Unaware value system is obsolete. it has no firm stance on issues. It t plays to the gallery.It is trying to look smart . Being caught being with skirts down and underwear exposed they now cry foul or fowl. They have grown too fat and no longer agile, these old women . Tell them it is NOT a country club. It is an association that represents the interest of the majority of ordinary woman in the street. and not some elitist with nothing to do tai tai.They are very sore losers.The EGM is illegal and should be challenged.The new committee is legally elected and democratically elected. If the new committee can be removed because of some losers then PAP can also ask for it if they should lose in an election..

And I believe Peace has said all there is to say. Next topic please.

It is illegal to have this EGM ’cause the new Committe had not done anything yet.
They should be a given a chance to show their talent or lack of it ..to bring AWARE to next level.
It does give me an impression that the old committee has skeletons in the cupboad.

A 24 year old organisation ? wow ! perhaps the outgoing committee should do a straw poll….to update what the general public perceive….after all these years…

The whole of Singapore is watching too.
Watch yourselves too… your reputation and credibility may be further eroded if you go on this path of self righteousness……
In Singapore all citizens have equal rights within the law…so be warned…
If the new committee cannot perform in due course, they will face greater disaster to themelves….

the wrath of a woman…..AWARE is basically the “emperor’s new clothing”…by a group of lau charbo (uncanny resemblance to our incumbent government) who have grown silly and complacent…suddenly realised the tide has changed not in their favor of course…now decided to flex their claws to show their true color…power crazed!

looks like red reds against yellow like in thailand but no violent.
the new committee will get more new members and at eogm who knows what will happen

Hi Peace, Gemami,

Actually you are both completely incorrect. An EOGM is perfectly provided for in the constitution, and is hence completely legal. Perhaps you need to review your understanding of the issue.

How can they win an AGM without even talking about their value system? This new group sounds damn shady to me…. ….

peace, precisely because it is not a country club, that is why the value system matters. and this eogm seems like a good time to force these people out into the open to declare any agenda they might have. if its untrue that they’re taking direction from the churches, why don’t they come out openly and say so??

seems extremely suspicious to me.

er sorry peace maybe you want to re-read the Singapore Constitution and the AWARE Constition? Last I checked they were VERY DIFFERENT, because the Singapore one does not provide for the losing party to call an EOGM?

You committed the basic fallacy of comparing apples and oranges…quite a silly one actually. You can’t go about our comparing a Society’s constitution to a country club’s, or a country club’s with our Country. You see they are different things? =)

It’s always good to see an overhaul of leadership.
Maintaining status quo year after year will just lead to complacency and lots of self-serving interests. If pillars of institution need to be brought down, so be it.
Go for it, young punks! Screw the world.

how can people claiming to be pro-choice FEMINISTS want to OUTLAW abortion?! What a bloody joke this new committee. I wonder what other extremist positions they have…. ….

Is Jolene worried just because the new committee is glaringly christian and that its agenda will run counter to her beliefs? What about the old committee which was NON christian, was any one as worried as Jolene that it would have non christian values? Come on, Jolene you are biased. Don’t use the 733A as the bogeyman as an excuse that they have sinister agenda. Let them have a chance to speak of their mission and vision for this grouping instead of casting as some hijackers and which a former member implied.
I suggest to old committee members to join the gym and shape themselves up.
They have grown too flabby and irrelevant.

Peace #13
I think the old committee wasn’t worried about whether the members of new
committee were Christians. Its that when they use their religion to impose their
values on secular issues about women’s rights and affairs (such as outlawed abortion, discriminates against gays), thats the issue.(so far evidence seems point that way with some the the new members be ant-gay rightists).
Why didn’t they come out and clarify their stand despite all the accusations?
And if this group were to lobby the Govt on their stand, then we all should all be
very concerned cause no religious group should impose their values on
the rest of us.

“An EOGM is perfectly provided for in the constitution, and is hence completely legal. Perhaps you need to review your understanding of the issue (#7).

