Under-fire minister Vivian Balakrishnan has turned the spotlight on the SDP by accusing Vincent Wijeysingha of having a hidden gay rights agenda
By Nigel Tan
Chief Editor
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, today dragged the General Election down into the gutter by launching a full-frontal assault on his opponent Dr Vincent Wijeysingha.
On Sunday 24 April, Dr Balakrishnan made cryptic comments to Straits Times reporters about an online video that the “SDP was trying to suppress”. He did not give any further details. Following his comments, the SDP denied that it was trying to suppress anything, and asked the minister for a clarification.
Today, Dr Balakrishnan issued a statement on the matter, co-signed by his team mates in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Liang Eng Hwa, Sim Ann and Christopher De Souza. The full text of the statement is as follows:
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A video has been posted on the internet showing Vincent Wijeysingha participating at a forum which discussed the promotion of the gay cause in Singapore.
The discussion at the forum also touched on sex with boys and whether the age of consent for boys should be 14 years of age.
In the video, Wijeysingha was introduced as being from the SDP.
In addition to other comments, Wijeysingha stated: ‘I think the gay community has to rally ourselves. Perhaps one outcome of today’s forum would be, for those of us who are interested, to come together to further consider how we can address the 377 issue as well as further rights issues in relation to gays and lesbians.’
We believe that candidates should be upfront about their political agenda and motives, so that voters are able to make an informed choice.
The issue is not Wijeysingha’s sexual orientation. That is a matter for him.
The video raises the question on whether Wijeysingha will now pursue this cause in the political arena and what is the SDP’s position on the matter.
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In his original comments made on April 24, Dr Balakrishnan gave a hint of what was to come by suggesting that the SDP’s candidates should “come out of the closet” – an expression that is commonly associated with gays and lesbians being open about their sexual orientation.
This latest attack has plunged the general election campaign straight back to the depths of the 1980s and 1990s, when PAP leaders frequently singled out opposition candidates for personal attacks, often insinuating that they had clandestine motives for entering politics. In 1988, Francis Seow was accused of working with American diplomats to subvert Singapore’s political system, while Tang Liang Hong was accused of having a racial agenda in 1997.
Dr Wijeysingha has so far made no mention of gay rights and shown no signs that he intends to make it an election issue, with his focus having been squarely placed on economic issues.
Dr Balakrishnan’s allegations are a low blow because he knows that the right-wing Christian lobby is growing in strength and influence, particularly in the largely affluent and upper-middle class Holland-Bukit Timah area. Many of them will be alarmed by news of a candidate’s alleged intention to campaign vigorously for gay rights, something that Dr Wijeysingha has not done.
The SDP team in Holland-Bukit Timah – comprising Dr Wijeysingha, Mr Tan Jee Say, Dr Ang Yong Guan and Ms Michelle Lee – was described as being one of the strongest opposition GRC teams, whereas Dr Balakrishnan, on the other hand, is under strong pressure following his bungling of the Youth Olympic Games, which ran three times over-budget.
Dr Balakrishnan’s next move is likely to be to attempt to sow discord between Dr Wijeysingha and his teammates Mr Tan and Dr Ang – who are both known to be staunch Christians. Mr Tan, a former senior aide to Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, has indicated that he joined the opposition because he felt that the PAP has “lost its moral compass”, singling out the decision to build two casinos as being particularly disappointing.
On Sunday, Dr Balakrishnan accused Mr Tan of “not doing his due diligence” before joining the SDP, saying that the Holland-Bukit Timah team was made up of “strange bedfellows”. Now, he is likely to put Mr Tan on the spot – either he denounces Dr Wijeysingha or risks being seen as hypocritical by the large body of evangelical Christian voters residing within the constituency.
In one fell swoop, Dr Balakrishnan has managed to turn the spotlight onto his opponents, while obfuscating the very real issues that Dr Wijeysingha and Mr Tan have raised about the economy. If the events of elections past are to serve as any guide, the PAP will be making Dr Wijeysingha the lightning rod throughout the entire campaign period, with aspersions being cast about his integrity, his motives and his “hidden agenda” on a daily basis and being repeated ad nauseaum in the state-controlled mainstream media.
No one even knew about the video before Dr Balakrishnan brought it up, but unfortunately it will now distract vast sections of the electorate from the national debates on immigration, the cost of living and the economy – debates that by most accounts, the PAP is losing.
Tragically, it seems as though SM Goh’s calls for a “fair” and “gentlemanly” contest have fallen on deaf ears, with Dr Balakrishnan going the way of past PAP leaders and tainting the entire election campaign with deplorable and irrelevant personal attacks.
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The author is Chief Editor of The Satay Club
Oh come on, Vincent Wijeysingha thought he’d slip in under the the radar, a la AWARE but he got caught out. If he believes being a gay makes no difference in politics, he should have simply been open about it from the start.
in what way wasn’t he “open” about it?
he simply didn’t make being gay the centrepiece of his bid to run. there is a difference between that and hiding one’s orientation – which wijeysingha has never actually done, to my knowledge.
In the reply to VV’s press release, the SDP issued a youtube. In that youtube, SDP questioned VV on the YOG spending and asked VV to release the YOG accounts. VV had spent a huge amount of money and there are a lot of unanswered questions. Previously, Goh Meng Seng of the NSP had done the following youtube to put the YOG spending in perspective to the problems currently faced by Singapore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tECcYnYQ7A8&feature=player_embedded
I am really disgusted by the actions of Vivian Balakrishnan
to a man called vivian… as a doctor you should know that it is wrong to carry out a pap smear on a gay.
