Reuters: Sodomy laws in Malaysia and elsewhere (Jul 17)

FACTBOX - Sodomy laws in Malaysia and elsewhere
Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:40am BST
(Reuters) - Police investigating a sodomy allegation against Malaysian opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim warned on Thursday they could compel him to give a DNA sample, threatening to further stoke tensions in the highly charged case.

De facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 and later jailed for corruption and sodomy. The supreme court overturned the sodomy conviction six years later.

He has said the charges are a political ploy aimed at destroying Malaysia's resurgent opposition.

Here are some facts on sodomy laws in Malaysia and elsewhere.

* Malaysia is one of half a dozen former British colonies to retain colonial-era "anti-sodomy" laws. Section 377 of the Penal Code criminalises gay sex.

* The mainly Muslim nation's sodomy laws were introduced in the late 1870s by British administrators, about 20 years after the first such law was drafted by Lord Thomas Macaulay for the Indian Penal Code.

* Anyone who "voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" can be jailed for 20 years and/or caned and fined under Section 377. Section 377A, interpreted as outlawing gay sex, specifies up to two years jail.

* Similar sodomy laws were adopted by other colonies, such as Australia, Bangladesh (then part of British India), Canada, Hong Kong, the Straits Settlements (now Singapore), Pakistan (then part of British India) and Sri Lanka.

* Australia, Canada, Fiji and Hong Kong, have all repealed the laws. The UK legalised sexual acts between two adult males in 1967. Indian activists are currently challenging Section 377 in court.

* Activists argue the laws violate various rights to equality, non-discrimination and freedom of speech, and make the fight against HIV/AIDS more difficult as they drive gay sex underground.

* Malaysia's neighbour Singapore repealed Section 377 in 2007. But retained Section 377A, which specifies a 2-year jail term, as its Prime Minister concluded Singapore was still a conservative country uncomfortable with homosexuality.

* Homosexual acts remain punishable by death in several countries, including Mauritania, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

Source: Reuters

(Writing by Gillian Murdoch, Beijing Editorial Reference Unit)

Reuters: Singapore attorney warns of rights "fanatics": paper (May 30)

Singapore attorney warns of rights "fanatics": paper
Fri May 30, 2008 10:23pm EDT

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's attorney general warned that the concept of human rights must not be allowed to become a religion for fanatics to achieve political goals such as gay marriage, the Straits Times reported on Saturday.

The newspaper quoted Attorney-General Walter Woon as saying that it would be "hypocrisy" for such activists to decide what is acceptable for the rest of society.

"There is a misconception that Singapore officialdom is against human rights," the pro-government daily quoted Woon as saying at a Singapore Law Society event.

"What we are against is the assumption of some people that when they decide what are human rights, it is a decision for the rest of humanity,"

Last year the Singapore government decided to uphold a law that bans sex between men, saying the idea of advocating a homosexual lifestyle was unacceptable to large parts of its conservative society. In spite of the ban Singapore has a thriving gay scene.

Singapore's constitution guarantees free speech, but speaking in public requires a police permit as do public gatherings of more than four people -- a practice that has been criticized by human right groups.

The small but rich Southeast Asian island has been run by the same party since independence in 1965 and political opposition parties play no big role in public life with 82 out of 84 parliamentary seats held by the ruling People's Action Party.

(Reporting by Jan Dahinten; Editing by David Fox)

Reuters: FACTBOX: Facts about Singapore, winner of Youth Olympics (Feb 21)

(Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee on Thursday awarded the first Youth Olympics for 2010 to Singapore.

Singapore beat the only other contender, Moscow, for the Games, which will have around 3,200 athletes, aged 14-18, competing in 26 sports.

Here are facts about Singapore: * The island state lies at the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula, just one degree north of the equator, and has a surface area of just 700 square kilometers (270 square miles) -- about eight times the size of Manhattan. The total population is 4.6 million, including foreigners. Among Singaporeans, about 77 percent are ethnic Chinese, 14 percent Malay and 8 percent Indian.

* A former British colony, Singapore became a republic in 1965, when it separated from Malaysia after a two-year union. The People's Action Party has had a stranglehold on parliament and the opposition has never had more than a few seats. Singapore is one of the world's few city-states, like Monaco and Vatican City.