I am well aware of this constitutional provision and I have no quarrel if the old leadership team wants to use it to pursue their cause. The question I am asking is this, “what is the cause they are fighting for?”.

Is it because they suddenly find themselves sitting on the floor, when they had previously been sitting on fine leather sofas?

All the sideshows and rethorics coming out from the old leadership reflect nothing more than the sudden awareness that their power is suddenly taken away. Are they fighting for the ’survival’ of AWARE or for their own selfish and bruised egos?

I wonder.

#14
i am sure your values are shaped by your religion and your religion tolerates homo and all other out of this world values and you also should not impose yours on others?
Sure, they spoke up against the gays and other outlandish issues.Who didn’t?
Look , let them speak since they were democratically elected. Let them lay out their
agenda before you judge them.

It is so convenient to point fingers at the old leadership, so that people won’t focus on the whole purpose of the EOGM – the abject silence of the new leadership about where they want to take AWARE to.

Time for new leadership to break the silence.

And no better time than to do it when 200+ or 300+ members are present.

Something to learn from the recent outcome at AWARE.

Our women are perhaps more politically savvy than we thought and
my minister for home affairs has been rubbing it in with glee. lol

Well our despotic regime would not have lasted so long if parliament in the first place had mostly female MPs. Swiftness and stealth from clever women would have put the father, son and daughter-in-law out of business a long time ago. lol

I think it’s time to call in the Army …ha ha

well peace, if they have nothing to hide, why not set out their agenda? WHO’S HEARD OF PEOPLE WINNING ELECTION WITHOUT SETTING AGENDA?! sounds damn fishy to me…

sounds like they have something to hide…

Peace,

Why are you then criticizing the one vehicle, EOGM, which is an opportunity for them to speak and lay out the new committee’s agenda?

Relax, no one is going to impose “homo and all other out of this world values” on you. In fact I will protect your right to be as straight as an arrow. Will you protect mine to be as straights as a bow?

I will 100% support AWARE as long as it champions the rights of women.
The new Aware should stand up and strongly support the rights of women. No women should be exploited, marganilized and certainly not killed.

Which group of women is most exploited? Without doubt, it’s the women in the womb. They have no voice, no rights and suffer abuse of the highest order.

Why has AWARE ignored the rights of the unborn women for so long?

lose elections. Call in the army?

all christians = taleban = evil & unreasonable people?

All this talk about homosexuality… jus ask yourself, what if one day, your son or daughter comes back to declare to you that they’re gay… how much will you support this gay rights issue then?

8 and 9
This is amazing proclaiming that the old committee has a value system and the new one has not. The committee is not the value it is the perception of AWARE the sum total value what it had done for the Singapore society ..which is not much I guess or else the old committee would not be booted out. Given a chance the new ones may bring it out of the orbit and gain new heights. Give them a chance.
Ad nauseam ..let us move on to a new topic.

“26) mrthinktalk on April 15th, 2009 4.48 pm
Given a chance the new ones may bring it out of the orbit and gain new heights. Give them a chance.”

hahaha, gain new heights ? Wow, how I wish the same can be said for our oppo in respect to our mini-stars.

“Those calling for an EOGM also found it disturbing that Mrs Claire Nazar, who was elected president without a contest, resigned within days.” http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_363840.html

Even a lazy cat kilometers away would have smelt the fishy stuff. No ? After being elected and then resigned within days, what is this. some new heights that some people are trying to gain. perhaps to show that is quite fun to get elected and then resigned within days.

It is truely amazing. i would be interested to attend the EGM as a male observer.
One outcome may go this way:
old member: Ladies and Gentlemen we have been working very hard for the past 16 years and we have a value system. We are not happy that new members are voted in…..
New member: But we have not done anything yet!
Old member: Precisely you have done anything yet but we have done plenty in the last 16 years and established AWARE as one of Singapore’s leading civil society..
New member: Please give us a chance and time to explain..we just got elected
Old member: No No No you have not done anything compared to what we have done. We are NOT allowing you a second more to damage AWARE’s image..Mr Chairman , on a point of order..we should take a vote now and quickly….

