AWARE saga
The sequence of events popularly known as the AWARE saga was a landmark in Singapore's feminist, human rights and LGBT history. Stretching over a period of 6 weeks, it began on 28 March 2009 as an orchestrated takeover of the leadership of Singapore's leading gender equality organisation, the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), by a group of women (and some men) with strong anti-LGBT and right-wing Christian leanings.
The debacle garnered intense publicity in the media, fuelled a heated debate and ended with the ousting of the new guard by around 3000 women outraged by the inexperienced executive committee's questionable actions and agenda. These women lent their voices and votes to a remarkable display of civic engagement and passion at the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held at the Suntec City Convention Centre on 2 May 2009.
Dramatic leadership takeover
In March 2009, AWARE saw a dramatic and unexpected changing of the guard which some members described as nothing short of a leadership grab.[1] As a lead-up to the debacle, a sudden and unprecedented spike in membership had been noted since January 2009.[2]
When AWARE held its annual general meeting (AGM) on Saturday, 28 March 2009, everyone expected the usual — no more than 30 or 40 members turning up at its headquarters at 5 Dover Crescent, #01-22, Singapore 130005 for its executive committee elections, and a prepared slate of candidates would be voted into office easily. Instead, more than 100 people came (3 times the usual turnout), about 80% of whom had joined AWARE only in recent months. By 2pm that day, the AWARE Centre was teeming with women. Almost all of them were middle-aged Chinese ladies who appeared unfamiliar with the Centre. Both the air-conditioned conference room and the lobby had to be used to accommodate the large turnout. That was the first indication that this election would be a watershed.
To kick off the proceedings, Constance Singam, then 72 years of age and the outgoing president and chairman of the AGM, nominated Claire Nazar for the presidency. She spoke glowingly about Nazar's work on the sexual harassment committee. Nazar was elected unopposed.
Next was the vice-president's seat. Singam nominated incumbent Chew I-Jin who gave a speech about her involvement with feminism. After 15 years in AWARE, this was her time to shine.
The anomaly began when a hand was raised, innocently enough, by new member, Jenica Chua, who wanted to nominate another newcomer, Charlotte Wong for vice-president. Wong's nomination raised eyebrows among AWARE veterans. A new member for vice-president was unheard of.
When Wong made her pitch and listed her credentials, she hardly mentioned a word about feminism. A veteran remarked in retrospect, "Many of us wondered what has this woman done for AWARE to deserve to be second-in-charge?" They wondered how her accomplishments compared with an incumbent, Chew I-Jin, who had been volunteering for more than a decade.
It turned out that she did! When both of them left the room, and it was time to vote, Wong won by a huge margin. The veterans were shocked. They did not know Wong. Neither did they know the women who voted for her. That was how AWARE's number two spot went to an unknown. This process, whereby a new member would nominate another new member, who was then voted in by new members, repeated itself when Jenica Chua was elected honorary secretary.
By this time, older members were becoming alarmed. One said she felt uncomfortable with the new members running for positions because they did not understand AWARE enough, and had not done enough for AWARE. But a new member replied that Singam was looking for new faces, and they were new faces. The pattern continued. All but one of the key positions were won by large margins via the new voters. Only another key position, assistant honorary treasurer, went to Chew, and it was a walkover. When it came to voting in committee members, each of the 13 nominees gave a speech and the ones with the top six votes were to get in.
During the meeting, some veteran members started searching the Internet for the backgrounds on the more vocal new members. They discovered that many of them had written strongly worded letters to the press against gay "lifestyles". This, combined with the increasingly obvious voting pattern, prompted the veteran members to start asking a lot more questions. A veteran member pointedly asked a new member what she felt about homosexuality. Her reply was that she did not accept it. The veteran member rebutted, "But in AWARE, we do not discriminate." The new member retorted that she just did not agree with gay lifestyles. Eventually, she got voted in.
Constance Singam upheld her responsibility as President to chair the AGM and stayed for its entire duration. One nominee, a veteran member, spoke passionately about the need to educate teenagers about safe sex and the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases. She got one of the lowest number of votes. When the meeting ended at 5:30pm, only 3 of the 12 newly elected personnel were veterans — they included Chew I-Jin as assistant honorary treasurer and Caris Lim Chai Leng as an exco member. 9 seats went to the newcomers.