* Singapore is the wealthiest nation in Asia ex-Japan, with a 2006 Gross Domestic Product of about $29,000 per capita, on par with G-7 member Italy. About 85 percent of its citizens own their own government-built apartment. The city is known for cleanliness, tropical greenery, and a low crime rate.

* Singapore's economy is driven by electronics manufacturing, financial services, and oil refining. The republic has the world's busiest port in terms of shipping tonnage and the world's largest container trans-shipment centre. In a bid to fight competition from low-cost China, Singapore is trying to build up new industries such as biotech and tourism.

* Singapore is famous for its tight social controls and restrictions on the sale of chewing gum. Homosexuality is illegal (but tolerated) and pornography is banned. Demonstrations are illegal, while public speaking and gatherings of more than four people require a permit. Reporters Without Borders' 2007 press freedom index ranked Singapore 141st out of 169 countries, after Azerbajian and Sudan, reflecting restrictions on the media and arts.

* Singapore has stiff penalties for drug use and a mandatory death penalty for drug traffickers. Singapore also practices caning for a variety of offences.

* The city-state has been trying to soften its image in recent years, with government ministers saying they want to create a "vibrant" city with more "buzz". It allowed some bars to stay open for 24 hours, permitted bar-top dancing, and held its first sex exhibition. In a bid to woo tourists and boost its image, Singapore legalized casino gambling in 2005 and is building two multi-billion-dollar casinos.

(Reporting by Singapore Newsroom)

Reuters: Gay couples as committed as straight couples: study (Jan 22)

Jan 22, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Gay and lesbian couples are just as committed in their relationships as heterosexuals and the legal status of their union doesn't impact their happiness, according to new research.

In two new studies that compared same-sex and heterosexual couples using different factors and methods to assess their happiness, scientists found few differences.

"Among the committed couples, there were very few differences that we were able to identify either in terms of how satisfied these couples were, how effectively they interacted with one another or how their bodies responded physiologically while they were interacting with one another," Glenn I. Roisman, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, said in an interview.

He and his colleagues compared 30 gay male and 30 lesbian couples with 50 engaged heterosexual couples, 40 older, married heterosexual couples and dating heterosexual couples.

They found that regardless of sexual orientation, as the level of commitment increased, so did the ability to resolve conflict -- debunking the myth that
same-sex relationships are not built on the same level of commitment as heterosexual ones.

In the second study researchers, who focused on how legal status affected relationship quality, followed 65 male and 138 female same-sex couples in civil
unions, 23 male and 61 female same-sex couples not in civil unions and 55 heterosexual married couples over a three-year period.

The researchers from the University of Washington, San Diego State University and the University of Vermont found that same-sex couples, regardless of their legal
status, were more satisfied with their relationships and reported more positive feelings toward their partners and less conflict than heterosexual married
couples.

But gay and lesbian couples not in civil unions were more likely than same-sex couples in civil unions or heterosexuals who were married to end their relationships, according to the study.

Both studies were published in the journal Developmental Psychology.

"My personal view is that I think it's very hard to make the case as has been made that these same-sex relationships are fundamentally different from opposite-sex relationships in the presence of data like these and other data in the developmental
literature," said Roisman.

Reporting by Stefanie Kranjec; Editing by Patricia Reaney

Reuters: Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew questions homosexuality ban

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's powerful former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, acknowledging the view that some people are genetically destined to be homosexual, has questioned the city-state's ban on sex between men. "If in fact it is true, and I have asked doctors this, that you are genetically born a homosexual -- because that's the nature of the genetic random transmission of genes -- you can't help it. So why should we criminalize it?" Monday's Straits Times, a pro-government daily, quoted Lee as saying. Under Singapore law, a man who is found to have committed an act of "gross indecency" with another man can be jailed for up to two years, though prosecutions are rare. But Lee -- who remains the most powerful minister in the cabinet of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong -- said Singapore should not actively pursue homosexuals who engage in sex. Lee said that while homosexuality was not widely accepted in Singapore, authorities must take a pragmatic approach. "Let's not go around like this moral police ... barging into people's rooms. That's not our business," he told a weekend meeting with the youth wing of the People's Action Party, Singapore's ruling political party. In November, the Ministry of Home Affairs said it was considering decriminalizing oral and anal sex between consenting heterosexual adults, but not between homosexuals. The authorities have banned gay festivals and censored gay films, saying homosexuality should not be advocated as a lifestyle. But, despite the official ban on gay sex, Singapore has a thriving gay scene. Lee's comments come at a time when many groups, such as Singapore's Law Society, are clamoring for a review of the laws against homosexual sex, which they view as outdated and archaic. © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.

