The excerpt of their recommendations pertaining to 377A (the legislation which criminalises homosexual activities) has been reproduced at the People Like Us, PLU, Singapore's gay advocacy group, website (www.plu.sg), which also published a press release, welcoming the stand adopted by the Law Society.

Compare this to the position adopted by the Worker's Party.

Roy Tan, who was present at the Worker's Party forum to garner public opinion on amendments to the penal code in February, reported on Signel, Singapore's gay mailing list, that Party Chair Sylvia Lim said the party "was split over whether they should embrace our 'liberal views' and thus would not be pushing or even bringing up the issue in Parliament."

Note that while both organisations admitted to having members within their ranks opposing the repeal of 377A, the Law Society was nevertheless, able to make the potentially controversial recommendation of supporting decriminalization. The Worker's Party, on the other hand, was unable to come to a similar conclusion. This was despite the fact that the Worker's Party includes a stable of educated professionals, amongst them, Sylvia Lim, herself, a trained lawyer.

This reticence indicates that opposition parties, are by and large conservative or that they are frightened of being at the forefront of social change. They also believe that their constituencies are equally conservative. At least on the gay issue, it appears that they are not actively trying to differentiate themselves from the PAP government. While it may tactically be wiser to pander to the conservative votes, the influence of foreign media and cultures have changed the mindset of younger Singaporeans. A good indicator is the recent survey of 800 individuals between the ages of 15- 29 conducted by the Singapore Polytechnic, which revealed that 44% of male respondents and 57% of female respondents are accepting of homosexuality. By no means conclusive, it is nevertheless a good indication of ground sentiments.

Activists must learn to recognise that public opinion can shift and that they would need to learn to campaign and capitalise on small victories to further their cause. Sometimes, these opinions may change drastically in their favour within a few years.

Right after 9/11, there was a prevailing mindset that the world was in danger of being destroyed by Islamic extremists and that George Bush's war on terror provided the solution to eliminating them. With the Iraqi invasion in its fifth year, the Americans have withdrawn their blind trust on the administration by electing the Democrats to both houses of Congress in order to keep the President's power in check.

In Australia, the detention of Australian David Hicks in Guantanamo Bay was initially met with implicit silence and approval. Hicks was perceived as a fundamentalist who embraced Islam and abandoned his children to pursue violent jihad abroad. Four years on, after an intensive period of campaigning, his fate has become one of the contentious election issues facing the Howard government.

However, it may be simplistic, if not erroneous, to compare Americans' opinions on the invasion of Iraq or Australians' view of David Hick's detention with decriminalizing gay sex in Singapore. After all, we are talking about radically different issues. That is not even taking into account cultural, social, political and historical differences and constraints amongst Singapore as compared to other countries.

Yet, both examples show how opinion can be mobilized and changed even if they were controversial in the first place.

As the Law Society is composed of professionals who understand and practise the law, their stand strengthens the reasons and arguments for the repeal of 377A. For now, it appears to be a small stepping stone. However, it is on the shoulders of gay rights activists to take a more aggressive step forward by using the Law Society's statement to build up an intensive awareness and education campaign targeting other decision makers.

The surprising spill-over effect could be the encouragement of other political parties and members within civil society to openly support repealing 377A, if the campaign is wielded with effectiveness. Setbacks may be expected but that is part and parcel of campaigning.

Bearing in mind that opinions can change, the opposition politics sector, such as the Worker's Party, Singapore Democratic Party and National Solidarity Party, would also need to actively engage with the LGBT community and openly advocate the repeal of 377A. Armed with an understanding of the issues surrounding 377A, politicians can ride on the forefront of opinion change by explaining to their conservative voters their decision to support the repeal of 377A, while winning the votes of their more liberal constituents.