However, three hours into the AGM, Caris Lim also left the meeting. Red eyed and with a trembling voice, she said, 'I'm very disillusioned. I don't like what's going on inside, so I'm walking out.' Approached later to comment on Lim's exit from the meeting, Constance Singam said, 'We are not resigning. It's an organisation we've been committed to for a long time.'
The elections left only two AWARE veterans, president Claire Nazar and assistant honorary treasurer Chew I-Jin, with the rest of the all-new team.
Channel NewsAsia broadcast Pearl Forss' report on the incident:[3]
Ex-presidents of AWARE, from left to right: Dana Lam, Tan Joo Hymn and Braema Mathi. (Photo credit: The Straits Times).
File:AWAREExPresidents.jpg
New executive committee members
The following members were elected to AWARE's new exco during the AGM held on 28 March 2009:
President: Claire Nazar
Vice-president: Charlotte Wong Hock Soon (consultant with ExxonMobil where she worked for 21 years; former sociology and anthropology lecturer at the National University of Singapore).
Honorary secretary: Jenica Chua Chor Ping (then in her 30s; management consultant with a top business technology company).
Assistant honorary secretary: Sally Ang Koon Hian (ran own law firm, Sally Ang Ebenezer and Company; had more than 30 years of legal experience).
Honorary treasurer: Maureen Ong Lee Keang (last appointment: executive vice-president at SembCorp Group).
Assistant honorary treasurer: Chew I-Jin (Aware member since May 1995; previously served on the exco in the 1995-1996 term of office and as honorary treasurer in the 2008-2009 term).
Committee members:
- Josie Lau Meng Lee (then 48, vice-president and head of marketing, cards and unsecured Loans, DBS; mother of two daughters, aged 17 and 15; married to Dr. Alan Chin Yew Liang who owned several clinics under the Lifeline Medical Group).
- Catherine Tan Ling Ghim (financial planner; member of Million Dollar Round Table).
- Lois Ng (social entrepreneur who ran a business that hired disabled people to produce gifts for tourists and corporate markets; former journalist with The New Paper, 1990-1995).
- Irene Yee Khor Quin (over 10 years of professional experience in financial services).
- Peggy Leong Pek Kay (lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic's School of Humanities with 16 years of teaching experience).
- Caris Lim (freelance social worker, counsellor and trainer; member of AWARE since 2000; exco member in the 2008-2009 term).
Some members of the new AWARE exco, from left to right: Claire Nazar, Josie Lau Meng Lee, Lois Ng and Irene Yee Khor Quin. (Photo credit: The Straits Times).
File:AWARENewExco010.jpg
Claire Nazar quits
Claire Nazar, a former corporate counsel, was an older member who had joined AWARE in January 2008 and was elected unopposed as president. She was nominated by outgoing AWARE head Constance Singam. But eleven days into her new term, and before making her first statement as president, Nazar quit suddenly, on Wednesday, 8 April 2009.
Nazar confirmed with the media that she had resigned and initially declined to comment further. It was not known who would then become president. However, Nazar later revealed to The Straits Times in an article dated 20 April 2009 that it was because she 'did not want the hassle' of working with the new executive committee, which she felt was 'too gung-ho' for her with its 'Stormtrooper tactics'.[4]
For starters, the new exco did not seem to take kindly to having input from former president Constance Singam or any of the veteran members of the 24-year-old women's group, Nazar explained. She was also troubled by how at the first exco meeting — a 3½-hour session — about a week after the AGM on 28 March 2009, the committee replaced almost all the appointed chairpersons of subcommittees based only on a majority vote. That broke with AWARE's tradition of allowing chairpersons who were doing a good job to continue their work. Worse, they kept Nazar, then 37 years of age, out of the loop on various matters, and even insisted that she complete the AGM minutes within days.
The irony was that Nazar had nominated six of the current remaining 11 exco members. This came about after Singam advised her to include fresh blood among the exco members who could then work with older members to ensure continuity.
Of the six, two were old-time AWARE members, Chew I-Jin and Caris Lim, and another was Nazar's former classmate, Catherine Tan. The other three, Peggy Leong, Lois Ng and Josie Lau, were acquaintances. She picked them based on their credentials and 'the merit of their previous experience'. Josie Lau was in fact an acquaintance of Nazar's husband, lawyer Boaz Nazar, who was also a deacon at Cornerstone Community Church. He had met her in the course of his social work. At Nazar's urging, Lau joined AWARE at the start of the year.