Now that Dr Chee has replied to Vivian Bala’s questions regarding the SDP’s stand, it is time for Vivian Bala himself to COME CLEAN on his own stand. Is he homophobic?? Does he hate gays?? Does he think that Singapore cannot have any gay MPs?? Does he not think that gays deserve equal rights just like any other Singaporean??
Vivian Balakrishnan, please COME CLEAN and tell us WHAT IS YOUR STAND!
Oh yes, and since Vivian Bala asked Chee to clarify SDP’s stand, we also deserve to know what is PAP’s stand and not just Vivian’s personal views. LHL himself should come out to clarify whether the PAP takes a view that gays cannot be MPs.
I wonder what the esteemed and honourable Goh Chok Tong has to say about this… is this what he considers to be a fair and gentlemanly contest??
I was once an ardent supporter of Vivian Balakrishnan. I have met him twice. I have always thought of him as articulate, intelligent and decent, certainly not one who conforms to the mould of the appalling old waxworks in the PAP. I am sad and disappointed that he, of all people, has resorted to this. If it was Mah Bow Tan or Wong Kan Seng, it would almost be understandable, but coming from Vivian, this is simply tragic. I would like to say that I am a Christian and I do not support homosexuality, but we are also taught not to discriminate. I am absolutely, utterly, completely disgusted by Vivian’s gutter politics. Unfortunately we have become no better than our neighbours up north. Next, we will start accusing people of sodomy and start planting videos of people having sex with prostitutes.
Dirty tactics or not, the damage has been done. The SDP team will lose in Holland-Bukit Timah due to the presence of a high concentration of conservative Christians (what others have called “fundamentalists”) in the area. Whether we like it or not, and regardless of the outrage that this causes on the internet, Vivian Balakrishnan has dealt a political death blow to his opponents and there isn’t a thing that they can do about it.
The whole Youtube attack was pre planned and executed. Read Yawning Bread’s expose. Who is this JohnTan8888 who uploaded the video, creating a new membership only on the day of upload and this was his only upload. He uses words which resemble the same lingo used by Vivian ten days later. How did John know this. I guess this is the machinery at work. But it just shows how disgusting Vivian and his team are. I do not want such unethical prejudiced assholes to represent me.
Yes, it is obvious that this “JohnTan8888″ is associated with Vivian Balakrishnan and that the whole thing was a set up. The video wasn’t lurking there, it was posted by one of Vivian’s people. When Vivian mentioned it, no one even knew what he was talking about, but everyone went on a frantic search to see what the big fuss was.. that was when the video started “surfacing” on forums and blogs. The footage was probably provided by an ISD mole who recorded the event covertly. Vivian should be held to account on this. He has to come clean on the whole affair or risk being exposed.
If indeed this whole thing was a SET UP, then investigations should be carried out and the slithering low life Vivian Bala should be exposed!! The details of his dastardly plot should be made known to everyone. If the authorities and state 154th media doesnt want to do it, it’s ok. It should be blown up all over the internet!! Vivian should be held to account for his actions.. if it is indeed a plot, he has to come clean on his intentions and his agenda!!
Vivian Balakrishnan is a disgusting, low-life, venal charlatan.. why can’t he address the issues properly instead of resorting to such underhanded, dishonourable and unfair tactics? This is an outrage and heaps disgrace on Singapore’s political system. VB has clearly done the math – losing the gay vote is a worthwhile sacrifice in return for winning the fundamentalist Christian vote. What an act of desperation, it is clear that he is out of options. Singaporeans should hound him on this issue throughout the next 5 years, never let him forget it.
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I am a gay and my family are all Gays,
i hv been addressed as Ms Gay since a kid
whats wrong with that ?
ROFL@u
There is no issue with anyone being gay or not, but if Vincent is going to use Parliament as his personal soap box to advocate gay issues, then it is obvious that he is representing the gay lobby rather than the national interest. We all know that the gay lobby is very strong, despite being a minority. Whatever it is, TJS and AYG may have made a mistake in joining SDP especially the latter who has spoken at conferences that have been linked to the ultra-radical City Harvest Church.
the PAP has gay candidates too. For instance, a certain eye doctor in Sembawang GRC. Just because he’s married with kids doesn’t mean he is not gay. A female MP in Pasir Ris Punggol GRC is a dyke. But so what. We should them and all politicians on their work and credentials.
Conniving foxes playing dirty dog tricks??
The future is dismal when it is led by a party that is intolerant of gay rights. Who cares what someone’s sexual orientation is. OK, next!
Either LHL has lost control of the whole election process and his team, or he has lost his mind in engaging in something like this. They might stop SDP in Holland-Bukit Timah, but this has the potential to backfire nationally. The opposition could now take the high ground and condemn PAP for this mud-slinging slugfest they are starting. After 20 years of electoral politics they are still going through the same playbook – its time to teach the old dogs different tricks by handing them their first GRC defeat(s) and rewrite the rule of engagement for Singapore politics.
Balakrishnan is a cunning snake. By bringing up this totally irrelevant issue, he is now diverting voters’ attention away from the real important issues, including his own accountability for the YOG budget being exceeded 3 times over, and his own insensitive remarks about “do you want 3 meals a day in a restaurant?”
Unfortunately many of the uncles and aunties will fall for it.. they will say “huh? This guy is gay ah? better not trust him”. Not to mention the Christian Taliban who previously didn’t even hear about VW being gay will now vote against him. This is a dirty, underhanded, despicable tactic because I thought that VW had a real chance in Holland-BT.. that’s why politics is such an utterly dirty game