Look, we have brought AWARE to where it is today. We have a gym, swimming pool, snooker tables if you feel frustrarted you can take on the balls or drive all the balls into the holes, you have yoga to stretch your brain and tummy, etc.And suddenly all these gone into another group’s hand. Now we are driven out of this place we called home for past 24 years and now suddenly we cannot enjoy the facilities we installed..
Oh boy, sorry old girls, I mean ,sorry old women , it it time get off your big fat ass and start working and show how you can promote the interest of the oppressed woman, especailly single women who are left in a lurch because of some husbands forgot to leave insurance proceeds to them. Instead of politicking on issues of the opposite sex , please get down to business and that is what Aware is to create awareness of the plight of many women and not ‘pei swee’ and late night ‘meeting’. We now have a new committee , don’t play play. More importantly ,don’t fall asleep again and get highjacked.

This incident can be a nightmare… imagine this…

Deep pocketed foreigners decided to be Singapore Citizens for the perks installed for them and realised that the route to Million Dollar salary is through politics… get themselves into the PAP cadreship and participate in elections through the corrupt GRC system. As the old guards kick the bucket,,, the post 65ers are still busy trying to perfect their Hip Hop dancesteps, tune their keyboards and spend countless hours practicing for the next karaoke show… and not to forget the time needed for grooming and make-up. What then… the new citizens push their might with hefty donations to PAP Community Foundation to gain that social and political milleage and the coveted million dollar failure accepted appointment as Ministers…

OMG… and Singapore’s constitution doesn’t have a provision for an EOGM. By then it is too late… the post 65ers decided to stage a protest by not stepping into the parliament building until the press turns up… but the press are not turnning up cos the police are there guarding the parliament building and instructing the post 65ers to Move On… no point covering because they cannot film the scene.

After 3 minutes. The police exercised their discetion and decided to arrest the post 65 MPs for tarnishing the dignity of the ‘foreign talent origin’ Cabinet Ministers.

What then?

I simply cannot understand why the new leadership is taking so long to come up with a press statement, what with the negative insinuations in the press and internet about their conservative religious agenda. Their silence can only hint at their incompetence. The ousted leadership has already obtained 150 names to call for an EOGM and yet the new leadership is still trying to come up with a press statement. Amazing.

Whatever the new leadership is hoping to achieve through the power grab has backfired, by virtue of their slow and incompetent response to the media coverage.

That’s great Peace, suddenly you developed some psychic sense knowing what the ‘old’ committee wants, how about telling us where you come from and what do you read in the minds of the new committee then? All those stuff that you talked about regarding the issues of women, how sure are you that the new committee will do something?

Aware has been a big bloated cow in the past, but at least it was bloated with some decent people, not those that say gay rights is a mental illness and promoting gay rights will lead to “potentially banning religious texts”, which really sounds like people who haven read much.

To all affected parties, Please pardon my comments below as these are from my lesser rationale self

I feel it is right that the senior members challenge the results of the AGM.

Just as most established societies, AWARE has been established from bare minimum and grew with the mission they started with. If any collective group is unhappy with the way the seniors are running, registering a new society is not a difficult process. If they are sincere about advocating a cause, they should establish a new society and earn the support to strengthen their cause.

At the minimum, the honourable thing to do is join as members and impart their energy for a couple of years and try communicate the need for change. Even in employment practices, a new employee of under one year is still under probation. Being a civil society, where the remuneration is trust, camaraderie and sense of mission, it is all the more important that the intention be transparent.

It is definitely not a religious thing to do to usurp power is such an opportunistic manner. Jesus could have done that but he didn’t. Muhammad could have done that but he didn’t. Buddha could have done that but he didn’t. No point trying to argue a moral position through immoral (albeit legal) means. it is shameful and against the human conscience.

If there is anything left from religious virtues that i can still hold strong is that Moral Teaching is about affecting the soul not forcing obedience.

