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2005
JdM concert: press reports and letters source: Today, Straits Times, dates as indicated in each case.
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21 March 2005'Today' newspaper Group plans gay concert by Ansley Ng A Christian support group is negotiating with the Media Development Authority (MDA) to hold a concert to promote safe sex among Singapore's gay and lesbian community. About two weeks ago, Safehaven, which claims to be the only gay affirmative Christian support group here, applied for an Arts and Entertainment Licence from authorities to hold a charity concert by gay pop duo Jason and deMarco on April 3 at Raffles Hotel. "They (MDA) have responded by asking us more questions," said Safehaven's spokeswoman Susan Tang. "We are still in discussions." According to Ms Tang, MDA wanted to know more about the background of the duo, who are based in Los Angeles. Local celebrities like Hossan Leong, Irene Ang and Selena Tan have also agreed to perform for free. Proceeds from the concert, called, Affect 05 Saving Lives, Transforming Mindsets, would go to Action for Aids. Safehaven expects to raise about $16,000. Plans for the concert were kept "low key" until Sunday, when Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts & Health Dr Balaji Sadasivan called "for champions in the gay community to step forward and stand up for zero tolerance of unsafe sex practices", said Safehaven in a press release. Ms Tang declined to say how many tickets have been sold. "Response has been good, and we are optimistic of the outcome." Should authorities decide not to allow the concert, Safehaven would have to issue refunds. * * * * * 22 March 2005 MDA rejects gay concert, denies talks by Ansley Ng The Media Development Authority (MDA) has denied reports that it is considering giving a proposed gay concert the green light. In an email to Today, MDA spokeswoman Koh June May said "We are not in the midst of holding any negotiations or discussions with the group on this issue." Yesterday, this newspaper reported that Christian group Safehaven was negotiating with MDA to hold a charity concert by gay pop duo Jason and deMarco next month. The group, which claims to be the only gay affirmative Christian support group here, applied for an Arts and Entertainment Licence about two weeks ago, but their application was rejected last Friday in a brief faxed letter. "Alternative lifestyles are against the public interest," said the MDA in the letter. "Based on the reports about the duo's performances in the United States and the duo's website, the duo uses their musical performance and their own example of being a couple to celebrate and promote a gay lifestyle," it said. When asked why Safehaven had not been forthright about the rejection when contacted on Monday night, spokeswoman Susan Tang said "We did not want to say it was rejected as we wanted to give MDA a chance to reconsider our application. According to her, half the tickets have been sold. But the organisers are not giving up without a fight. Yesterday, in an appeal letter to Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Safehaven enclosed footage of the duo's performance, saying their act was "strictly professional". * * * * * 23 March 2005 Concern over gay performers, so 'no go' for Aids concert by Lydia Lim An application for a permit to hold a fund-raising concert for Action For Aids has been turned down by the Media Development Authority (MDA) because it features a gay couple as the main performers. The MDA confirmed with The Straits Times that it received an application for a concert next week featuring an American couple, Jason & deMarco, as the 'main performing artistes'. 'Based on the duo's website and reports of their performances in the United States, it is assessed that their performance will promote a gay lifestyle which would be against the public interest,' the MDA said in an e-mail reply. 'Their application has therefore been turned down.' These were the same points in its letter to the concert organisers, explaining why the application was not approved. The organisers are members of a Christian bible study group called Safehaven. The group is, in turn, part of the Free Community Church, which does not regard homosexuality as a sin. It holds weekly services in Yangtze Building on Eu Tong Sen Street. Members of Safehaven yesterday appealed in a letter to Dr Lee Boon Yang, the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts. They said the concert's aim was to raise funds for Aids programmes and increase awareness about the growing HIV problem among gays. 'This concert will save lives and transform mindsets for the better,' they added. 'To disallow it outright on the basis that the performers are a gay couple fails to appreciate the important public health impact this concert will have in the years to come on the gay community in Singapore.' The organisers also said their efforts were in line with a recent call by Senior Minister of State for Health, and Information, Communications and the Arts Balaji Sadasivan for members of the gay community to step forward to champion the message of zero tolerance towards unsafe sex. They invited Dr Balaji to be guest-of-honour at the fund-raising event for Action For Aids, a non-governmental organisation working to control the spread of Aids here and to handle related issues. The concert at the Jubilee Hall would have included performances by local artists Hossan Leong, Irene Ang and Selena Tan. * * * * * 23 March 2005 Singapore bans AIDS concert, citing gay artists by Fayen Wong SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore has rejected an application for a concert by a local AIDS support group, citing concern over its gay performers following a spike in HIV cases. Los Angeles-based Christian gay pop musicians Jason and deMarco were the planned feature performers for the April 3 Action for AIDS event organised by Christian group Safehaven. "Based on the duo's website and reports of their performances in the United States, it is assessed that their performance will promote a gay lifestyle which would be against the public interest," said the Media Authority of Singapore in a statement. The ban follows comments this month by a Singapore government minister who said a gay and lesbian festival in August last year may have led to a surge in the number of local AIDS cases, a remark that outraged gay activists. Although Singapore has one of Asia's lowest levels of HIV infection, the number of new infections hit a record high of 311 cases in 2004, up 28 percent from 2003. A third of the newly diagnosed cases were gay men. Gay activists say many the remaining two-thirds appeared to be heterosexual