Reuters: Singapore considers legalising homosexuality - Lee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore, striving to cast off its staid image and overhaul its economy, might have to legalise homosexuality to become more cosmopolitan, but will preserve its core values, the city-state's founder Lee Kuan Yew said.

The conservative Southeast Asian state aims to be Asia's most vibrant centre, with glitzy casinos and a lively arts scene to attract more tourists and increase its population of 4.5 million.

"They tell me that homosexuals are creative writers, dancers. If we want creative people, then we have to put up with their idiosyncrasies," Lee, 83, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Lee was independent Singapore's first prime minister, from 1965 to 1990, and remains the most influential minister in the cabinet of his eldest son, Lee Hsien Loong.

"Let's not pretend it doesn't exist," Lee said in an exclusive interview, adding he saw no option but to legalise homosexual sex. Under Singapore law, a man who is found to have committed an act of "gross indecency" with another man can be jailed for up to two years, though prosecutions are rare.

In November, the Ministry of Home Affairs said it was considering decriminalising oral and anal sex between consenting heterosexual adults, but not between homosexuals.

Singapore wants to attract 2 million well-educated and wealthy immigrants to boost its population to 6.5 million and transform its economy from a low-cost manufacturing base into a centre for science, technology and financial services.

With foreigners pouring into the property market and banks beefing up their wealth management operations, salaries and overall costs have surged.

In a public forum at the inauguration of Reuters' new headquarters in Singapore, David Conner, CEO of Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., asked Lee when the government would start to worry whether the increases could erode Singapore's competitiveness.

"We are not Hong Kong. We cannot afford to let rent prices become astronomical," Lee said referring to Singapore's main rival.

Lee said the pressures were a sign of confidence in Singapore's prospects, with investors from as far as Monaco buying property in the city-state.

He forecast economic growth this year would probably be at the upper end of the government's 4.5-6.5 percent range.

RICH INDONESIANS

Singapore is confident the terms under which it has chosen partners for its two casinos will avoid the sleaze and crime often associated with the gambling centre of Macau, he said.

Singapore scrapped a ban on casinos in 2005, and has started to build two gambling resorts for a total investment of US$7 billion as part of a drive to boost tourist arrivals to 17 million people by 2015 from nearly 10 million last year.

Lee also said an extradition pact between Indonesia and Singapore, agreed late on Monday, won't frighten rich Indonesians away from Singapore or hurt the city-state's booming property and banking sectors.

"Do you believe that any Indonesian who was likely to be extradited would be here at all?" Lee said, adding the treaty would inhibit corrupt businessmen from using Singapore as a base.

"It does give an extra barrier for any would-be escapee from their system," Lee said.

Indonesia has long expressed its desire for an extradition treaty because of its concerns that some Indonesians, for example those who owed money to the authorities following the 1997-98 financial crisis, had taken refuge in Singapore.

The city-state is home to a large number of rich Indonesians. One third of Singapore's high-net-worth investors - those with net financial assets of more than $1 million - are of Indonesian origin, Merrill Lynch and Capgemini said in a report, adding that these 18,000 Indonesians have total assets of $87 billion.

A far bigger threat to Singapore's future is global warming, Lee said, warning that the low-lying city-state could find itself partly submerged under six metres of water in the worst case.

"What dykes can we build? Where do we get materials for the dykes? Do we excavate the sea bed? We are into a very serious problem," Lee said.

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.

Reuters: Singapore tells spouses of patient's HIV status (Dec 6)

Singapore tells spouses of patients' HIV status

Posted Tue Dec 6, 2005 8:22pm AEDT

Singapore's Health Ministry has started informing spouses of HIV-positive patients directly about their partners' disease in order to curb the spread of AIDS.

Senior Minister of State for Health Balaji Sadasivan says letters have been hand-delivered to 41 women since July informing them that their husbands are HIV-positive.

"Previously, some wives were not aware of their spouse's HIV status and so they were at risk of the HIV infection," said text of the speech posted on the website.