To keep silent is a strategy to keep you guys frus and in suspense. Ok, they will give a press conference and spell their out their mission and vision.
Of course their first mission was to get the old women out of their way and their vision is to make sure that these old women will not make a come back in the future to ‘cho luan’ with their liberalism or gayism or homoism. This torn in the flesh must be ridden before wholesomeness of values can promoted and fostered.
We want a he and a her society and not a heshe or it. Heshe is an abomination and is an alien from Mars or Venus. How do you like to have your gender in NRIC as HESHE.? It is should be he or she, right? Heshe is kind of uncertain about your gender and is out of this world. That is why I mention Mars and Venus. Someone said that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. I am not from Mars. I don’t have two antenas and with golie eyes.
If a group advocates that kind of theory about humans it is time for a change and change came sooner than expected

methink again
This sort of thing is nothing new….similar
to the situation where a new CEO
is appointed from outside a company
to bring in fresh ideas Nothing shocking
about this The old folks were just too
complacent. Second guessing on what the
new members can and will do is premature
Forgive but don’t forget!

Peace posted:
>s Jolene worried just because the new committee is glaringly christian and that its agenda will run counter to her beliefs? What about the old committee which was NON christian, was any one as worried as Jolene that it would have non christian values? Come on, Jolene you are biased. Don’t use the 733A as the bogeyman as an excuse that they have sinister agenda. Let them have a chance to speak of their mission and vision for this grouping instead of casting as some hijackers and which a former member implied.
>>

Hi peace. Jolene’s Glass Castle is nothing more than a self-proclaimed site that purportedly fights for women. Not that we see many women agree with her in the first place.

In fact, I have asked her some questions pertaining to one of her articles. She deleted them after she found she couldn’t answer me.

Here is a reproduction of my post. Judge for yourself if she is sincere about promoting women’s rights, or just forcing her ideas on women.

http://wherebearsroamfree.blogspot.com/2009/04/so-what-is-glass-castle-hiding.html

I advised them to stop politicking on issues concerning man and focus on old women’s issue. Trying to change men into ………???? women? Taking up the cudgel for gay is feministic? Has AWARE run out of agenda that they have to stray into some biological or pyscological or whatever the cause of gay-feminism.
She has her own agenda but she accused others of imposing their agenda..
Be patient, the new committee will address the members and share their vision.
Don’t get overly excited.

I agree that perhaps the new Exco should be given a chance to perform before any judgment is passed on them. However, the way I see it, this is precisely what the EOGM is being called for – to clarify what direction AWARE is going to take under this new leadership. I think this is important in that it will hopefully at least leave some record of what the new Exco promises to do, whether they live up to their promises, etc.

I admit that I do sort of subscribe to the “omg, Christian fundamentalists taking over!” feeling but I’m all for giving them a chance… For all we know they will not allow their beliefs to cloud their future policies and actions? But my gut feeling also tells me that this is not the case… And I believe that might be the concern of those who are in favour of liberal/civil rights of the individual.

Peace:
Gay rights are important because there are also lesbians, and I think all that some AWARE members are espousing are the basic rights to love whoever they want without discrimination? This is not merely a “female” right, it’s a human right.

Also, I find your comments about “heshe” pretty offensive. Why do you hate people for being people, just because they are different? Just because you are part of the majority and have the option of excluding and hating doesn’t mean you should.

#28

Gd stuff. But yr assumption that old guard got the votes could be wrong.

They took so long to react reasonably ie calling EGM. Maybe by now lots more new members.

Remember if Christians to be believed, Jesus fed the “multitudes” with just five loaves of bread and two fishes, annoying the bakers, fishermen and fish mongers. Big mistake!.

So maybe new members may still win.

Vox populi!

How come nobody jumps when the most powerful job in the world went to a Muslim man. Someone please enlighten me why we should not be worrying that he might decide to convert the whole world to Islam?

gemami if you’re talking about Barack Obama I’m really worried about your intelligence and grasp of current affairs…last I checked he wasn’t a Muslim. you are really Ignorance personified.

