The Heat

The first thing that strikes about coming back to Singapore is the heat and more importantly, or should I say disgustingly, is the humidity. Bushfires are a common feature in the Australian Summer, but it seemed as if Singapore is also suffering from a spate of misfortunes, with hazy skies and smoky air.

There are intermittent glimpses of the sun, but strangely, in such humidity, is an unwelcome intrusion to me. I love sunbathing in Australia but somehow, this passion is killed by the biting rays and the displeasure it brings, thus drawing us to seek refuge in the air-conditioned shopping centres.

Many things have changed ... Looking up the block of flats (or apartments they call in Australia), I observe an onslaught of air conditioning units. Where in the past, it was a luxury item, it has transformed into some form of commodity. The other thing observed is the number of mobile phone ads in the paper. How many times does one need to change their mobiles to reflect their social status?

Singapore is very different from Australia, and I notice that though Australia is also moving more to the religious right, a comment made by a relgious leader about the haze in Singapore being the "Fruits of our sins" would probably have been laughed at. The rising number of AIDS victims in recent years in Singapore has also prompted the Senior Health Minister to prompt the hypothesis that AIDS = Gay Dance Party. It is not totally irrelevant, but the most serious issue brought up is that if Singapore still treats homosexuality as an unnatural act and an offence (please note that oral sex was only recently legalised between heterosexuals), how can we educate the population about safe sex via condoms when we can't even raise the issue (because it is illegal and considered non existent).

It took many brave people and years of change and courage to bring Australia to where it is today, but if the government decides that the people are not ready for this education, can Singapore move ahead and embrace human rights? It is an irony because there are many things happening right now which revokes human rights in many developed countries, even in Australia with the refugee camps and detainees, so is it too much to ask of Singaporeans. We shall see ...