Good luck Mrs Singam, your exco, members and volunteers. Keep your spirits up. Justice will prevail.

Both the winners and losers must be respected. They are vieing for the right to represent the women and only women. Inclusiveness means anythng women so that no woman will be denied representation.
I wish who ever wins all the best.

thats a lot of liverpool supporters.

Peace #2,

What are you doing here? Go and vote leh..

Where are the Great Singapore Sale banners?

I support the old guards and i think they already have a backup plan if they failed due to being outnumbered. Whatever the outcome, the old guards will only grow stronger.

May Day!………….SOS! Save AWARE in it’s Natural Form.

wah why TSM gt the aux police as bodyguards!

Hi Karna, how do you suppose gays, homesexuals, lesbians could be kept out? have a column to indicate sexual orientation by self-declaration or taking oath using the bible?

Vote of no confidence dissallowed? I saw from another comments that they appointed another staunch christian to act as lawyer. Do we see a conflict of interest here to extend all possibilities to block the old guard from accessing fair justice? I am very dissappointed. The saga will not end as long as the new Exco remain glued to AWARE seats regardless of today’s result. More worms will be digged out that will affect not just the church, the lawyer and their overall intentions to disregard fair and just voice to old guard.

Maybe it’s time to form another grouping with the old AWARE and like minded individuals. It’s not the organisation name but it’s the people that makes the organisation.

Why should AWARE be lead by people who are insubordinate to their respective organisation rules?

TSM is Tai Tai mah.. that’s why she got Aux Guards…

I’m really aghast at how this whole issue is badly handled.The New Guard are gave Christians a very negative impression to the public.I support the Old Guard.

Every new committee when properly elected should be given a chance to manage .

Thio-logy has no place in secular NGOs….

I just want to say Aware is Secular and is meant to help Women from all Religious Believes, Ethnic groups, Ages and social standings.

Religious groups must never dominate Aware.

My religion is as good as yours, so to speak.

There could be social tension generated if a Secular NGO becomes dominated by 1 religious group. They should form another organization and leave Aware as it was.

[...] Courtesy of TheOnlineCitizen [...]

Who is paying for TSM’s two body guards?

Every new committee properly voted in by working around loophole should not be given the chance to further mismanage.

1:53pm Looks like TOC’s live report is not reporting…

Leave AWARE to sort out their own problem. Focus on the key issue here. Why are our children taught sexual promiscuity in school? Based on the AWARE CSE instructor handbook, it is clear that they are teaching our children the wrong values. The following are some points extracted from it. The full text can be view on: http://voicethread.com/share/468061/

1. Anal sex – can be healthy or neutral if practiced with consent and with a condom.

2. Pre-marital sex – people might place pre-marital; sex as negative, but it is really neutral.

3. Virginity – is a concept which is really difficult to fix, traditionally virginity is related to the hymen. But perhaps we can also think of virginity as a state of mind?

4. Pleasure – sex is a pleasurable act. This is the reason why people have sex.

5. Fun – sex is meant to be fun. However like all things that we enjoy, there are some rules and regulations for sex, which you must set for yourself first. Also, you need to be able to trust the person in order to have “fun” with him. Will he stand by you in case things go wrong?

10. Homosexual – people have different preferences for their partners. Homosexuality is perfectly normal. Just like heterosexuality, it is simply the way you are.

Report on Today newspaper shows who are the full sponsor for the CSE programme taught in our school. Read it here: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/317322.asp

Decide for yourself people on what is more important. Lets not get distracted by any media that tries to bring religion into this squabble. Let the AWARE members sort out their own problem. Leave Pastor Derek Hong to sort out his. DECIDE now if this is how you want your children to be taught in school.

IF you feel this material is inappropriate for a 12 year old please join in the on line petition here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/parents_sex_ed_appeal/?e

Why no photos allowed? Are they doing something illegal? The new POA only disallows photography of illegal activity.

2:03 Almost 2 hrs of silence from TOC. Anybody else there can give a update ?

TOC: What are using to report live? Are you using the wireless provided by ISPs. telephone lines or leased lines?

“Fun” facts about TSM:

TSM can kill two stones with one bird.

TSM destroyed the periodic table, because she only recognizes the element of surprise.

There is no ‘ctrl’ button on TSM’s computer. TSM is always in control.

TSM does not sleep. She waits.

