29/06/2024

Pink Dot 2024

PINK DOT 16: FIGHTING FOR A SINGAPORE WHERE EVERY SINGAPOREAN MATTERS
Pink Dot 16 at Hong Lim Park on 29 Jun 2024. Photo: Pink Dot SG

Answering Lawrence Wong’s call for citizens to share their dreams1, thousands of Singaporeans gathered at Hong Lim Park to express hopes for a future where no one is left behind. Hundreds penned personal messages to our new prime minister with their concerns and dreams2 for the community.

This sixteenth edition of Pink Dot culminated in an evening light-up formation of the word “Equality”, a collective call for national leaders to address ongoing discrimination and marginalisation faced by LGBTQ+ Singaporeans.

“The people have spoken: not being criminals is far from enough. Like all Singaporeans, we want fulfilling lives and a fair shot at building our futures here,” said Pink Dot SG spokesperson Clement Tan. “We deserve to feel safe in our homes and schools. We deserve to be treated equally at our workplaces. To our political leaders: Don’t turn your backs on us. Together we can create a Singapore for all Singaporeans, a nation where no one is left behind.”


Thousands turn up for annual Pink Dot SG rally to show support for LGBTQ community
This year’s rally sought to highlight discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. ST FOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Hong Lim Park was awash in hues of pink on June 29 as thousands turned up for the annual Pink Dot SG rally at the Speakers’ Corner. This year’s rally – the 16th edition since 2009 – sought to highlight discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) community and called on participants to envision a more inclusive Singapore.

This is the second Pink Dot SG rally since Singapore repealed Section 377A, the law that criminalised gay sex. Hundreds of participants penned messages to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who was sworn in on May 15, to share their concerns on the challenges LGBTQ+ people face and their hopes for a more respectful and accepting Singapore.

A number of politicians were spotted at the event, including Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development and for Culture, Community and Youth. Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Darryl David, Nee Soon GRC MPs Carrie Tan and Derrick Goh, Workers’ Party MPs Jamus Lim, He Ting Ru and Louis Chua, as well as Progress Singapore Party’s Lim Cher Hong and Jeffrey Khoo also showed up dressed in pink. Pink Dot SG spokesman Clement Tan said the repeal of Section 377A showed that change is possible if the community continues to show up and speak up.


Singapore PAP MPs, opposition politicians attend LGBTQ rally despite pro-family scorecard
A view of attendees at the pink dot at the 2024 Pink Dot rally in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Despite the emergence of a scorecard grading politicians based on their traditional stances on family values, several politicians attended this year’s Pink Dot, with two Members of Parliament from the People’s Action Party saying that it is important to speak to all communities in Singapore.

Speaking on the sidelines of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rally Pink Dot, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua said: “I believe in staying true to the mission. My mission is to serve the people and the people in today’s terms in Singapore is a very pluralistic one. “We need to look at different sectors that need to be engaged and continue the communications with each of the sectors.”

A morning downpour might have left most of Hong Lim Park in a muddy bog, but that did not stop thousands from dressing up in pink and attending Pink Dot to show their support for the LGBTQ community. Held from 3.15pm to 8.30pm on Saturday, the annual LGBTQ rally featured 29 community booths from organisations providing different forms of support to the LGBTQ community and performances by local acts such as singer Marian Carmel, all men’s choir Sing Men’s Chorus and drag performance group Singapura Drag Royalty. Several speakers also took the microphone during the event, including Anne Goh, a former national rugby player and volunteer for lesbian, bisexual and queer organisation Sayoni; drag artist Kira Moon, who was harassed and assaulted by a group of men in March; and Clarence Singam, co-founder of counselling organisation for the LGBTQ community Oogachaga.


Politicians show up for Pink Dot despite scorecard grading their 'family values', say it's important to engage different groups
Crowds at Pink Dot SG at Singapore's Hong Lim Park on Jun 29, 2024. (Photo: TODAY/Raj Nadarajan)

Held from 3.15pm to 8.30pm on Saturday (Jun 29), the annual LGBTQ rally featured 29 community booths from organisations providing different forms of support to the LGBTQ community and performances by local acts such as singer Marian Carmel, all men's choir Sing Men's Chorus and drag performance group Singapura Drag Royalty.

Several speakers also took the microphone, including Ms Anne Goh, a former national rugby player and volunteer for lesbian, bisexual and queer organisation Sayoni; drag artist Kira Moon, who was harassed and assaulted by a group of men in March; and Mr Clarence Singam, co-founder of counselling organisation for the LGBTQ community Oogachaga.

Speaking to TODAY at the event, Pink Dot spokesperson Clement Tan said this year's theme - No One Left Behind - "encapsulates for us (in the LGBTQ community) the exclusions we encounter throughout our lives all the way from cradle to grave". He added that attendees were invited to pen messages to Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, noting that Mr Wong had called for building a more inclusive society through Forward Singapore last November. This is the second Pink Dot since Section 377A, a decades-old law criminalising gay sex, was repealed in November 2022.


MPs from both PAP & WP attend Pink Dot, PSP members also show up

A  number of Members of Parliament (MPs) from both the ruling and opposition parties attended Pink Dot 16 on Saturday (29 June). This included politicians from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), too, according to posts on Pink Dot’s social media.

