SINGAPORE – As a heated debate among the public continues over a law here that criminalises sex between men, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Friday (Sept 14) that there is no discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community "at work, housing (and) education" in Singapore.

Mr Ong was attending the annual Singapore Summit, a conference for business and thought leaders to discuss business and global affairs, and his comments came after he was asked at a dialogue on how the country can be more inclusive, including towards people of different sexual orientations.

Saying that it is in Singapore’s DNA to be inclusive, he added: "The fact is they (the LGBTQ community) live in Singapore peacefully, no discrimination at work, housing (and) education. They go about their lives.

“However, on the issue of LGBTQ, it is also an issue of social mores and societal values.”

Since India’s Supreme Court struck down the country’s law banning gay sex on Sept 6, the LGBTQ community here has called on the Singapore Government to follow suit, and to repeal section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises sex between men.

Prominent Singaporean figures have waded into the debate, and petitions from two camps that are for and against the law have garnered tens of thousands of signatures. One Singaporean, disc jockey Johnson Ong, on Monday filed a fresh legal challenge against Section 377A.

Mr Ong reiterated Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam’s recent comments that Singapore is deeply split on the issue, and that society has to decide on the direction.

“We might be the largest animal in the jungle, but we are not the jungle. Some things we leave it to society to decide over time,” said Mr Ong. Read more via Today