said it planned to organise a concert-in-the-park event - did they explore Fort Canning, Botanic Gardens or Marina Bay?
3. TOUCH claimed that plans to hold the event on the same as Pink Dot was not meant to be "confrontational". In that case, did they explore working with the Pink Dot organisers who have secured a central park location at Hong Lim?
SingTel fined a record S$6 million for Bukit Panjang exchange fire
SingTel, CityNet and OpenNet were fined by the Infocomm Development Authority for service disruption caused by a fire at the Bukit Panjang Exchange on 9 October 2013. The service disruption affected close to 270,000 telecom and broadcast subscribers.
SingTel was fined $6m, trustee manager of SingTe unit CityNet S$300,000 and national fibre broadband network builder OpenNet S$200,000. All three parties have accepted IDA’s findings, and indicated that it has taken steps to prevent a repeat.
It is turning out to be a rather trying year for SingTel and its reputation, especially its online reputation among Singaporean users. There was a controversy earlier in Feb about SingTel chief executive Chua Sock Koong's remarks urging regulators in Australia to give carriers the right to charge WhatsApp. Many still remember the terribly cheesy SingTel advertisement that went viral. Add these online incidents to Singaporeans' offline frustration over the high World Cup subscription prices.
Top photo from here.
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