Unlike previous AGMs, where 30 or 40 people would turn up, the March 28 meeting was attended by more than 100. Nazar said she at first put it down to a recent surge in AWARE membership. It was only when Chew was knocked out of the running for vice-president that it dawned on her something was amiss. In the end, all six of Nazar's nominees got into the exco. Five others — all recent members — were also voted in. 'Of course I was [shocked]. Who wouldn't be?'
She felt that the majority of the new exco members did not share her views or direction, particularly with regard to their call for an overhaul of existing chairs of key sub-committees to be replaced by new members, and she quit to avoid the 'in-house politicking'.
Josie Lau appointed new president
On Wednesday night, 15 April 2009, during a new exco meeting which lasted nearly four hours, Josie Lau Meng Lee, then 48 years of age and a DBS executive holding the post of vice-president of consumer banking group cards and unsecured loans, was appointed as AWARE's new president. She had been on the new exco since the AGM elections held on 28 March 2009 but did not hold any office.
After midnight, in the early hours of 16 April 2009, the new exco issued a press release announcing Lau's appointment as president. It acknowledged the contributions of AWARE and its past members and pledged to build on their work.
The new team did not indicate what they intended doing differently from the previous leadership. Nor did they deal with the buzz over their takeover of AWARE, in particular, concerns expressed about their conservative views on sexuality.
The following day, on Friday, 17 April 2009, Lau sent the media a statement (see section further below) in which she said, among other things, that the new exco was eager to start work but 'there were repeated delays in convening the first exco meeting. Nazar kept re-scheduling the meeting'.
Old guard's reaction to new exco
Claire Nazar
In response to Lau's comments, Nazar remarked: 'What delays are they talking about?' She said potential meeting dates were being bandied about to accommodate the schedules of both the new and old excos, something that could hardly be called repeated rescheduling. As to whether the new team had what it took to run AWARE, Nazar replied: 'in terms of their work skills, yes'. But in terms of their people skills, she would only say 'no comment'.
Of the fear among veteran AWARE members that the new exco was out to change the group's all-inclusive stand on matters like sexuality, she said: 'So far, in my 11 days of dealing with them, I've not found anything negative in terms of their intentions... AWARE is all about being anti-discrimination.'
She said the old guard was supportive, and had urged her to hang on to her position. 'The first thing I did after I resigned was to call up Constance Singam and apologise.'
Indeed, after her resignation, questions about Nazar were also raised, surrounding a letter she wrote to The Straits Times Forum page in July 2007 voicing concerns about same-sex couples. She explained: 'My letter was against same-sex marriages and the impact on children. It was not anti-gay, which is discrimination against homosexuals.' As to speculation that she was part of a concerted effort by the new guard to oust the old, but who pulled out at the last minute, she replied in a word: 'No.'
Tan Joo Hymn & Dana Lam
Former president Tan Joo Hymn, then 38, said the big turnout at the AGM surprised her. "I arrived at the meeting late and found out that I was No. 100 on the attendance list. I've been a member for 10 years, and never before has there been such a turnout."
Tan added, "We were simply outnumbered. Technically, they got in legitimately." She added the way the election proceeded was so unusual, it was hard to imagine the takeover was not a planned effort. "It could not be pure coincidence," she said.
Another former president, writer Dana Lam, then 57, said: "There were many faces I had not seen before, and I found that very strange." She recalled, "It was alarming. How could a new member who had just joined for a couple of months, and whom we knew nothing about, be picked over someone who has been with AWARE for more than 15 years?"
Some older members immediately began checking the attendance list. Tan Joo Hymn said, "We found that about 80 of the 102 who turned up were new members who joined between January and March this year."
Braema Mathi
Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Braema Mathi, then 51 and a two-term president of AWARE, said: "If you are keen to serve, you don't challenge every position. We do not know who they are."
Peter Lim
Former newspaper editor and media consultant Peter Lim, a longtime associate member of AWARE, said AWARE would be attractive to those seeking to be in charge of an established institution, given setting up a new outfit would take too much time and trouble.
