JAKARTA • Indonesian police have detained 141 men who were allegedly holding a gay party at a sauna, an official said yesterday, the latest sign of a backlash against homosexuals in the Muslim-majority country.
Officers had on Sunday night raided a building in the capital Jakarta, called Atlantis, that houses a sauna and a gym, and halted an event they said was called “The Wild One”.
“Our officers did an undercover investigation and raided the place on Sunday,” said senior detective Nasriadi, who goes by one name.
Homosexuality and gay sex are legal everywhere in Indonesia except in conservative Aceh province, but Mr Nasriadi said that 10 of those arrested in the Jakarta raid could be charged under Indonesia’s tough anti-pornography laws.
The 10 men include the alleged organisers of the event as well as those suspected of being prostitutes and striptease dancers. Those found guilty of breaking the laws face up to 10 years in jail.
The others detained are still being questioned by police as potential witnesses in the case, the detective said.
Our little family consists of me Mama Olivia Chiong, my wife Mommy Irene Chiong and our daughter Baby Zoey Chiong. This blog was started as a way for me to share my thoughts on our life together.
Parenting in the most expensive city in the world is not easy. Same-sex parenting is of course just that little bit harder and more expensive. Since we have chosen to have a child in Singapore, we are well aware of the many challenges that lie ahead of us.
Life is not meant to be lived in fear. I believe in living my life the way I want instead of living life the way others expect me to. Sure, we may face some obstacles along the way, but how can you know true happiness if you have not had to fight for it? As humans, our emotions play a big part in the ups and downs of our lives. Happiness is a state of mind that can only be achieved if you have known sadness. It is all relative.
So thank you for coming to check out my blog. Stay a while, get to know us and feel free to ask questions. I can be reached at olivia (at) thechiongs.com
The Republic is not ready for same-sex marriage as the society is still “basically a conservative one”, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
While he noted the developments in developed countries, he pointed out the “considerable resistance” from these places too.
“There is a trend in developed countries. In America, they have gay marriage. It is state by state. Not all states have agreed. In Europe, some countries have done it … but there was big considerable resistance,” said Mr Lee. “Even in America, there is a very strong pushback from conservative groups against the idea.”
Mr Lee, who was interviewed by a group of journalists from around the region yesterday (June 4), was responding to ABS-CBN News Channel journalist Antonio Velaquez, who had asked for his views on gay marriage and whether Singapore is ready for it.
Mr Lee said: “No, I do not think Singapore is ready … In Singapore, there is a range of views. There are gay groups in Singapore, there are gay people in Singapore and they have a place to stay here and we let them live their own lives. And we do not harass them or discriminate against them.”
He added: “But neither, I think, if you ask most Singaporeans, do we want the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community to set the tone for Singapore society. The society is basically a conservative one. It is changing, but it is changing gradually and there are different views, including views especially from the religious groups who push back … It is completely understandable.”
The Government’s view is that “where we are … is not a bad place to be”, Mr Lee said. “There is space for the gay community, but they should not push the agenda too hard because if they (do), there will be a very strong pushback,” he added.
“And this is not an issue where there is a possibility that the two sides can discuss and eventually come to a consensus. Now, these are very entrenched views and the more you discuss, the angrier people get.”
Ireland has become the first-ever country to approve same-sex marriage by referendum, voting overwhelmingly to approve it despite opposition from clergy in the heavily Catholic nation, according to official results announced today.
Reuters says in Friday’s vote “more than 60 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot, the highest turnout at a referendum there in over two decades.”
Earlier, both sides in the debate acknowledged that the “yes” vote had succeeded.
Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s health minister who came out as gay in January just as the campaign was getting underway, said Dublin appeared to have voted 70 percent in favor of the measure.
“We’re the first country in the world to enshrine marriage equality in our constitution and do so by popular mandate,” Varadkar said. “That makes us a beacon, a light to the rest of the world of liberty and equality. It’s a very proud day to be Irish.”
NPR’s Ari Shapiro, speaking with Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon, says that although Ireland is a predominately Catholic country and many clergy urged a no vote, “the Church has had a lot of scandals” in recent years. Without a doubt, he says, the Church is “one of the losers in this vote.”
