Saturday, April 25, 2009
On AWARE
Yeah man, I'm like the internet bitch, excitingly following the AWARE saga.
Official news sites (CNA), the many many blogs have filled me with great info these few days.
For me these days, the main 'readings' I'm doing are the blog posts listed on
singaporedaily.net, and boy, they do give me a great detail about the whole saga (with some spilled emails and personal accounts, so many you can't finish it)
(By the way, this site is great for anyone with a slight interest in the issues Singapore faces, as it has a great collection of blog links on the current 'in' topics)
Here, I'm not gonna retell the whole story.. for me, two blog posts from yawningbread tell the story quite well.
http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2009/yax-1004.htmhttp://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2009/yax-1010.htmOf course, they might contain a bias since the author is a prominent gay activist.. If you wish to know more (haha it's the exams no time!), you can visit singaporedaily.net, as I mentioned.
For me, I'm the supporter of the 'old guard'.
For people who do not really know what happened, it is easy to say "Come on, the new guard won the elections fair and square, so the old guard are just sore losers!" or "Come on, let the new guard carry out their term, and if they are really not good, the society can still vote them out!"
I think for these people, they don't really know the whole issue here. Without trying to tell the whole story, how the new exco seized power was like that:
A group of 'new members' with absolutely no experience in AWARE's activities, joined the society quietly A FEW MONTHS before the AGM. They turn out in overwhelming numbers during the society's AGM. As for the 'old member's of the society, as they expect the 'old guard' to remain in power effortlessly, not many turned up for the AGM to vote the old exco in. Hence, with great backing at the AGM, the new exco (equally new to the society as they are also new members) got voted into power, and the old exco ousted.
(By the way, the old guard consists of
founder members, and members who have contributed to AWARE for years)
In this sense, you can say the old guards screwed themselves up by being complacent, by not enforcing that the old members come for the AGM, and to vote them into power. But come on lah, in Singapore who will expect this to happen? Just look at the Arts Club AGM la. We don't vote there, but how many people do actually come? And that's despite us having quite a number of strong affiliates. For AWARE, these people are adults with jobs and kids, they so free meh?
I think the issue here is not whether the new exco was voted in constitutionally. There are no doubts that they indeed are, and the old guards actually acknowledge that. The issue here is about the agenda these new people are carrying. These are the things they did:
1. Despite being in the same church, and having the sudden surge of membership A FEW MONTHS before the AGM, they denied planning for this, and denied knowing one another prior to be elections.
2. The current President Jocie Lau said that she only took up the Presidency as she was the 'last woman standing', while DBS stated that she did inform them she wanted to contest for the Presidency a few months back. hmm. (read 2nd yawningbread link)
3. They have no prior participation in AWARE, and they suddenly became the EXCO. hmm.
4. When asked, they weren't able to specifically say their plans for the society, except to throw charges at the old exco.
5. Jocie Lau said AWARE was too "diversified" whereas Thio Su Mien said AWARE was too "focused" on promoting gay lifestyle (true? read 2nd yawningbread link)
Best:
6. They sacked some old non-elected office bearers (some contributing to AWARE for many years) without giving reasons.
7. They even CHANGED the office's gates and locks!
Hmm, I'm totally not in the blogging mood today. Can't really express how I felt about the whole issue, about how serious it can be.
If you wanna know more, you can read this!
http://www.we-are-aware.sg/Jiayou for exams folks!
lowtide blogged @
11:13 pm
