Dr Lee Bee Wah was a Member of Parliament for the Nee Soon GRC.
On 3 December 2018, Edward Foo, a supporter of the Ready4Repeal online movement, volunteered to talk to his MP, Lee Bee Wah of the (Nee Soon GRC) regarding Section 377A of the Penal Code during a Meet-the-People session[1],[2]. He also offered to pass her a copy of a petition to repeal 377A which contained the signatures of 859 people in her GRC. Lee asked Foo to say what he wanted to say and he replied: “This is regarding Section 377A, and I was wondering what your views on this matter are.” The MP then retorted: “I have other residents with real problems”, and exited the room. After 15 minutes, she returned and talked to other residents around Foo, actively avoiding the table he was sitting at. A Meet-the-People session volunteer seated with him called out to her, but to no avail. Foo call out her name as well. She again did not reply. As she walked away from Foo, he called her name a second time, this time a little louder. Lee turned around. upon which Foo remarked: “If you don’t want to talk to me, can I at least pass you this” holding out the Ready4Repeal petition addressed to her. She gave a dismissive gesture with her hand and asked him to pass it to the volunteers instead.
In January 2019, Lee filed a parliamentary question asking if the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) had received objections to the performance of the RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World 2019 World Tour live show set to be held on 2 February at the Kallang Theatre. She also asked what the criteria for approving such performances were, how the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) dealt with approval and censorship of performances dealing with LGBT issues and how IMDA determined the age restriction for audiences for such shows[3],[4],[5]. She said she tabled the question because residents in her ward had expressed concerns about the content of the show and its appropriateness for children.
See also[]
References[]
- https://www.onlinecitizenasia.com/2018/12/04/lee-bee-wah-allegedly-refused-to-hear-out-residents-at-the-local-meet-the-people-session-on-the-issue-of-377a/
- https://coconuts.co/singapore/news/mp-lee-bee-wah-allegedly-walks-discussion-resident-asked-views-anti-gay-law/
- https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/rupauls-drag-race-live-show-set-to-be-rated-by-imda-11126338],[https://sg.news.yahoo.com/past-shows-singapore-similar-rupauls-drag-race-not-attracted-much-feedback-mci-140130731.html
- https://sg.news.yahoo.com/past-shows-singapore-similar-rupauls-drag-race-not-attracted-much-feedback-mci-140130731.html],[http://theindependent.sg/are-drag-queen-shows-safe-for-public-audiences-singaporean-politician-asks-in-parliament/
Acknowledgements[]
This article was written by Roy Tan.