New exco wants to bring AWARE back to its "original" goal

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CNA

SINGAPORE : Bringing AWARE back to its "original cause" — that is what the new executive committee (exco) of advocacy group, the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), is planning to do.
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In an emotionally—charged news conference on Thursday, the new guard said AWARE has lost its focus.

They accused the old guard of steering AWARE into becoming a single purpose organisation.

Drama erupted even before the news conference started with current Honorary Treasurer Chew I—Jin accusing the new guard of intentionally excluding her from their news conference.

"I’m utterly disappointed and disgusted because I’m meant to do a presentation alongside you, Lois (Ng, Executive Committee member)," said Chew.

During the one—and—a—half hour event, the group introduced well—known corporate lawyer Dr Thio Su Mien, as their so—called "feminist mentor".

Dr Thio is the Senior Executive Director of TSMP Law Corporation and mother of Nominated MP, Dr Thio Li Ann.

The new exco said AWARE had become a single purpose organisation overly concerned with promoting lesbianism.

They repeatedly raised examples, like how the old guard had backed a lesbian film screening in 2007 and organised a lesbian—friendly Mother’s Day event in 2006. And they wanted to bring the association back to what they say is its original noble cause.

When contacted for comment, former AWARE president Margaret Thomas said those comments were ridiculous and not deserving of any comment.

Dr Thio Su Mien also revealed that she had emailed several groups with her concerns about the direction the association was taking, which prompted reporters to ask if the takeover was orchestrated.

"It depends on what you mean by organising. It is kind of flattering in a way. I’m frustrated, I talk to people, I collect info, I send to different people. You want to join, (then) join. I will help you. We discover that networking helps," said Dr Thio, adviser to the new AWARE exco.

The new exco said none of them intend to step down, but revealed that taking up office has come with risks.

Several members received death threats which have been reported to the police.

"Each day, I fear for the physical safety of my children, my family. There’s even a blog site detailing my children’s names and which schools they go to," said Josie Lau, AWARE’s president.

The team will go ahead with the extraordinary general meeting planned for May 2 and is looking for a new venue to accommodate its burgeoning membership. It is now 880 and still growing. — CNA /ls

Thought it will be interesting to let you guys see the development of LGTB rights in Singapore.

I am extremely pissed with the fact that they are basically trying to enforce their own religious view onto a secular organisation as born-again Christian, and proclaiming that they are still secular simply because other religion shares the same views.

Yeah, but they have to freaking spread their ideology that homosexuals are evil people who will harm your children and spreading the belief that long term exposure to homosexuals will turn you gay or lesbian. Hell, the replies made by people on the Straits times forums is even more disgusting, with people saying we should throw homosexuals and bisexuals into prisons.

In response to the new Exco, fuck them.

[Qwerty 42]

Well doesn't the new Exco just sound wonderful?

For the record, not being previously aware of AWARE (har har) I assumed you had somehow butchered "New Mexico," for which I apologize.

[ray245]

Well doesn't the new Exco just sound wonderful?

For the record, not being previously aware of AWARE (har har) I assumed you had somehow butchered "New Mexico," for which I apologize.

Worst, it gets annoying that for some weird reason, the majority of the people starts to agree with Christian's 'moral' argument even though they are a minority.

The idea that it is cool to be a converted Christian because you are becoming more inclined with the western world sure did not help things. I have friends who view Christianity as a liberal religion simply due to the fact that it is the dominant religion in the west.

The fact that Buddhism, which is somewhat more open-minded about social issues in Singapore, is viewed as an conservative and boring religion sure did not help things out in Singapore.

[ray245]

Straits Times
Singapore enquirer

They came to reclaim what they had lost, and they did.

In a big show of solidarity, stalwarts of the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) and their supporters turned up in force and won it back.

Nearly 3,000 people attended an extraordinary general meeting and over nearly seven action-packed hours, blasted away at the team of unknowns which snatched the Aware leadership on March 28.

Then they voted resoundingly to oust the team led by DBS Bank vice-president Josie Lau and inspired by senior lawyer Thio Su Mien.

The final tally that they should go: 1,414 to 761.

Even then, Ms Lau and her team did not step down immediately. They consulted their lawyer, ignored calls to resign, then were told they could retire for five minutes to decide.

When they did not return, the meeting elected a new executive committee headed by former president Dana Lam.

It was half an hour before Ms Lau and her exco reappeared to say that they had decided to step down.

Yesterday’s meeting at Suntec City Hall 402 drew Aware founders, past presidents and long-time members, as well as many women who joined only in recent weeks.

Many said they had been moved by the tumultuous events since March 28, when a team of new members seized nine of the 12 positions on the exco.

New president Claire Nazar quit 11 days later, to be succeeded by Ms Lau. It then emerged that several of the new leaders attended the Anglican Church of Our Saviour, and were strongly against homosexuality.

Then, Dr Thio revealed that she had encouraged the women to join and change Aware because she felt it was promoting lesbianism and homosexuality.

In particular, she attacked an Aware sexuality programme for schools, saying it too promoted homosexuality. She called herself a ‘feminist mentor’.

Over the past five weeks, the Aware exco shrank from 12 to eight as members resigned. There were only seven present yesterday, as the eighth, Ms Peggy Leong, did not attend.

