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Source:
www.mha.gov.sg |
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Oral Answer to Parliamentary
Question on the reasons for cancellation of the licence for a
public lecture on 7 Aug by Professor Emeritus Douglas Sanders |
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Mr Baey Yam Keng: |
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To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Home Affairs |
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(a) what are the reasons for the change in
assessment of the permit for Professor Emeritus Douglas Sanders' public
lecture after the permit was previously approved; and |
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(b) what is the number of similar
cancellations of approved permits in the past five years and what are
the main reasons for their cancellation. |
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Mr Siew Kum Hong: |
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To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Home Affairs |
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(a) why was a public entertainment licence
initially granted for a public lecture on 7 August 2007 by Professor
Emeritus Douglas Sanders; and |
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(b) what circumstances had changed to result
in the cancellation of the licence. |
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Assoc Prof Ho Peng Kee: |
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Police assesses each application for a
public entertainment licence carefully based on the information
available. |
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After approving a license, Police will
continue to monitor developments. There may be circumstances under
which Police may re-assess the application and cancel the public
entertainment license if necessary, for public safety, good order
or public interest reasons. |
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In the case of the public lecture on 7
August, after careful deliberation, Police assessed that the event
was contrary to the public interest and cancelled the license for
the event. |
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This was because it became
subsequently clear to Police that the event was part of the
efforts of gay activists to promote their political agenda which
involved a foreigner. |
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Our laws are an expression and
reflection of the values of our society and any public discourse
in Singapore on such matters should be reserved for Singaporeans. |
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Foreigners will not be allowed to
interfere in our domestic political scene, whether in support of
the gay cause or against it. |
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There has been no similar cancellation
of a licence granted for talks by foreign speakers in the past 5
years. This is because Police is usually able to make a decision
whether to approve or reject a licence application based on the
information available. |
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It was only in the case of the public
lecture by Professor Emeritus Douglas Sanders that Police decided
to cancel the licence based on additional information which
subsequently came to its knowledge. |
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Source:
www.mha.gov.sg News 18 Sep
2007 |
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FrontPage Edition: Sat 22 September 2007
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