Lee Hsien Loong MP (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician who has served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore since August 2004. Lee is the eldest son of the 1st Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. He has taken over the leadership of People's Action Party as the Secretary-General since December 2004 when former Prime Minister and Secretary-General Goh Chok Tong stepped down from the position to become the Senior Minister. Lee then led the party to victory in the 2006, 2011, 2015 and 2020 general elections. He began his current term on 15 January 2016 following the opening of Singapore's 13th Parliament.
Singapore announces plans to end archaic colonial-era law banning gay sex
In a win for LGBTQ+ rights, Singapore has announced plans to decriminalise the country’s archaic law that bans men having sex with men.
Since 1938, the Southeast Asian country has enforced the colonial-era law Section 377A – which defined sex between consenting men as “acts of gross indecency.” Under the dangerous law, if an individual is convicted of having gay sex, they could face up to two years in prison.
However on 21 August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the harmful legislation would officially be repealed during his speech at National Day Rally. “Private sexual behaviour between consenting adults does not raise any law and order issue.
There is no justification to prosecute people for it nor to make it a crime,” he said. “This will bring the law into line with current social mores and I hope to provide some relief to gay Singaporeans.” Even though Loong announced the removal of Section 377A, he also reinforced the country’s conservative stance on inclusive LGBTQ+ initiatives like queer representation in media and marriage equality.
