Disingenuous absence of a vital fact in NMP's speech

Disingenuous absence of a vital fact in NMP's speech

I REFER to the excerpt from the parliamentary speech by Nominated Member of Parliament Thio Li-ann on Wednesday, 'No 'bright line' between religion and politics'. I agree with Professor Thio that we cannot effect a clear separation of church and state because beliefs about religion, whether as religious values or as secularism, inform publicly voiced opinions.

However, the crux of the saga involving the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) was that its 'old guard' consisted of women who profess diverse religious beliefs. The 'new guard' executive committee members claimed they did not know about one another before their election, and yet they all hailed from a single, small church.

Had their assumption of power been left unchallenged, their religious beliefs would have severely compromised Aware's primary mission of addressing women's issues regardless of religious background.

To leave out this crucial fact in her parliamentary address while accusing newspapers of distorting and obscuring facts leaves Prof Thio appearing disingenuous, to say the least.

Tan Kok Kee

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