"Since July this year, we have informed the wife when the infected husband had not informed her of his positive HIV status.

"Marriage and the women's own fidelity are not enough to protect them against HIV infection. Most have been infected despite staying faithful to their partners."

The letters advise spouses to get screened for HIV and give them information about counselling services available at the Communicable Disease Centre.

The ministry says two of the women who received the notifications have since tested positive for the virus.

In July the Singapore Government scrapped a law that required the patient's consent to inform their spouse.

The move to sanction breaching patient confidentiality is part of a raft of measures introduced to fight the spread of AIDS.

Although the wealthy South-East Asian city-state has one of Asia's lowest levels of HIV infection, it has said it is tightening defences due to an increase in cases.

Singapore has recorded a total of 2,584 HIV infections to date, of whom 954 have died, 631 have full-blown AIDS and 999 show no symptoms.

From January to October this year, 198 people were diagnosed with HIV, less than 10 per cent of them women.

In July, the ministry introduced HIV testing as part of the antenatal screening routine for pregnant women.

A pilot project to distribute HIV self-test kits at locations where homosexuals socialise will be soon be launched.

Controversial legislative measures, such as compulsory HIV testing for couples about to marry and criminalising the act of spreading the HIV virus with or without intent, have also been considered but have not been implemented.

- Reuters

Reuters: Singapore government AIDS comment outrages gay activists

March 11. 2005

Singapore - Gay activists responded with outrage and disbelief on Thursday to statements by a Singapore official who said a gay and lesbian festival -- dubbed Asia's largest gay event -- may have caused a big spike in Aids cases. The "Nation.04" party -- a festival of international DJs, podium dancers, pumping music and muscular boys stripping off their tops on packed dance floors -- had increased in size every year since it was launched in 2000.

Last August's party could have allowed "gays from high prevalence societies to fraternise with local gay men, seeding the infection in the local community," junior health minister Balaji Sadasivan told parliament on Wednesday. Sadasivan said this was the view of an unnamed epidemiologist to explain a 28 percent rise in the number of new HIV/Aids cases in Singapore in 2004 to an all-time high of 311. " This is a hypothesis and more research needs to done," he said.

Gay activists such as Eileena Lee of People Like Us accused the government of promoting homophobia and being irresponsible.
" This is almost like paranoia," she said. "Statements like this can marginalise and stigmatise what is already a minority group." Fridae.com, which organised the event and runs Singapore's main gay and lesbian Internet site, said the government must shoulder more responsibility for the rise in HIV because of its poor public health policies and laws which criminalise oral sex. Under Singapore's Penal Code section 377A, acts of "gross indecency" between two men are punishable by up to two years in jail. The government has said it may decriminalise oral sex but only between men and women.

" In the past 25 years none of the public health campaigns have ever targeted the gay community. It's really no wonder that the rates of infection are increasing," said Stuart Koe, chief executive of Fridae.com. " It's very simplistic and dangerous of them to point the finger at one single event and say that that is responsible for the spike," he said.

Ninety percent of newly diagnosed patients were male and a third of them gay men, said Sadasivan, describing the new cases as "the tip of the iceberg" in Singapore where a total of about 2,000 people are diagnosed to be suffering from HIV/Aids. " For every Aids patient we have diagnosed, there are possibly two to four undiagnosed patients with HIV in Singapore. That means there could be, anywhere between 4000 to 8000, undiagnosed HIV patients in Singapore," he said. The "Nation.04" party -- half of whose 6000 revellers came from other Asian countries and the United States to make it Asia's largest known gay festival -- is at odds with Singapore's image as a strait-laced city-state.

But the government has turned a blind eye to the growth of an entertainment industry catering for homosexuals, quietly acknowledging the potential of the "pink dollar. " Gay activists have urged authorities to decriminalise homosexuality in the affluent, predominantly ethnic Chinese island of 4.2 million people to strengthen Aids awareness.

Reuters: Gay Culture in Singapore

Sun Mar 7, 2004 12:07 AM ET
By Sophie Hares
SINGAPORE (Reuters)

In the dark studio at Singapore's spiky-roofed Esplanade theatre, 200 people packed tightly on to benches to watch a witty and poignant tale of gay life, love and loss being played out on a minimalist stage.

