Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Hang Tough: Can Nice S'pore Afford to Be Naughty?
"IRs (Intergrated Resorts) should not be in risque, edgy shows."
That is the view of Mr. Christohper de Souza, Member of Parliament (MP) for Holland-Bukit Timah. A Catholic husband who immerses himself into parish activities with his family implied in his comments made in Parliament that conservative Singapore should not allow liberal world-class acts.
In an impassioned speach, he refered to Crazy Horse's failure "a clear signal to the ministry handling IRs that strip shows (however artistically staged and choreographed) are not a popular form of entertainment here". Hence, unnecessary. Crazy Horse, a Paris-based nude Cabaret closed it doors for good on 31st January.
Mr. Christopher de Souza sent a clear warning how a small country like Singapore was "especially vulnerable" to "how quickly the forces of moral corruption can spread." Thus, "for both ethical and commercial reasons, we should not allow the IRs to bring in such shows in the future."
In reply to those who say that a Singapore cannot be a world-class city if it bars world-class entertainment, Mr. de Souza replied, "Visitors don't come to Singapore for naughty nights out. These are qualities not 0associated with Singapore... We don't need to resort to scantily dressed women to pull in the crowds."
In a declaration, Mr. de Souza said that "clean IRs" would be "a unique proposition and can be a huge attraction simply because such IRs are not easily found elsewhere."
Mr. Baey Yam Keng, MP for Tanjong Pagar, said in response to Mr. de Souza, "Singapore might end up too conservative compared with other global cities, and our rules become a convenient hitting bag for any business failure."
I think that the worst case scenario Mr. Baey Yam Keng illustrated would be a better path for Singapore to end up in rather than moral corruption and degradation of soicety that Mr. de Souza rightly pointed out in Parliament.
MP's like Mr. Baey Yam Keng need to be on the ground to see the cesspool of filth that Society- the only resource we have- is already in. Just over 3-4 weeks, we read reports of pro-abortion, rampant pre-marital sex between 13-15 year olds, the rise of promiscuous sexual behavior, etc... We cannot afford to have the scales tipped any further.
Catholic politicians should take after Mr. de Souza, and not be afraid to be a contridiction.
Mater Dei, ora pro nobis.
List of Catholic MP's/Ministers (not exhaustive):
- Christohper de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah Representation Constituency)
- Cham Hui Fong (Nominated Member of Parliament)
- Cynthia Phua (Aljunied)
- Eunice Elizabeth Olsen (Nominated Member of Parliament)
- George Yeo (Minister for Foreign Affairs)
- Jessica Neo (East Coast Group Representation Constituency)
- Sylvia Lim (Non-Constituency Member of Parliament)
- Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency)
- Yeo Cheow Tong (Hong Kah Group Representation Constituency)
* Catholics make up a small portion of the mainly Evangelical Protestant Christian majority.
Comments:
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I remain ambivalent on whether economic options are stifled by our "prudish" morality.
However, I would not attribute the failure of Crazy Horse to a lack of interest. Rather, its failure would be due to the authorities' apparent schizophrenia about the revue.
After years of debate, Singapore finally succeeded in attracting a topless show only to tie it up with all manner of silly regulations (compare with Crazy Horse Paris) until it went broke.
Honestly, Singapore should stop trying to appease everybody. As in the case of Crazy Horse, the moralists remained annoyed with such a venue and those seeking entertainment and fun were shortchanged.
A 50-50 compromise always leaves everyone unhappy. It would do us well if we could make up our minds over including risqué entertainment at the IRs.
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However, I would not attribute the failure of Crazy Horse to a lack of interest. Rather, its failure would be due to the authorities' apparent schizophrenia about the revue.
After years of debate, Singapore finally succeeded in attracting a topless show only to tie it up with all manner of silly regulations (compare with Crazy Horse Paris) until it went broke.
Honestly, Singapore should stop trying to appease everybody. As in the case of Crazy Horse, the moralists remained annoyed with such a venue and those seeking entertainment and fun were shortchanged.
A 50-50 compromise always leaves everyone unhappy. It would do us well if we could make up our minds over including risqué entertainment at the IRs.
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