At presidential candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam's election meeting with registered guests from the public on Aug. 25 evening, some of the questions attendees were most interested to hear his opinion on pertained to the LGBTQ+ community in Singapore, such as the definition of marriage and changing social norms.

On the definition of marriage

Touching on the recent repeal of Section 377A, a law introduced in 1938 that criminalised gay sex, the PE2023 candidate said that it was a decision that went through years of "extensive consultations and deliberations".

"And we did reiterate a commitment on the part of government and parliament to hold to the definition of marriage as between man and woman," he added.

"Let me say that the reality is, we are not a society where there is a common view on this. In fact, we are a society where there are quite divided views on this issue. Even on 377A there used to be, but we brought it along, and we brought it along because everyone accepted eventually that we must love and respect each individual for who they are."

Social norms have to evolve gradually

While Tharman voiced the importance of "never look[ing] down" on others, he also insisted on the need to consider "broader social norms".

He pointed out that we live in a multi-cultural society with different views, depending on which faith and generation one belongs to.

"But we should all accept that moving too quickly in shifting social norms is very likely to lead to a push back, people feeling provoked and leading to more dissension in society. So social norms have to evolve gradually, and they have to evolve at a tempo that will be decided by society in future generations."

"It is honestly too risky in a multi-religious society... We've got to respect everyone for who they are, but be very careful in how we evolve our social norms, because it's not just a matter of our individual views, but it's a matter of keeping society together," he added to explain why we should not rush into shifting social norms.

This doesn't mean that in the meantime, we "regress" or "disrespect" others, the presidential candidate clarified.

Tharman stressed that it was about helping people in Singapore feel that the "centre of norms, the centre of beliefs, [and] the centre of aspirations" is still "very strong".

"Nothing is fixed forever, but be very careful and cautious in evolving social norms," he said.

Tharman acknowledged that his position on the matter cannot and will not satisfy everyone.

"But it is, in my view, the most sensible position to take to avoid society becoming more divided," he concluded.

Top image via Mothership and Pink Dot's Instagram