There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures TSM has allowed to live.

For some, the left testicle is larger than the right one. For TSM, each testicle is larger than the other one.

TSM does not own a stove, oven, or microwave , because revenge is a dish best served cold.

10) socrates…. the narrow legality of the election of the new guard does not confer legitimacy or imply authenticity…. takeovers like this are not original… in Europe in the ’60s and ’70s radical leftist factions used similar tactics to take over student clubs (including in one bizarre case, a catholic prayer group) as an entry to the takeover of student governments… in England, a rugby club took over a gay club as a prank… in the USA, Focus on the Family (the Lau woman’s favorite charity if memory serves me well, no?) helped fundamentalist Christians to take over some parent-teachers associations as a platform for introducing Christian dogmas and Christian bible-based “science” into the classroom…. all perfectly legal of course… and come to think of it, so was the Nazi takeover of Germany and loony Mugabe’s election in Zimbabwe

RookieKoh

What is wrong with those? Its how I teach my kids too!

From the kentridgecommon website

“2.27 pm: The EOGM has been delayed due to the huge turnout. It is apparent that the AWARE issue has generated intense interest from the public at large. We learnt that 1300 ordinary members and 200 associate members have already arrived, and 700 people are already in the hall.”

New exco members,

Be strong and steadfast.
Those Old Guards supporters will be loud, rude, uncivilised and violent.
Take all these in calmness. Keep cool. Use your head.

RookieKoh (#21):

You said that the key issue here is AWARE’s programmes in schools. But it did not really begin as this: remember that the new EXCO took rather long before they clarified their stand to the public – the most important audience for a civil group.

To many people, this is not so much an issue of religion or homosexuality but more of a certain group of people imposing their beliefs on others through a secular organisation. And certainly, the way they handle the affair (removing experienced people from their jobs with a simple email etc.) does not go well to a group that is supposed to be open and inclusive. Ng E-jay’s open letter to Ms Josie Lau summarises the dissatisfactions well.

As for the points you have against AWARE’s training manual, the only concern I have is the claim that anal sex can be healthy. To this I register my scepticism and defer it to the health experts. To me, I think it should be labelled as “neutral”. And as for the other points, it’s all fine with me. In fact, many are indisputable scientific facts, like the fact that sex is pleasurable.

I think TSM has guilt in the heart ….. so she scare la. When you have no guilt then why scare? If the New EXCo do not allow a vote of no confidence to be cast, then they do not deserve to lead as well. Everyone should quit. Form another organization.

I wonder if Josie Lau and TSM gang wins, which Organization is next in line. Maybe one day they want to hijack PAP too. They will stop at nothing.

Please keep us informed

Yes, the issue of consequence here is not whether old guards or new guards win, it is what is being taught our teenage kids about sex. Are we sending the wrong message if we tell our children that pre-marital sex, never mind with a boy or girl, is “neutral.” Our key message to these kids should be abstinence because they are too young to handle the consequence of sexual activities. Parents should make their voice heard with the MOE. Aware politics is a passing distraction with no real long-term consequence for the future generation.

The old guards, if they are back in control, should engage Miss Sasha Grey as consultant.
There is no other person as qualified as she on sexual matters. She has practical expereince too and will be able to relate to the woes of the homosexuals and heterosexuals.Her advice and guidance is invaluable..
3 cheers for the old guards.

26) Joel Low…. Next on the hit list is the Ministry of Education. After all, they dared abandon the abstinence-only message (another obsession of the fundamentalist Christians). Number 2 on the hit list: Ministry of Health (psst, abortions). Now that we have been “saved” from the 1-sentence homosexual agenda (“don’t beat us up”) by the Thio family and friends, who’s going to save us from the 122-page Christian agenda?

A lot of loud barking bitches among the Old Guard supporters. We are not afraid. Bring them on!

There should be no vote-of-no-confidence. The new exco has not been given a chance to perform.

7) cat’s poop on May 2nd, 2009 12.35 pm

1″wah why TSM gt the aux police as bodyguards!”

If there are death threats, what do expect anyone to do? Roll over and pretend to play dead? Anyone can hire security guards, even you, if you have the means!

18) Ram on May 2nd, 2009 1.46 pm

1″Who is paying for TSM’s two body guards?”

I think its she who is paying for it as she can afford it. She has her own law firm!