New exco refuses press interviews
New honorary secretary Jenica Chua Chor Ping announced that a press release would be issued "in a few days" and added that until then, the committee would not answer any questions. The Straits Times' attempts to reach several exco members — Jenica Chua, Josie Lau and Lois Ng — were largely unsuccessful.
DBS Bank upset over Josie Lau's appointment
Shortly after Josie Lau announced she was AWARE's new president, her employer, DBS Bank, issued a statement on the night of Wednesday, 15 April 2009, expressing unhappiness that she had taken the top post.[5]
DBS said it had told her just before the AWARE exco meeting that it did not support her running for president, given the demands associated with the top post of a leading advocacy group. DBS revealed that Lau had breached its staff code of conduct twice in recent weeks — failing to disclose her candidacy for the exco, and her intention to run for president, informing the bank only hours before the vote.
Background checks on new exco members
Anti-gay letters to press
An initial check showed that some of those at the AGM and on the new committee had appeared in The Straits Times Forum Page. Jenica Chua, Angela Thiang and Dr Alan Chin, a male associate member of AWARE, all wrote letters to the newspaper between August and October 2007 cautioning against the "risks" of promoting the homosexual lifestyle and voicing opposition to the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code.
Josie Lau
A Straits Times article dated 18 April 2009 furnished personal details on "AWARE's power couple" — newly elected president Josie Lau and her husband Dr Alan Chin. Lau was described as sociable, chatty and a lover of good food; before joining DBS Bank, she spent 15 years at the Singapore Tourism Board, mostly marketing lifestyle events including the Singapore Food Festival and Singapore Fashion Festival.
Dr Alan Chin
A companion article disclosed that Dr Alan Chin Yew Liang was quiet and devoted to religious activities, having penned six letters to The Straits Times between May and August 2007 speaking out against the "homosexual lifestyle." He and his wife had attended the Anglican Church Of Our Saviour at Margaret Drive since 2001. He co-founded Lifeline Medical Group and was related to former NUS Law dean Dr Thio Su Mien and her daughter, NMP Prof Thio Li-Ann.
Church Of Our Saviour
Other exco members were also familiar faces at the Church Of Our Saviour: Charlotte Wong, Irene Yee, Jenica Chua, Maureen Ong and Sally Ang. The church, with a congregation of about 4,000, took a strong stand against homosexuality and ran an "ex-gay" counselling programme for those who wanted to give up "homosexual thoughts, tendencies and practices."
Old guard calls for extraordinary general meeting
Cyberspace was abuzz with rumours about hidden agendas stemming from the religious and allegedly anti-gay views of the new exco members. A group of 160 AWARE veterans launched a counter-attack, calling for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to table a vote of no confidence against the new committee. The 160 signatories made up about 30 per cent of AWARE's membership of more than 500 at the time.
Corinna Lim, then 44, a spokesman for the old guard, said, 'It is necessary to have an EGM because we need an open discussion of what their agenda is... We don't know who these people are. We've not heard a word from them for the past two-and-a-half weeks.'
Under AWARE's constitution, an EGM must be called if 10 per cent of the membership ask for one in writing.
Josie Lau's letter to media
On 17 April 2009, Josie Lau sent the following letter to the media:[6]
"...Ten of 12 positions were openly contested. Old Guard Chew I-Jin's position was not contested. From a high of 675 in 1998, ordinary membership plummeted to 253 in 2008. At last count, there are about 400 members, and membership continues to grow at an impressive rate.
...As president, I am disappointed that before the second exco meeting on April 15, a requisition for an EOGM for the apparent purpose of replacing the elected exco was handed to AWARE on April 14. This contained 160 signatures. No more than five signatories were present at the March 28 AGM.
We seek to improve the quality of life of women in Singapore. We are pro-women, pro-family and pro-Singapore. What is so objectionable about that? — Josie Lau, President, AWARE"
Braema Mathi sacked as CEDAW committee chairman
On 18 April 2009, The Straits Times reported that the new exco had sacked Braema Mathi as chairman of AWARE's CEDAW committee via a terse e-mail two days before, effective from 28 March 2009, the date of the AGM. She had chaired the committee for five years and presented a shadow CEDAW report to the United Nations in 2007.