But even then, if he is a Muslim, so what?

39) A Tan on April 16th, 2009 8.06 am

Well, they have indeed won with the majorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrity exco members.

“They took so long to react reasonably ie calling EGM. Maybe by now lots more new members.”

How to react ?? Can those who disagree protest in the public and call for re-election. Imagine out of the blue a lot of new faces in the new exco.

This Aware politics is entertaining and cunning flanking at work. New blood plotted and organised takeover by majority voting. Old bunch kicked out, thus whined and spread rumours about the new bunch as Christian anti-gay fundamentals, using the gay community as willing foot soldiers, and now they launching vote of no confidence. What would Aware’s new blood do next? Can they start their own rumour-mongering like the old bunch? Interesting interesting.

#41),

Well you do know what they say about being a Muslim, ‘Once a Muslim, Always a Muslim’.

In his book, he did described that his father was “raised a Muslim”, which means he is also a Muslim. His middle name is Hussein for that matter.

Perhaps because of his political ambition, he later described himself as having ‘evolved into Christianity’. Check out his ‘Audicity’ book.

Something for you to think about.

You’re correct to ask ’so what’ if he is Muslim.
I ask the same here, “so what if the new exco is heavily Christianised?”

Haven’t we heard it time and time before…

Hell knows no fury like a woman scorned…hahah

Peace wrote (#13):

Come on, Jolene you are biased. Don’t use the 733A as the bogeyman as an excuse that they have sinister agenda. Let them have a chance to speak of their mission and vision for this grouping instead of casting as some hijackers and which a former member implied.

hazelnutz wrote (#25):

All this talk about homosexuality… jus ask yourself, what if one day, your son or daughter comes back to declare to you that they’re gay… how much will you support this gay rights issue then?

Peace wrote (#29):

Oh boy, sorry old girls, I mean ,sorry old women , it it time get off your big fat ass and start working and show how you can promote the interest of the oppressed woman, especailly single women who are left in a lurch because of some husbands forgot to leave insurance proceeds to them. Instead of politicking on issues of the opposite sex , please get down to business and that is what Aware is to create awareness of the plight of many women and not ‘pei swee’ and late night ‘meeting’.

bismarker wrote (#32):

Aware has been a big bloated cow in the past, but at least it was bloated with some decent people, not those that say gay rights is a mental illness and promoting gay rights will lead to “potentially banning religious texts”, which really sounds like people who haven read much.

Hal wrote (#43):

Old bunch kicked out, thus whined and spread rumours about the new bunch as Christian anti-gay fundamentals, using the gay community as willing foot soldiers

With reference to the above quotes, methinks a certain division of the “foot soldiers” would be surprised to discover just what the other division thinks of them:

Unlike gay men, whose promiscuous instinct is inherent to their gender, women are born to emotionally attach themselves to just about everything, even their goddamn favourite pink thong. Gay men may violently disagree with me at this point, but have you ever heard of women-only spas with private pitch-black dark rooms for romping with strangers? Or some 5-day-Bangkok-getaway trip with 50 other horny lesbians in some secluded villa? I’m not saying that all gay men are promiscuous, but in this capitalistic world we live in, if there is no demand, there will not be any supply. And no, there isn’t any supply for eat-all-you-can pussy buffets.

quoted from “What Lesbian Player?” in Fridae.com

Do these “foot soldiers” know what their commanders really think of them?

The new Aware being fundies will concern even non-gays. I will not use the term christians because most christians I know are not like that.

What fundies want to do is to impose their morality in the form of laws. It’s not just 377A, if they’re only going to be fighting the gays I couldn’t care less.

What else do they want to do? They also want to ban abortion, teach creationism as science education, and ban safe-sex education, and some of the more extreme ones even want to ban contraceptives altogether.

Recently, they have tried to ban abortion by raising it in Parliament and in the Press. The Govt has thankfully said NO. Their taking over of Aware will be used to add more pressure in future.