19) hypocrite on May 2nd, 2009 1.50 pm

1″Every new committee properly voted in by working around loophole should not be given the chance to further mismanage.”

But are you implying that every old committee which mismanages the CSE program be allowed to further manage it? If you are, where is the logic?

The new exco was voted into office in a democratically held AGM, in case you don’t know!

Dear singaaware,
The New team had not use their head, that is why the issue becomes so messy. Now the temperature is boiling hot, you think the brain( if there is any) still works ? Do you know that Singaporean are usually “not so free”. But during a crisis, they will response appropriately. This behaviour, i think is because a “I know best” group had tampered on the basic needs of everyone.

I wonder anyone brought eggs and flour there. Can use to throw at the New EXCO and pretend that we are celebrating someone’s birthday, just like the JC that did it in the name of fun and bonding. If the principle say noting is wrong, we should be able to do it there right?

Just wondering?

re post 28
thanks concerned citizen for being concerned…. unfortunately, the abstinence message previously promoted by the MOE coincided with a startling increase in sexually transmitted diseases… in the USA, there have been a sudden increase in teen pregnancies in those states and communities where funadamentalist Christians succeeded in imposing the abstinence-only message in public school sex education classes… might be better if parents provide morality at home and let the schools be practical so that both sides of the issues are covered… sensible, don’t u think?

RookieKoh #21,

There is a scene from a TV series I watched ages ago that might help.

Two sets of parents are arguing whether a vending machine dispensing condoms should be placed in school.

The first group took your position and argued that condoms encouraged promiscuity.

Somebody from the second group said: If your neighbours built a pool and you think your children are tempted to take a dip. Is building a tall fence enough? Isn’t it more prudent to teach them how to swim?

Can we have more updates….. feeling very kapo la.

joel low, go main page and check. updates aplenty.

More update pls …

#38 slim, I can see your points in presenting both sides of the story (by the way, that’s what I see valuable).
I think the other issue is the stand taken by the relevant public societies and authorities. It is unwritten that the stand taken by them is not just about whether they support, or not support the promotion of certain sexual values. Since they are also part of the singapore community, they have a ‘duty’ on whether they ‘create’ conditions favourable or unfavourable to the promotion of certain sexual values.
The responsibility of parents or guardians to take a prudent approach and ‘teach their young ones to swim better’, does not eliminate the need for public societies and authorities to take a stand on sexual values.
Respect for diversified values, yes. Respect at the expense of critical concerns/ slippery slopes on impressionable minds warrants extreme caution that respect demands.

What is the result?

Apparently it seems the old guard was the last one standing.

The result is ……………………………………..the new AWare is still in control…
with constitutional change to representation… not proportional but with other members of other religions in the Exco. How about that?

The result is ……………………………………..the new AWare is still in control…
with constitutional change to representation… not proportional but with other members of other religions in the Exco. How about that?
P.S. – Sorry, forgot to tell you great post!

38) sllim on May 2nd, 2009 3.43 pm

1″The first group took your position and argued that condoms encouraged promiscuity.

Selling porn and drugs and glue for sniffing in schools should also not be allowed as the temptation is too great to resist.

2″Somebody from the second group said: If your neighbours built a pool and you think your children are tempted to take a dip. Is building a tall fence enough? Isn’t it more prudent to teach them how to swim?”

I can agree with this argument when it comes to saving a child’s life in the water.

But lest we forget a child’s life is like a clean TAPESTRY in which everyone he/she meets leaves a mark.

Would you like your child’s tapestry be soiled by some perverts who leave their alternative lifestyle marks on it like “Oh, gay anal sex is healthy” and “same sex marriage is normal” even though they both violate Singapore laws?

Curious #45,

I can see why you equate sex education with “selling porn and drugs and glue for sniffing in schools”. After all you equated the Satan-talking-homophobe “Dr” Frank Joseph to a scholarly source.

“Would you like your child’s tapestry be soiled by some perverts who leave their alternative lifestyle marks on it like “Oh, gay anal sex is healthy” and “same sex marriage is normal” even though they both violate Singapore laws?”

The more you go on, the more I’m worried my child’s “tapestry” will be “soiled” by bigots. They can come in such righteous and seemingly reasonable guises, by quoting statistics, for example.

