Pastor’s plea to retain Section 377A sparks online furore

SINGAPORE — A plea by a church pastor — made during morning service last Sunday — to Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong against the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises sex between men, has drawn strong reactions from the online community.

Mr Goh happened to pass by the Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) during his regular walkabout in his Marine Parade constituency and was invited by the church leaders to meet the congregation.

While Mr Goh was on the stage in the church’s auditorium, FCBC senior pastor Lawrence Khong (picture) read from a prepared statement. Among other things, he called the effort to repeal Section 377A “a looming threat” to the family unit, which he defined as “a man as father, a woman as mother, and children”.

“We see a looming threat to this basic building block by homosexual activists seeking to repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code,” said Mr Khong, who also urged the Government to “provide moral leadership in preserving this basic building block and foundation of our society”.

In response, Mr Goh made a general remark that people are free to stand by their beliefs: “You stand by your belief, and you’ll be fine.”

The church, which has a congregation of 10,000, has posted Mr Khong’s full statement, accompanied by photographs of Mr Goh at the church, on its website and on Mr Khong’s Facebook page.

The statement has been reposted on several online forums and websites, sparking anger among the gay community and its supporters.

Yesterday, Reverend Miak Siew, executive pastor of Singapore’s Free Community Church and member of gay advocacy group People Like Us, questioned on Fridae.asia the timing of the statement, noting that two constitutional challenges against Section 377A will be heard in the High Court.

One was filed last November by two men who have been partners for 15 years, saying the law entrenches “stigma and discrimination against lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual people in society”. The other follows a successful appeal by Tan Eng Hong, who was arrested for having oral sex with another man at a public toilet in CityLink Mall in March 2010, and had applied to have 377A of the Penal Code declared unconstitutional for violating his right to personal liberty, among other things.

Mr Miak also wrote an open letter on his Facebook page to Mr Khong: “The repeal of 377A poses no threat to families bound together by love. It is the continued stigmatisation of LGBT people that you are perpetuating that is a threat to families — because you have placed obstacles in how parents understand their children who are different, and create huge rifts in these families.”

Other netizens defended Mr Khong, saying he was entitled to his beliefs.