The head of the Iona Institute, which ran the No campaign in Ireland’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage, has tweeted his congratulations to the yes campaign.
Here’s the tweet from Iona Director David Quinn:
Congratulations to the Yes side. Well done. #MarRef
SINGAPORE — Religion is important to their identity, and Muslims and Protestant Christians are the two religious groups that are most affected by and most disapproving when friends or family members of the same faith give up their religious beliefs.
They also feel more strongly than their Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic and other counterparts about moral issues such as homosexual sex, sex before marriage, adoption of children by gay couples and gambling.
These were among the findings in a study on religiosity and management of religious harmony released yesterday by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).
The study’s authors said: “Considering that for many Muslims, Protestants and Catholics, a mark of the good person includes the teaching of one’s morals, it is important that they temper this with a respect for those who do not share such values.”
About two-thirds of Muslims and 44 per cent of Protestants said religion was very important to their sense of identity — significantly higher numbers than those of other faiths. About 69 per cent of Muslims and half the Protestants said they disapproved of family members of their faith giving up their religious beliefs, compared with 20 per cent of Buddhists and 31 per cent of Hindus, for example.
The study’s authors noted that giving up religious beliefs is more disconcerting among religious groups where there are higher levels of religious participation and identity.
Lead author, IPS senior research fellow Mathew Mathews, said greater religiosity among Muslims here was observed a few decades ago and coincided with increased global Muslim piety. Many Muslims in Malaysia and the region also take their religion very seriously and this is increasingly so, he noted. As for Protestants, the dominant form of Protestant Christianity here is of a “conservative variety where there is an emphasis on doing the right thing”.
Many Singaporean Protestants are first-generation Christians and “you expect converts to be a lot more fervent about their faith, especially since they made a choice to embrace the religion”, Dr Mathew said.
Mr Noor Mohamed Marican, president of Inter-Religious Organisation, said it is important that Muslim and Protestant leaders have strong ties and communication with different religious leaders, as inter-faith dialogues based on goodwill will prevent misunderstandings. “We must learn to respectfully agree to disagree and see above and beyond our disagreements,” he said.
Speaking in his capacity as Bishop of the Lutheran Church, Reverend Terry Kee said: “If you look at the survey, it’s not just Muslim and Christians … almost all the faiths had similar conviction in terms of the importance of good strong morals. With the increase of non-religious influence … (and) in the face of eroding moral fabric of our society, this actually brings the religious community closer together … on how we can work together to preserve and protect the moral value of our nation.”
Rev Kee, who is also a vice-president of the National Council of Churches of Singapore, added: “So this would not be a problem between different religions but, rather, it may become a problem between a more united religious community versus the non-religious.”
Literary and cultural critic Nazry Bahrawi of the Singapore University of Technology and Design also felt Singapore’s biggest challenge with regard to harmony is not inter-religious. “Rather, our developing ‘culture war’ really has to do with how Protestants and Muslims react to changing views of sexuality,” he said, urging both religious groups to consider theology from multiple traditions and perspectives.
Singapore could consider ethics instead of moral education modules in schools to promote more empathy and less judgment of others, he suggested.
The study’s authors also warned that vibrant religious centres elsewhere are likely to have some influence on believers in Singapore through constant exchanges and the Internet. With immigrant flows, there is the possibility of intra-religious conflicts over theology, religious practice and other issues.
Established religious structures here should also be open to incorporating “splinter groups” with their own interpretation of religion and “steer them clear from tendencies that may destabilise religious harmony”, they wrote. Additional reporting by Laura Philomin
Kebanyakan rakyat Singapura agak senang dengan keadaan sekarang apabila membincangkan soal ruang bersama bagi amalan keagamaan.
Hanya suku yang mengatakan kumpulan-kumpulan agama patut diberi lebih banyak hak daripada yang sedia ada.
Demikian menurut dapatan terbaru mengenai kehidupan beragama di sini, yang dikeluarkan Institut Pengajian Dasar, IPS.
Dan masyarakat Muslim ternyata masih mencatat kadar tertinggi mempertahankan nilai-nilai agama, berbanding penganut agama lain.
Dapatan tertinggi – 94% Muslim menganggap hubungan sejenis adalah salah.