Old guard's response to Josie Lau's letter
The old guard submitted the following rebuttal to The Straits Times Forum on 17 April 2009:
"...If you think the work AWARE has done all these years is so good and you want to 'honour' and 'build' on it, why the need to muscle your way onto the Exco?
Braema Mathi... was informed in a curt e-mail on Thursday April 16 that her term of office as chair of the CEDAW sub-committee had ended on March 28... We were further alarmed by media reports that the new AWARE president led the marketing team in DBS's credit card campaign last year which supported the evangelical Christian organisation Focus on the Family."
Talking Point interviews new exco members
On 19 April 2009, Channel NewsAsia broadcast an episode of "Talking Point" in which AWARE president Josie Lau and honorary treasurer Maureen Ong were interviewed. During the programme, Lau questioned the intentions of AWARE veterans unhappy over the election outcome.
New exco holds press conference
On 23 April 2009, AWARE's new exco held a press conference at the Raffles Town Club.[7] During the emotionally-charged press conference, the new exco said that AWARE had lost its focus.
Drama erupted even before the news conference started with Honorary Treasurer Chew I-Jin accusing the new guard of intentionally excluding her from their news conference.
The group introduced well-known corporate lawyer Dr Thio Su Mien, as their so-called "Feminist Mentor". The new exco accused AWARE of becoming a single purpose organisation, overly concerned with promoting lesbianism, citing a lesbian film screening in 2007 and a lesbian-friendly Mother's Day event in 2006.
The new exco said none of them intended to step down, but revealed that taking up office had come with risks. "Each day, I fear for the physical safety of my children, my family. There's even a blog site detailing my children's names and which schools they go to," said Josie Lau.
Excerpts from press conference
"Feminist Mentor" Thio Su Mien urged takeover
Senior lawyer Thio Su Mien, then 71, revealed she became disturbed when she noticed what she felt was AWARE's promotion of lesbianism and homosexuality, and began urging women she knew to join AWARE.
Q: Was the leadership takeover orchestrated, planned beforehand?
Josie Lau: I will place on record, no.
Thio Su Mien: No, no, it depends on what you mean by organiser. What I did was that I put down, collected info, I sent to different people. So it's up to you. You want to join? You go and join.
How Josie Lau joined AWARE
Josie Lau joined AWARE in January 2009 after her husband's aunt, Dr Thio Su Mien, suggested it, together with Claire Nazar. Lau said she had been "very, very taken aback" by AWARE's choice of the film Spider Lilies for its 2008 premiere gala.
Church connection
Six of the women in AWARE's new exco attended the Church Of Our Saviour. Maureen Ong denied any coordinated "church connection", saying: "We are not puppets of Dr Thio... I didn't even know her mobile phone or home number until we got onto this committee."
AWARE office locks changed, centre manager fired
While the press conference was going on at the Raffles Town Club, the new exco ordered the locks at AWARE's office changed to a new card system, and fired centre manager Schutz Lee for alleged "insubordination". Police officers arrived at the office and stayed for about half an hour after a report of a disturbance.
Old guard holds press conference
The following day, on 24 April 2009, the AWARE old guard held a press conference of their own to clarify their stand.
Minister Vivian Balakrishnan comments on AWARE saga
On Sunday, 26 April 2009, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan said the government had no intention of intervening in the AWARE saga, as it was not a national issue and should be settled democratically according to the organisation's constitution. Law Minister K Shanmugam similarly said it was for the members of AWARE to sort out under the Societies Act.
MOE contacts Thio Su Mien regarding allegations about AWARE's sexuality education programme
Dr Thio's claims that AWARE's sexuality programme treated homosexuality as a neutral rather than negative term prompted a response from the Ministry of Education. On 28 April 2009, MOE released a statement clarifying that 11 secondary schools had engaged AWARE the previous year for workshops, and that no negative feedback had been received from students or parents; MOE said it had contacted Dr Thio Su Mien to seek clarification and substantiate her claims, having received no complaint directly.
National Council of Churches of Singapore issues statement
The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) issued a statement on the night of Thursday, 30 April 2009, saying it did not condone churches getting involved in the AWARE saga, nor approve of pulpits being used for the purpose. The Church Of Our Saviour's senior pastor, Derek Hong, had reportedly urged his congregation in a Sunday sermon to support new AWARE president Josie Lau and "her sisters".