The MPs from the People’s Action Party (PAP) spotted were:
  • Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Eric Chua, who is also Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
  • Nee Soon GRC MP Carrie Tan
  • Another Nee Soon GRC MP, Mr Derrick Goh.
  • Lastly, Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Darryl David was also seen.

Besides the ruling party, Workers’ Party (WP) MPs also made an appearance at the event. They were Sengkang GRC MPs, namely Ms He Ting Ru, Mr Chua Kheng Wee and Dr Jamus Lim. This was not the first Pink Dot for the three of them, as Ms He and Mr Chua Kheng Wee also came last year, while Dr Lim was seen in 2022. Pink Dot was graced by opposition politicians from the Progress Singapore Party (PSP). In a Facebook post that evening, PSP said deputy organising secretary Jeffrey Khoo and assistant treasurer Lim Cher Hong went to the event, along with two members of the PSP’s youth wing.


Workers' Party MPs & Progress S'pore Party CEC members attend Pink Dot 2024

Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Workers' Party (WP) and members of the Progress Singapore Party's (PSP) central executive committee turned up for the 2024 edition of the Pink Dot event. This is the 16th edition of Pink Dot since its inception, and the second since the repeal of 377A, the law which criminalised sex between consenting gay men. In the same year, Parliament also passed a bill amending the Constitution to enshrine the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

WP MPs Jamus Lim, He Ting Ru and Louis Chua appeared at the event. The MPs mingled with the crowd and took photos and selfies with attendees. This was the biggest WP contingent at Pink Dot, with Lim attending in 2022 and He and Chua attending in 2023.

In addition, two PSP members attended this year's event. They were Jeffrey Khoo, PSP's Deputy Organising Secretary and Lim Cher Hong, the party's Assistant Treasurer. Both Khoo and Lim stood for the 2020 general election.


Queer Singaporeans Share How They’re Celebrating Pride This Year Beyond Pink Dot

It’s June 30th. Another Pride Month has gone and left. Pink Dot was yesterday. It goes without saying that it’s our largest anchor event for Singaporean Pride festivities. At some point, it was our only Pride event. But as gay rights progress, alternative events are growing in popularity. From watching LGBTQ+ movies and spending your pink dollar to gay bouldering, there are so many different ways to connect with the queer community, in addition to the yearly jio to Hong Lim Park.

Some LGBTQ+ Singaporeans acknowledge Pride Month in a more personal way. For them, Pride is about being more open about their sexualities. They’re engaging in political discourse about LGBTQ+ rights in Singapore. They’re having difficult conversations with friends and families. It’s undeniable that Pink Dot still has relevance, especially post-repeal. Pink Dot brings a whole community together, and it’s still the most visible form of LGBTQ+ activism here.  But, as these Singaporeans reveal, Pink Dot’s not the only way to celebrate Pride—and that’s a good thing. “I didn’t go to Pink Dot this year. Don’t get me wrong, I think Pink Dot is awesome. For a lot of LGBTQ+ Singaporeans (me included!), Pink Dot’s the first time you ever see people openly expressing their sexualities. 

I just don’t need to go to Pink Dot to feel safe about my identity anymore. I’m out to my parents and they’re okay with it. I know Pink Dot matters a lot to my 19-year-old sister, who isn’t out yet. She hasn’t missed one since she was 17. Personally, Pride Month is spent being open about my sexuality. I make a little Pride post on my socials every year. Pride’s not about rainbow logos and wearing a pink shirt: it’s about engaging and finding solidarity with the queer community. Pink Dot is one of many ways to do that. That’s why I try to offer as much support as I can to my younger sister. I hope she knows I love her and accept her for who she is.” “I went to Pink Dot. Not for any particular reason, but because most of my friends are queer anyway, so it was another excuse to hang out with my friends and be loud and do dumb stuff.


The Business of Activism — Why Pink Dot continues post repeal

After meeting their most publicised KPI, we interview Pink Dot spokesperson, Clement Tan to hear more about Pink Dot, and how they plan to carry on. (Getting to convene) with people who passionately care about something is valuable in and of itself. I think that energy is something that we don’t, as queer people, get to experience the other 364 days a year,” says Clement Tan, the spokesperson for Pink Dot SG, about the yearly protest.

“We consider ourselves very lucky because there are a lot of other causes and advocacy groups that aren’t able to muster that kind of energy in that singular moment. We’ve been very fortunate that Pink Dot has been able to do that year after year.” It’s a Wednesday, exactly a month before June 29, 2024, when the annual Pink Dot event will be held at Hong Lim Park. Today, I’m speaking to its organisers at the protest’s launch event to explore what the business of activism looks like when a milestone objective has been reached.

Pink Dot is one of Singapore’s most well-known protests, which advocates for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Singapore. Since the protests’ inception in 2009, one of their main KPIs has been the repeal of Penal Code Section 377A, which criminalised any sexual acts between men — including those in private. Every year for 14 years, impassioned speeches at the protest advocated for the repeal of 377A, denouncing the penal code as discriminatory and a sword hanging over the heads of gay men in Singapore. It’s a constant reminder that even as the law was not enforced, gay men would still be considered criminals because of their sexual orientation.


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