men who caught the illness from prostitutes in nearby Southeast Asian regions such as Indonesia's Batam island just an hour's boat ride from Singapore. Safehaven said the concert had aimed to raise funds for AIDS programmes and increase awareness about HIV among gay people. "We invited Jason and deMarco because they are a monogamous couple for the past 5 years and we wanted to send forth the message to the gay community that a monogamous relationship and responsible attitude towards sex should be the approach to take," said Peter Goh, a coordinator from Safehaven. "We did not intend, and still do not intend, for this to be a gay concert," he said. Singapore's gay community has only recently enjoyed greater freedoms and after former premier Goh Chok Tong announced in 2003 that homosexuals were now employed in the civil service, a low-key policy shift aimed in part at fostering a creative class. He said homosexuals could hold key positions without fear of discrimination -- a move once unthinkable in a country where oral sex even between men and women is still technically illegal and punishable by up to two years in jail under current laws. "It is unfortunate that the authorities rejected the license. These people had good intentions, they wanted to do something for its community and help us as well to give funds to our prevention efforts," said Brenton Wong, a spokesman for Action for Aids. * * * * * 24 March 2005 Which is worse, MDA, gay performers or Xu Mei Feng? I am disappointed by the Media Development Authority's (MDA) decision to reject Safehaven's application for an Arts and Entertainment Licence for the charity concert by American duo Jason and Demarco ("MDA rejects gay concert; denies talks", March 23). There are a number of issues that do not seem coherent with regards to the MDA's decision. The MDA states that the presence of these performers will serve to contradict the government's drive to discourage promiscuity amongst the gay population. However, as noted in yesterday's article, Jason and Demarco are professional performers who would have been promoting the anti-Aids message at the concert. It is ironic that while the Government urges the gay community to stand up against the trend of HIV transmissions, it also blocks attempts to raise awareness for the disease. The concert was intended to raise funds for HIV-positive patients, not to arouse sympathy for a supposed "gay cause". The presence of concert performers, regardless of how they lead their private lives, makes no difference whatsoever to the main objective. There seems to be a "guilt by association" factor at play here, which does not serve any purpose apart from alienating the gay community from the population at large. If social morality can be threatened by individual performances conducted by "questionable" artistes, I would like to draw attention to other shows that the MDA have approved, where the performers were perhaps even more objectionable For example, the "Xu Mei Feng cabaret" in which a former Taiwanese female politician, who was involved in an exceedingly public sex scandal, was allowed to perform on stage. The MDA needs to clarify the logic behind its decision. Dickson Yeo * * * * * 31 March 2005 Affect05 concert did not comply with MDA's guidelines We refer to the letter by Mr Dickson Yeo, "Which is worse, MDA Gay performers or Xu Mei Feng? (March 24). The application for Affect05 was rejected because it did not comply with the Media Development Authority's (MDA) guidelines, which prohibit performances that promote alternative lifestyles. Based on the duo's performance in the United States and information from the website, the couple have used their musical performances and their own example as a gay couple to promote a gay lifestyle. The MDA had taken the decision to disallow the concert after having consulted members of its various advisory panels. Although the stated objective of the concert to raise funds for Aids is a good cause, any concert organised must comply with current guidelines. The MDA would also like to clarify that we did not say that "the presence of these performers will serve to contradict the Government's drive to discourage promiscuity amongst the gay population" as claimed by Mr Yeo. Koh June May * * * * * 24 March 2005 Pop Duo Recording Artists Banned from Playing AIDS Concert Benefit Los Angeles --(Business Wire) --Recording artists Jason and deMarco, a popular singing duo that has performed at numerous festivals, has been officially banned from playing an AIDS fundraising benefit in Singapore by the government there, because the two are gay. Jason says, "Ironically, we just played a concert that was a benefit for the foundation formed in memory of Matthew Shepard, who was beaten to death for being gay. It was held by his mother, and the very next day, we are informed of this. The discrimination that goes on against gay people is not just an issue that goes on in Singapore, it happens everywhere. Go to any city around the world, and you will find it." The Singapore concert is being held by Safehaven, a Christian organization that was negotiating with the Media Development Authority (MDA), a branch of the Singapore government, to hold the concert. Jason and deMarco's appearance came to a halt, however, when Koh June May, spokeswoman for the MDA, issued a statement on behalf of the Singapore government saying, "Alternative lifestyles are against the public interest." May added, "Based on the reports about the duo's performances in the United States and the duo's website, the duo uses their musical performance and their own example of being a couple to celebrate and promote a gay lifestyle." Jason and deMarco, however, are adamant that their lyrics do not express any agenda, gay or otherwise. Jason and deMarco appear on the recently released "Love Rocks," a benefit compilation CD for the Human Rights Campaign, on which other recording artists appear, including Melissa Etheridge, Christina Aguilera and the Dixie Chicks. A letter sent from Safehaven to Dr. Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts, appealing the decision, also included footage of the duo's recent performance at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater in Hollywood, California, noting that their act is "strictly professional." According to Jason and deMarco,
Singapore's government recently caused controversy by making other openly
anti-gay statements. Says Jason, "We are very concerned about the
intolerance against gay people that is expressed and enforced by the
government of Singapore, and we are asking people to speak out."
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Footnotes None Addenda None
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