The content would barely raise an eyebrow in New York, London or Sydney, but the sell-out play featuring nudity and kissing signals the tentative start to a more liberalised era in strait-laced
Singapore.

With its soaring skyline and high-tech living, Singapore has claimed a place among the world's most modern cities, but government policy and social mores in the wealthy, multi-cultural island state are famously conservative.

There are signs, however, of low-key policy changes and budding tolerance for a thriving gay community in a country whose censorship laws are so strict that even brief glimpses of nudity are routinely cut from commercial movie releases.

"The scene has blossomed over the past five or six years, as the government has chosen to close one eye to the development of an entertainment industry catering to the gay crowd," said Alex Au from gay group People Like Us, which Singapore refuses to register as a society.

Podium dancers, pumping music and muscular boys stripping off their tops on packed dancefloors have long been a feature of busy gay clubs around Singapore's Chinatown.

But now gay-oriented karaoke lounges, saunas, cafes and bars are opening, and businesses are fast realising the so-called "pink dollar" is a lucrative market waiting to be tapped.

Airlines, car and credit card firms, and property developers promoting upmarket apartments have launched subtle marketing strategies to court gays and lesbians, who are often perceived as
high-earners with plenty of disposable income.

Among the bolder signs of change are a growing calendar of plays with themes of alternative lifestyles played out in mainstream venues such as the new Esplanade theatre, nicknamed the "durian" for its resemblance to the pungent, spiky fruit.

"The audiences do see in these plays the dilemma of what it means to be gay in straight Singapore," said Ivan Heng, director of "Landmarks: Asian Boys Vol.2", which opened at the theatre in early February.

"There seems to be much more freedom than there used to be, but as long as laws criminalise consensual acts between adults, it's still got some way to go."

LEGAL HURDLE
Some now talk of Singapore usurping hedonistic Bangkok as Asia's gay capital after the wealthy island hosted a dance party known as "Nation" in August that drew nearly 5,000 people from around the world, an event unimaginable just a few years ago.

"Singapore's a very functionalist society. I don't think it has anything to do with issues of morality or anything like that," said Charmaine Tan, 27.

"In the end, the issue of economics will always override everything else."

Singapore quietly admitted last year that gay people could now be employed in the civil service without fear of discrimination -- another move almost unthinkable in the past.

But while there may be encouraging signs of change, the gay community in Singapore enjoys few of the freedoms of cities such as Sydney, with its huge Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, or Amsterdam, where same-sex couples may marry and adopt children.

And there are no signs it will remove controversial section 377A from its Penal Code which says acts of "gross indecency" between two men are punishable by up to two years in jail.

There are no laws specifically targeted at lesbians.

"I think the government could do a lot more in terms of being courageous enough at least to invite debate on the issue," said one gay man who declined to be identified.

"Saying things like it's too sensitive, or we are an Asian society, are really euphemisms for intolerance."

PASSIVE RESISTANCE

Hiding their sexuality from friends and work colleagues for fear of recrimination is still par for the course for many gays and lesbians in Singapore.

"Because Singapore is primarily Chinese, there's the issue of filial piety, there's always the pressure to get married and perhaps it's even more so in an Asian country," said Tan.

Resistance by gay organisations to the government's policies is surprisingly passive as some fear outspoken protests could spark a crackdown on the small concessions already won.

"Singaporeans as a whole are not a very vocal, politically inclined bunch of people. Because they're not outspoken, there isn't the same kind of backlash," said Stuart Koe, head of Fridae.com, which runs Singapore's main gay and lesbian website.

"People aren't going to march on the streets. I don't think there's ever going to be a gay pride march here in Singapore."

Despite the slow pace of change, many remain optimistic the government will eventually be forced to make more concessions to the gay community to bring Singapore into line with other modern states.

Although how long that takes, will be anyone's guess.

"When we see 50 percent of people under 30 have a gay friendly attitude, we know that time is on our side. The biggest problem is that this government doesn't answer to the people," said Au of People Like Us.

Reuters: Singapore gays find tacit acceptance, some seek more

Singapore gays find tacit acceptance, some seek more

by Amy Tan
"Homosexuals can change," a banner proclaimed from the side of a Singapore church that runs counselling sessions to steer gay people back onto the straight and narrow. Gay activists protested and the banner was removed.