University lecturer Gwee Li Sui wrote a widely reproduced article, "Christians Against AWARE Takeover", saying the new team had no right to "infiltrate a secular organisation in order to be in a position to dictate their own values in its daily running."
Pastor Derek Hong expresses regret for actions
In response to the NCCS' statement, Pastor Derek Hong said the following day that he regretted using the pulpit to mobilise support for one camp: 'I regret that this matter has caused concern and unhappiness... I now stand corrected.'
Deputy PM Wong Kan Seng's comments
Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng welcomed the NCCS statement, saying it 'will help prevent any misunderstanding that the churches are backing one side in the AWARE dispute, or that this is a dispute between Christians and other Singaporeans.'
Other religious leaders support NCCS statement
The Venerable Sik Kwang Sheng, president of the Singapore Buddhist Federation, Ling Kin Huat of the Taoist Federation, and mosque leader Rahmat Sulaiman all echoed calls for religious groups to stay out of the affairs of secular civil society organisations.
Extraordinary general meeting at Suntec City
Pre-meeting uncertainties
The old guard called for the EGM hoping to table a vote of no confidence, but it was unclear whether the meeting would even get to discussing it, as Item No. 3 on the agenda merely stated that the requisition to hold an EGM would be discussed. Membership had crossed the 1,000 mark in the lead-up, reportedly reaching about 1,800 by the day of the EGM. Auxiliary police were hired for security.
Massive queue of two opposing camps
Battle lines were drawn hours before the EGM got underway at 2pm on Saturday, 2 May 2009, at the Suntec City Convention Centre.[8] New guard volunteers wore red shirts reading 'Pro woman, pro family, pro Singapore', while old guard volunteers wore white shirts reading 'We are AWARE'.
Several old guard members, including sacked centre manager Schutz Lee and Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong, were initially barred entry by 'red shirt' volunteers. Registration eventually started at 12:15pm, and by 12:50pm the queue had already snaked from the fourth floor to the third floor of the convention centre.
New exco heckled during EGM
At 2:30pm, Josie Lau was greeted by boos and jeers when she stood up to make her opening remarks.[9] She asked Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong to move to the associate members' section for men; he refused.
At 3:04pm, Sally Ang from the new exco shouted angrily at the jeering audience, "Shut up and sit down!" — an incident that later sparked the printing of T-shirts with the quote, worn by several old guard supporters two weeks later at the inaugural Pink Dot.
At 3:47pm, the crowd chanted, "Where were you?" after Constance Singam asked the new exco where they had been for the past 24 years.
At 4:02pm, "Feminist Mentor" Thio Su Mien took the mike and asked the audience to "show respect to your elders."
At 6:38pm, a sex education trainer from AWARE's comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programme said homosexuality took up only 1.5 minutes of the three-hour lesson, compared to 30 minutes for abstinence from sex.
New exco quits after vote of no confidence passed
At 8:10pm, a vote of no confidence on the new exco was passed, almost six hours after the EGM started, with a majority of 1414 votes to 761, a ratio of about 2 to 1. Auditing firm Deloitte counted the votes. The assembly then called for the mass resignation of the new exco.
AWARE's legal counsel Gregory Vijayendran said the new exco was legally allowed to stay in office despite the vote. At 8:47pm, former AWARE president Braema Mathi said, "I declare by their conduct they have resigned." At 8:59pm, the old guard proposed a motion to remove the new exco, passed with two objections, and the assembly proceeded to elect a new exco:
President — Dana Lam; Vice-president — Chew I Jin; Honorary secretary — Yap Chang Wi; Assistant honorary secretary — Corrina Lim; Honorary treasurer — Tan Joo Hymn; Assistant treasurer — Lim Xiao Yun.
At 9:14pm, Josie Lau strode onstage to state, "We have decided to graciously step down. We wish AWARE all the best." Maureen Ong added, "We need not step down, but we considered it and came to the conclusion that for the sake of AWARE, we would step down."
Newly elected exco to amend Constitution
Dana Lam announced that future candidates seeking office on AWARE's exco may have to be volunteers with the women's group for at least a year before being eligible, one of several more stringent constitutional amendments to prevent a repeat of the takeover. Immediate priorities were to reclaim the Dover Crescent premises, including removing CCTVs put in place by the new guard, and revive the work of subcommittees stalled by the saga.
The Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO) welcomed the resolution being reached in a democratic manner.
Attendance boost at Pink Dot
The breakout of the AWARE saga gave rise to an immense amount of indignation amongst the LGBT, human rights and feminist communities in Singapore. It galvanised people to attend the first Pink Dot held on Saturday, 16 May 2009 at Speakers' Corner, Hong Lim Park, boosting attendance to some 2,500, far surpassing organisers' modest expectations. Some participants wore T-shirts emblazoned with the quote, "Shut up and sit down!", in mockery of the ousted exco.
The AWARE saga was also a contributing factor that prompted the formation of the Humanist Society the following year, in 2010, to protect Singapore's unique brand of secularism.
AWARE's new directions
On Monday, 6 July 2009, AWARE's reinstated leadership revealed its refocused emphasis for the organisation, proposing extensive changes to its constitution, including a requirement that only those with at least 2 years' membership could run for elections. New president Dana Lam said she would not try to recover the more than S$99,000 spent on the EGM by the ousted committee, given the association had managed to recover about S$8,000 from donors and collected more than S$98,700 in new membership fees during the saga.
Report on review of AWARE's CSE programme
In August 2010, the review team of AWARE's Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programme released its report, publishing the document in PDF format online.[10] The team concluded AWARE did the right thing in developing and running the CSE programme, which did not seek to promote homosexuality, anal sex or premarital sex, though it recommended that in future, staff and volunteers exercise greater care when writing and editing such material, noting some statements read out of context could appear more startling than intended.
Book published
In 2011, a 208-page book entitled "The AWARE Saga: Civil Society and Public Morality in Singapore" was published by NUS Press (ISBN: 978-9971-69-551-4), edited by Terence Chong, a sociologist and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore.
9th Anniversary of AWARE saga
To mark the 9th anniversary of the AWARE saga, the organisation interviewed Margaret Thomas, President of AWARE from 2018 to 2020, and uploaded the video to its YouTube channel on 12 June 2018. Thomas reflected on the pivotal moment and highlighted three lessons: the importance of standing up and speaking out, women's solidarity and maintaining secularism in Singapore.
Where Were You? AWARE Saga 10th Anniversary Party
On Saturday, 4 May 2019, AWARE threw a party to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the climactic Extraordinary General Meeting at Suntec Convention Centre, attended by 3,000 people. The event was held at the AWARE headquarters at 5 Dover Crescent, from 2:30pm to 10:30pm, featuring a full screening of the EGM video and a reception with remarks from Constance Singam, Vivienne Wee, Siew Kum Hong and sociologist Teo You Yenn, hosted by AWARE's Executive Director Corinna Lim.
SAGA: Podcast Premiere and Listening Party
In December 2020, as a finale to the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the AWARE saga, the organisation kicked off a limited-series podcast entitled SAGA with a virtual listen-along session hosted by theatre actress Pam Oei, over Zoom at 7pm on Wednesday, 9 December 2020.
SAGA was hosted and narrated by acclaimed journalist Bharati Jagdish. Twelve episodes were released: Strangers, The Coup, The Letters, Old Guard New Guard, Saviour, Informants, Showdown, Feminist Mentor, B-WARE, Extraordinary (Parts One and Two), and The Winners — based on interviews with around 50 people connected to the saga.
The Saga Podcast Transcripts
On 18 March 2026, it was announced that Singapore's first long-form podcast "Saga" was now in print, published as by Faction Press, co-written by Kelly Leow and Jasmine Ng. A book launch was held at Book Bar on 28 March 2026, with all net proceeds going to AWARE.
See also
References
Acknowledgements
This article content was compiled by Roy Tan.
- ↑ https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/signel/conversations/messages/22164
- ↑ http://www.we-are-aware.sg/2009/05/07/chronology/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-rPfqmoOXQ&feature=youtu.be
- ↑ https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/signel/conversations/messages/22255
- ↑ https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/signel/conversations/messages/22216
- ↑ https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/signel/conversations/messages/22226
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a6ad1zz0P8&t=260s
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Iez_Y4rfCY
- ↑ https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/signel/conversations/messages/22696
- ↑ http://www.aware.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/CSE-Programme.pdf