P.S. There’s evidence that we don’t come into the world Tabula Rasa (blank slate). Proper research was done by Steven Pinker (don’t be scared of “pink”)

P.S.S He doesn’t go around calling himself doctor lest nobody takes him seriously.

TSM indiscriminately spewed utterance has made all her pathways slippery –
thats why she needs 2 standby guards to support her as she has to walk with both feet bind – or more likely – silently , tip toeing about for not wanting to further arouse other . ‘

Her matriarchal nature has had her self -elevated herself to that of an empress dowager ……….

Long live this dowager for having this privilege – she rightfully deserved it and even more so for it to be perpetuated – only reserve for the royalty hor……

I would like Josie Lau to help me understand something. She alleged they fired office manager Schutz Lee for insubordination (not proven but that’s the new committee’s explanation) Is that the same thing which Josie Lau did when she disregarded and disobeyed DBS to take up the AWARE President post?

If so that is yet another case of “double standards” practised by her and the new Exco.

Results from a fiend in the meeting there since 11 am this morning and still going strong!

1414-old vs 700-new;
1412 -old vs 712-new;
1419-old vs 700-new.

All 3 motions won by old.

Now still bickering. Old vs new
New refuse to step down in massive defeat. Like all Evangelistic Christians, thick skin or else how to evangelise.

Hi I just got back from the AWARE EGM and it was a marvellous event to be a part of.

Brief summary : Got there at about 12.30pm but the queue was so long that it took me 1.5 hours to get into the conference hall. the meeting started late becasue so many people were waiting outside to be registered. There was strict security and bag checks before entry was allowed.

I think well over 2000 members and at least 500 associate members- men and foreigners- turned up. Young and old, families, people of all races and religions, very calm during the wait to get in, lots of smiles and new friends made.

The registration and ther organisational legwork was sourced out to Ape communications, the operation of the election procedures to Boardroom (some commercial outfit that does this) and the other operations to one more firm. Very corporate like! BUt nothing compared to the ORIGINAL AWARE volunteer mobilisation which was impressive. The jokers who did the counting took over 3 hours to send in the result. Btw when the members tried to ask how much it all cost, we did not get an answer until hours later – the exco was that deceitful and evasive- but listen, here was the sum : $90 000!!! Earlier in the queue I was talking to an AWARE helpline volunteer whohad been there the nite Josie and gang changed the locks and set up cctv (did you know about that?). She was complaining about how the phoneline counsellors did not even have proper headsets – to do their job better- and I think she may have passed out on hearing about the sum spent. AWARE should personally hold Josier and gang accountable because AWARE ’s constitutional rules forbid expenditure aboue $20 000 a month. This formally mentioned and noted during the meeting.

Ok the meeting was totally iimpassioned and pretty raucous – i have lost my voice from cheering so much!- esp when the FM spoke. FANTASTIC crowd! Speaker after speaker, muslim, chriostian, straight, gay, old and young lined up to condemn the exco.

We were pretty roused but we did not start out that way. Josie and gang tried to subvert and control the entire EGM by not letting us speak. They switched off the mikes, threatened people with the security guards and it was a battle to raise basic points of order. Sally Ang at one point early on screamed : SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP! The whole hall erupted . we were often on out feet, waving our hands and applauding the speakers from the floor – let us just say 97% of them slammed the Josie & jokers repeatedly and everyone of these 97% was articulate, impassioned and outclassed the 3 % who spoke for the other side by a zillion miles. You had to be there to see it! The FM was heckled and booed and basically the crowd indicated to her to to F*** Off. I immensely enjoyed that part of the proceedings, she totally deserved it.

Well were there till way past 9, got the job done of getting rid of the new rubbish and making history of some sort for civic organisations. There was a huge feeling of camaraderie and community – that can only be good for Singapore. I did not even have a bite to eat until 10 pm but the feeling of standing up to be counted for something so basic as diversity and plurality was so good I tell you.

All these internet warriors for the cause of WITCHINGHUNTING-GAYS-AND-LIBERALS, where were you when your Feminist ThioMentor needed you today? When Josie and gang showed up their incompetence again and again today? Some action from the conference floor would have helped yes? But that would mean standing by your ideals in public right and you are just a big big bunch of bullies in the end- you pick what you perceive to be vulnerable targets.