Judging by the scope of the not-so-underground gay scene, the strait-laced city state is slowly moving towards quiet acceptance of its gay community. A hip dance club in the heart of town is packed with hundreds of muscular, sweaty men gyrating to pumping music.

Elsewhere on the island, other gay-friendly watering holes see a steady stream of customers. Shelves at major bookstores are stacked with a wide range of books on homosexuality ranging from gay history to romance. Local gay and lesbian Internet groups, some with several hundred members, have mushroomed. "I can't imagine these things that have gone on for so long escape the attention of the authorities," Alex Au, head of the informal gay and lesbian activist group People Like Us (PLU), told Reuters.

It is not illegal to be gay or lesbian in Singapore, but homosexual sex acts are illegal and can land people in jail -- even if they take place in private. Gays and lesbians have no legal protection against employment discrimination on grounds of their sexuality. Self-declared gay men in the military are relegated to administrative or logistics work. Other former British colonies sharing similar laws, such as Australia and Hong Kong, have long decriminalised homosexuality.

FAMILY AND BIRTH RATE

In Singapore, the government constantly harps on the need for traditional family units as the population ages and birth rates fall, but life for gays and lesbians appears little affected. "We actually lead very normal lives," says Wee Han, a 23-year-old writer. "I think there is always a discrepancy between the way we are ruled and governed and the way we live." Violent gay bashing is unheard of in Singapore, which generally boasts low crime rates. "Some people in Singapore really object to it but they still keep mum about it," says 19-year-old beauty consultant Celyn Png. "I can even kiss in public. People just stare."

But while commercial ventures catering to gays exist, the government has been less accommodating to homosexuals trying to raise their profile. "The further away you move from money towards speech, the more defined the restrictions coming your way," PLU's Au says. PLU, which started off as a gay social group, applied to the government to form a society to promote the understanding of homosexual issues in 1996 but was rejected after lengthy appeals. PLU plans for a public forum on gay issues in May 2000 was also scrapped after it failed to get the nod from authorities. The hit Broadway musical "Rent," which features two gay couples as central characters and on-stage kissing, made its local debut in February with a rating which barred under-18s.

"Five years ago they would have banned the play," says Gaurav Kripalani, artistic director of the Singapore Repertory Theatre which staged "Rent." "They are letting adults judge for themselves what they want to see and what they don't."

MORALS

Others in the gay community sense a growing acceptance. "They're beginning to realise that maybe it is not such a major issue," says a 37-year-old banker, who asked not to be identified. "Singaporean morals aren't going to get destroyed overnight just because gay people begin to live as gay people."

But Au does not see the government moving "inexorably towards liberalisation" and says anti-gay sex laws look set to stay. "I think the fundamental reason is not wanting to provoke the fundamentalists," he says. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, renowned for his no-nonsense approach as Singapore's first prime minister, clarified the official stand on gays in a 1998 television interview. "It's not a matter which I can decide or any government can decide. It's a question of what a society considers acceptable," Lee said. "But what we are doing as a government is to leave people to live their own lives so long as they don't impinge on other people. I mean, we don't harass anybody."

Despite the quiet acquiescence towards gays and lesbians, there is room for more openess, Au says. "There's always underground freedom. The point must be what happens overground," he adds. "The issue is why aren't we given our due -- given legal equality, political recognition and social recognition above ground."

CHURCH BANNER

After the Church of Our Saviour put up the banner last year to promote its counselling sessions, the gay community quickly rallied online to gather signatures for a petition. The church still conducts the sessions but the banner has come down. In a written reply to the petition, the church said homosexuals did not have to change their orientation to join the church. They just had to moderate their behaviour.

"There has been much hospitality and grace extended by the church to people steeped in the homosexual lifestyle," it wrote. The ,Straits Times newspaper has cited three new lobbies jostling for the government's attention -- the ageing population, environmentalists and the gay community.

"For now, the gay lobby is most marked in its ability to purvey cultural norms because of the preponderance of homosexual themes in Singapore's art and entertainment scene," it wrote. "Whether it will turn out a socio-political force remains to be seen. But if the trend in other industrialised countries is any guide, the tide is towards acceptance of homosexuals, not criminalisation."

Au, a 48-year-old businessman who has been the single most outspoken member of the gay community, is confident there are now others to take up the cause. "It's reached the point where I'm not the only one who's active," he says."