Yesterday’s marathon meeting, which started at 2.30pm, was dominated by Aware stalwarts and their supporters, who criticised the newcomers and Dr Thio for the way they took over the association, disregarded older members and sacked staff. They also criticised the team’s lack of diversity.

Ms Lau’s team had several hundred supporters at the meeting, but mostly the sparring was done between the audience and the exco, and Dr Thio.

There were some tense moments at the start of the meeting, when Nominated Member of Parliament Siew Kum Hong was told to sit with the men and expatriates in one side of the hall.

He refused, saying that he was there as a legal adviser for the old guard.

Ms Lau started to make a speech but was interrupted several times, including by former vice-president Margaret Thomas, who wanted the vote of no confidence to be tabled immediately.

In the ensuing war of words, assistant honorary secretary Sally Ang told Ms Thomas to ’shut up and sit down’.

That caused an uproar and Ms Ang refused to apologise until after Ms Lau apologised.

Former presidents Dana Lam, Zaibun Siraj and Constance Singam criticised the new team for lacking the moral authority to lead Aware.

Mrs Singam asked: ‘Where were you when women were abused and battered in the home, and girls raped? Where were you when children and husbands of Singapore women were denied citizenship? Where were you? You were not there.’

The crowd echoed: ‘Where were you? Where were you?’

‘Feminist mentor’ Dr Thio tried to speak but was mostly drowned out. She said they should respect their elders, and someone called back: ‘Respect has to be earned.’

Ms Lau and her team referred regularly to the lawyers from Rajah & Tann hired for the occasion.

Her team had several hundred supporters in the room, but they were mostly quiet. Only a handful spoke up.

It was not until 8.05pm that the results of the no-confidence vote were finally announced. The exco sat in stunned silence as the hall reverberated with loud cheers.

A check with the legal team drew the advice that the exco should step down out of ‘courtesy, custom and common sense’.

It was around 9.10pm when Ms Lau told the room: ‘The exco has graciously decided to step down and we wish Aware all the best in its future endeavours.’

In other words, suck it! Seems like the fundamentalist managed to piss enough people off to get themselves ousted. If only my generation would stop viewing Christianity as the most liberal religion around us, just because it is a western Religion. Any trying to emulate the good and bad of 'western' culture alike makes you hip and cool.

[PainRack]

[quote="ray245]
In other words, suck it! Seems like the fundamentalist managed to piss enough people off to get themselves ousted. If only my generation would stop viewing Christianity as the most liberal religion around us, just because it is a western Religion. Any trying to emulate the good and bad of 'western' culture alike makes you hip and cool.[/quote]
This isn't exactly the end.... The previous campaign of slander still exists, and as it is, they're already moving on to decleare that there were death threats and are now being persecuted as "christians".

[PainRack]

Setting aside the substantive disagreements, the Aware saga offers lessons about civil society governance and process. What alarmed many neutral observers was the way the insurgents went about their plans.

Civil society groups that want influence and respect should be transparent in their dealings and be ready to account for themselves. It would be an understatement to say that the insurgents were unprepared for the intense public scrutiny they attracted.

They were secretive in their plan to take over Aware and coy about their intentions. Based on their public statements, it is still unclear how much they were motivated by a single issue: their opposition to Aware’s liberal stand on homosexuality. If this was their target all along, it does not speak well for them that they did not state it plainly and publicly at the outset.

If this was not their primary concern, then an even more troubling concern arises. Their allegations at the height of the dispute, that Aware had been promoting homosexuality to children and teens, smack of a cynical (but, sadly, historically effective) political ploy: win support from the masses by turning a marginalised minority into an object of fear.

In many societies, the tactic would have worked. Governments lacking in moral courage are known to side with intolerant forces when they whip up mass sentiment against minorities. Fortunately, it did not work here. The Ministry of Education’s measured and rational response took the wind out of the sails of the insurgents and exposed them as scaremongers.

The Government is not known to be sympathetic to the progressive agenda of Aware’s liberals. Perhaps the insurgents had hoped that dragging the school sexuality programme into the debate would prod the Government to take its side. If so, they miscalculated. If there is one thing that is stronger than its antipathy towards liberal values, it is the Government’s resistance to letting its power and prestige become tools in the hands of any lobby group, whatever its ideological complexion.

No doubt, the weekend’s events would have made the insurgents feel utterly misunderstood and underappreciated, as losing factions are wont to. They have nobody to blame but themselves. No matter how pure their intentions, their words and actions were patently out of place in Singaporean civil society.

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/05/awa ... -a-fiasco/
Sums up everything nicely.

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It's funny to see many posters on that side complaining that the 'rowdy' crowd is the reason why we need heavier police enforcement.

Even though no actual damage was done.

[PainRack]

It's funny to see many posters on that side complaining that the 'rowdy' crowd is the reason why we need heavier police enforcement.

Even though no actual damage was done.

The feelings of persecution IS valid. The point remains, nobody fucking liked what those jokers tried to do at AWARE. Despite what many people think, AWARE isn't exactly some minor civil rights organisation. Its small, but it has been at the forefront of women rights in Singapore for decades and has achieved miracles, including finally winning the right for wives to claim rape.
Given that their only "defence" is being "pro-family", this even though many female activists have fought to broaden the definity of family to include non traditional female roles, its should had been obvious that they needled many people.