I am glad that there was ROBUST defence of the marginalised- including the gays in our families, workplaces- and none in AWARE copped out of this for fear of negative publicity or to win some imaginary public ‘acceptance’. I felt damn proud as a heterosexual woman. I tell you that even Josie and gang could not but make repaeted statements – through gritted teeth maybe-that they do not support discrimination.

55) mirax on May 2nd, 2009 10.56 pm

Yes, it was fantastic wasn’t it? The Good Guys Won.

Despite all the disinformation and distortions that have been pouring out these few days (I still find the ” concerned parents – aghast that homosexuality still exists” line the funniest – after two years, suddenly there are so many instant concerned parents Haha!)

TSM was shouted down each time she tried to speak and she is such a bad public speaker. She tried to start her first speech by listing her achievements such as first female dean of law school etc but that just inflamed the crowd and she then started shouting “respect your elders” …hoo boy, what a riot.

But I felt sorry for Josie. She at least had some poise and dignity but the others simply failed to make the cut as far as public speaking goes. Maureen continued to interrupt Josie and was finally cornered into admitting that they had spent about $90,000 in April when the constitution only allows the exco to spend a maximum of $20,000 a month. And that silly Sally, shouted at a member to “Shut up and sit down!” which drove the already antagonistic crowd mad forcing first Josie to apologise and finally Sally had to apologise through gritted teeth.

The male associate members such as myself couldn’t vote but it was a great show – the 80 year old guy next to me told me he had forgone his favourite documentary that afternoon, but it was well worth it and he was shouting and screaming at Josie & Co like an 18 year old!

Whatever you may think of either camp, I think its fair to say that Josie and her team were certainly outclassed today. The organisation, planning and leadership skills of the old guard certainly showed as they took control of the meeting. The preparation (knowledge of facts and preparation of tough questions which the Exco had trouble answering) were obvious and it was painfully clear that Maureen, Jenica and Sally all had difficulties with diction and public speaking. The crowd was already antagonistic and they just couldn’t connect. In the end it was no contest. The final whistle finally came after many hours and Josie and her team, having lost the no confidence vote, finally had to resign.

I was a wonderful feeling to see Josie and gang got kick out. I was asked to stay cool by my friend but I told him that this group of people seating up there are just trying to be professional… we just nee to pressure them since I would prefer to let my ladies friends voiced their thoughts. Through enough when that ’stupid’ lady shouted for us to Shut Up and sit down! That didn’t take long.

Had a bad experience at the end when this old lady standing beside me asked me to keep quiet when Josie and gang came out to tell us (like we don’t know) they are stepping down. I kept quiet thinking she wanted to hear Josie and when I start cheering she scolded me for not respecting other human being and that Josie is a human being and have their opinion too. Which of course got my friends stepping in and telling her that we too have our own opinion and we too have the rights too say out our opinion. Things might get ugly if not for “We Are Aware” team who was fast to step in and pull us away and told us that she is the New Guard supporter.

Of course after knowing that, we simply ignore her and she left before trying so hard to piss me off further with her comments.

Josie & friends lost.

a good lesson not to anyhow point fingers & stoke fear. i really wonder how they will explain to their children this whole hoohaa. or will their next generation be gearing up for the next….

it seems that quite a fair bit of Indians and minority races are at EGM, looks kind of over represented and surely doesn’t look very representative of the make up of women in Singapore, sorry, cannot accept this group to represent all women in Singapore.

now that the saga is closed in some way, i am able to take a more comic relief look at thio self coined feminist mentor term, also fondly known as FM, by all.

mention the abbrevated FM in any site or blog relating AWARE, and none will be left clueless.

we all know what FM means and the power of those 2 letters :)

a very cartoon dowager now

Next stop for Thio Su Mien and Pastor Hong in Operation COOS:

1) Society for the Visually Handicapped.
2) Nature Society Singapore
3) Cat Welfare Society
4) National Kidney Foundation
5) SPCA.

I personally think they”ll go after the Nature Society. Apparently, the tree huggers there have been teaching kids all the wrong things about the birds and the bees.

65) JL on May 3rd, 2009 2.18 am

Its very traumatic for me, actually this FM thing. Now when i am driving, I have to listen to CDs rather thant the radio coz i don’t dare to turn on the FM.

Hi Redneck Watch,

COOS is going to turn the Society for the Visually Handicapped to the Society for the Biblically Handicapped. LOL.

If you talk to God, its called prayer…but If God tallks to you, its schizophrenia!