Singaporean man among first in gay union
Tor Ching Li
chingli@...
Singapore News // Monday, December 12, 2005
ONE of the first British newspapers to cash in on the "pink wedding" rush following last Monday's legalisation of gay ties in Britain was not the "pretty-in-pink-paper" Financial Times, but The Times and The Daily Telegraph.
And one of the first to announce their gay union on the historic day itself was a 41-year-old Singaporean and his 54-year-old British partner.
Under the newly created heading of "Civil Partnerships" in The Times' 221-year-old Births, Marriage and Deaths columns were three notices for the unions of "Graham and Christopher, of Lyme Regis, Dorset", "Ms Jakki Turnbull and Dr Sheila van Dorst" and "Mr John Walker of Stockbridge, Hampshire and Mr Ghani Jantan of Pasir Panjang, Singapore".
The couple, who met in Singapore 12 years ago and have been living in London since 2003, were also the first couple to announce their registration for civil partnership in The Daily Telegraph's Social pages.
Mr Walker told The Daily Telegraph that the civil partnership ceremony would "cement and complete" their relationship, which his family fully supports.
He added that he and Mr Jantan a computer executive when he was working in Singapore "completely disagreed with all this pink, gay stuff" and were planning a discreet ceremony on Dec 22 near their Kensington home.
Couples have to wait for three weeks following registration to sanction their partnership in ink at registry offices all over the country.
The first available date for a ceremony is Dec 21 in England and Wales the date set to be earmarked by Elton John and his partner David Furnish Dec 20 in Scotland and Dec 19 in Northern Ireland.
The legislation will give gay and lesbian couples equal status with married heterosexual couples on vital issues such as tenancy, property ownership, pensions and inheritance.
This could have implications for Singapore, said Mr Alex Au, an advocate for the still-unrecognised gay organisation People Like Us (PLU).
Said Mr Au: "With increased globalisation and mobility, Singapore cannot ignore the fact that many countries in Europe, the West and even South Africa are recognising gay unions.
"Singaporeans could move there to live or work, and similarly married gay couples may move here. It's best to deal with the issue by educating the public to be more open-minded."
The British government expects some 4,500 couples to be "partnered" in the first year of legalisation, and businesses have been fast to catch on to the pink dollar. According to British newspaper reports, leading supermarkets are offering "Mr and Mr" and "Mrs and Mrs" cards, while towels and soaps embroidered with the words "Darling, Dearest, Queerest" went on sale in a drug store chain.
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This article was written by Roy Tan.