I refer to the letter dated 18 Mar 2005 issued by the Media Development Authority ("MDA") rejecting my application for the Arts Entertainment License for the "AFFECT05 – Saving Lives, Transforming Mindsets" concert. I would like to appeal to you to reconsider the license application.

The application was rejected by the MDA on the basis that the featured artistes, Jason & deMarco, use "their musical performance and their own example of being a couple, to celebrate and promote a gay lifestyle" and as such, the concert "promotes alternative lifestyles that are against public interest."

Please consider my appeal on the following grounds 

However, it now actually seems providential that the concert date should occur around a time, when the Government itself, has raised strong alarm bells about HIV infections amongst the Men who have Sex with Men ("MSM") population which includes the gay community and proceeded to call for gay community champions to present a message of zero tolerance for unsafe sex.

In light of this, please note that the exemplary lives of the duo who have been in a committed monogamous relationship for the last five years, strongly emphasizes the message that gay people who remain in faithful relationships can prevent the spread of HIV by abstinence from casual sexual relations. This is an urgent message that must be delivered via effective and believable means to the gay community if we are serious about stemming the tide of HIV in Singapore.

This is also consistent with the Government’s message that was reiterated in the Senior Minister of State for Health, Dr Balaji Sadasivan’s interview on 18 March 2005 in the Straits Times. There he stated that the gay community needs champions who have "zero tolerance to unsafe sex." To deny the license for this concert to be staged severely hampers the Minister’s call for champions in the MSM population and for the gay community to take the lead towards HIV prevention in the gay community.

This concert provides an opportunity at a critical juncture in Singapore’s dealing with HIV to present a strong call to the gay community towards responsible relationships and responsible sexual practices. 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 fact is this concert will save lives and will transform mindsets for better. 

1. Recognizing the possibility that there may be people from more cautious or even homophobic segments of our society fearing that their children may attend the concert, we ourselves on our own volition are restricting attendance to people who are at least eighteen (18) years old and will be conducting identity checks at the door. 
    
2. The concert features not only the pop duo, but well-known local artistes as well. Last Saturday, we also announced the addition of Ms Selena Tan of "Dim Sum Dollies" fame to the line up. You may be aware that Ms Tan is a married heterosexual woman. As with the rest of the performers, the lyrics for her songs that she will be performing have also been submitted to MDA for review. All the performers have wholeheartedly committed to use their musical talents as a tool for healing, courage and hope those affected or infected by HIV. 
    
3. In the year 2004, there were no fewer than 6 performances with gay themes, including "Mergers/Wills", "Private Parts", "Mardi Gras", "Top or Bottom". Added to that, many of the performers in the shows live as openly gay individuals. This is in addition to at least 3 gay themed exhibitions, including "Red + White = Pink", "Private Edge" and "Pierre & Gilles" with the last exhibition being graced by your presence at the opening ceremony.

These public performances and exhibitions will naturally attract a higher percentage of gay people in the audience because of their themes, but the MDA has allowed them to be held, some of them attracting more than 10,000 paying patrons spanning over runs of up to a month. Our concert is scheduled for only one night to a maximum audience of 400.

Further concerts featuring openly gay performers like the recent KD Lang concert and Pet Shop Boys, have been permitted in Singapore with the public media making references to their sexual orientation. Added to this, even on "free-to-air" television over the last few years, everyone has access to shows like the "Amazing Race" and "Survivor" where openly gay couples in relationships interact with other participants each week.

Sir, this is not a concert about promoting alternative lifestyles to the wider public. It is about passing on an urgent message in an effective and believable form to an epidemiologically high-risk community who are a part and parcel of our society. If we do not allow them more positive role models, we become complicit in their deaths and sufferings as HIV infections grow.

We have worked hard at our own cost and conducted ourselves in a manner that respects the sensitivities of this matter to the best of our ability in organizing this concert. That the MDA should refuse a license based on a complaint from one complainant whose identity we do not even know, when many lives are at stake is difficult to accept.

Based on these considerations, I appeal to you to grant the license for this concert.

In light of the impending concert date, I hope that you will be able to respond to this appeal by Saturday, 26 March 2005. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any clarification. Thanking you in advance for your reasoned consideration.