It’s fine if these fundie religious laws only apply to their own religion, but why should people who don’t believe in their morals be affected by it. Singapore is a secular society which means that all religions (including non-religion) are treated equally. There is no justification for them to force their religious views on everyone else by way of secular law.

xtrocious,
“Hell knows no fury like a woman scorned…hahah’

… by another woman? lol

All this talk of free speech, equality, pluralism and tolerance for diverse views, but the reality is otherwise:

From Yawning Bread’s bawling rant against the new management of AWARE and the criticism of the new Exco’s alleged non-equality, non-gay inclusive, stance:

It also illustrates the problem that perennially faces those of us of a liberal persuasion. We are nowhere as organised as the Religious Right is. In a way, it has to do with the way liberals think. We are by nature accommodating and pluralistic. . . . We have a tendency to believe that OUR moral position is unarguably stronger than the illiberals’, that if only people would open their minds, they’d see the world OUR way. . . . We forget that even if a wild animal might not have OUR moral and intellectual credentials, it can still be bloody dangerous.

quoted from “From now on, be wary of AWARE”

In other words, the rest of us have no choice but to cave in to the inherent (and unprovable) superiority of these activists? Perhaps this explains for this camp’s mysterious and inexplicable sense of entitlement?

Hey, anyone got a full list of the “new” AWARE Exco? All this focus on its new President and a handful of known Christian fundamentalist, question is what about the rest of individuals forming the Exco?

It is unfortunate that the scaremongering article of Jolene (Editor of feminist webzine Glass Castle) has been reposted (in TOC and elsewhere) and reported in the local media.

The new AWARE Executive Committee came to power through perfectly legal means and yet have been found “guilty” (by association), slandered, and condemned when they have not done a single thing.

Let’s face it those in the old committee should realise that they have failed to represent the interests of the majority of women in Singapore.

We should welcome change (to quote Hussien Obama).

to #51 and all others who try to blackwash “old” members of AWARE.

Sure, the new Exco did come to power through legal means. But they were slow to announce their agenda, having ignored calls from members and the press for some indication. This raises suspicions, especially when certain Exco members appear to possess values which are against AWARE’s long-standing ones. Need this be elaborated? In addition, it is only recently (like today?) that the new Exco has sent round its CVs, in a somewhat reconcilatory gesture, but has not offered an explanation for its tardiness, neither has it come up with a solid agenda at all, simply saying it will respect the work of those who came before them. With the resignation of the original president, and the nomination of a new one, who has just appeared in the papers today in a negative light, who will not doubt the new Exco? Tell us the change, new Exco. Don’t make us, the old women, worry. Lol…Peace.

#47 Desu,
so your religion, if you have one, allows you to design and built whatever doctrines to suit you. it is a great religion. It allows abortion, gay, to become gay if you want, to be a lesbian if lesbianism is a fad and so on.Does it allow polygamy or polyandrous, gambling , orgy ? Don’t worry, you don’t need to impose your religion on others, many will join your religion readily, a very extremely inclusive religion. It will be the mother of all religions. Shall we call it , Desuism?

who knows the new exco will rename AWARE to BEWARE.

I guess with their sneaky maneuvering with regards to the leadership grab , the subsequent silence and refusal to give a clear picture of what they intend to do.

I guess Dogma is used by many to justify killing, stealing. lying and cheating. With Divine authority as their backbone, their ends justifies their means?

We know a snake when we see one, as after all the lack of a spine allows for great maneuverability. ;)

A comment found elsewhere
http://www.nowhere.per.sg/?p=1307

Peace #16

They were not democratically elected. A group of people who turn up out of the blue and vote themselves into an organisation in which they have not had any prior participation are not acting democratically- they have no moral authority to be in the exco. As you have indicated in #29, the real AWARE was “highjacked”- – this is what terrorists do!
Incidentally your derogatory references to old women, the fat and the flabby are offensive. Can you make your point without being so rude? The new exco should be embarrased that supporters like you are so disrespectful to women.