Singapore economy contracts in second quarter

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Singapore's economic growth moderated in the second quarter, hurt by a slide in manufacturing output and continuing weakness in its services sector.

The economy grew 2.1 percent in the second quarter from a year ago period, data showed on Monday, missing a Reuters forecast of 3.1 percent increase and after logging a 4.9 percent rise in the first quarter.

On a quarter on quarter basis, the wealthy city state contracted 0.8 percent, compared with the 2.5 percent rise Reuters forecast and following the 2.3 percent gain in the first quarter.

The Singapore dollar traded flat against the greenback following the data.

Singapore to Destroy Copies of Book About Gay Penguins

Singapore plans to destroy copies of three children's books, including one about two male penguins raising a chick, following complaints that the works' contents violate the country's family values.

And Tango Makes Three, The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption and Who's In My Family: All About Our Families will be removed from Singapore's state-run libraries and pulped, according to multiple reports.

'The prevailing norms, which the overwhelming majority of Singaporeans accept, support teaching children about conventional families, but not about alternative, non-traditional families, which is what the books in question are about,' said Yaacob Ibrahim, the country's information minister, according to The Guardian.

An online petition was launched in response to the announcement, calling for Singapore's National Library Board to reverse its decision.

Gay rights have become a flash point in Singapore, with recent rallies held by LGBT activists drawing thousands in support, as well as strong opposition from religious groups.

Singapore is a business hub in Asia, and generally viewed as a moderate and westernized place for expats to live. Dubai, a major city in the United Arab Emirates, has a similar role in the Middle East, and has also been the scene of tension between authorities and the country's gay population. However, the issue is more controversial in Dubai, with a man recently standing trial for engaging in a ''gay' handshake.'

Whether the ongoing issue of gay rights in Singapore has an impact on the country's reputation as a Western-friendly destination is debatable. Some in the West may see the move to ban the books as government encroachment on citizens' personal lives, while others may not care as long as it does not impact business.

@adariostrange nope... Plenty of techbros don't see a problem/put it down to cultural relativism/choose to ignore it

- Wong Joon Ian (@joonian) July 12, 2014

Additional reporting by sg-trip.blogspot.comHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Another side of Singapore

Just slightly smaller than the Indonesian capital - Singapore spans 716.1 square kilometers, Jakarta 740.3 - the Little Red Dot is an advanced and wealthy nation that has attracted millions of people to one of the most dynamic economies in the region. Despite a wholesale adoption of Western capitalism, Singapore has retained its Eastern culture since gaining independence in 1963, while boasting a per capita annual income more than US$55,000.More than 15 million tourists visited the nation state in 2013: impressive numbers given Singapore's population of about 5.3 million, a guest workforce of 1.4 million and 500,000 or so permanent residents.Amid an atmosphere that is safe and sparklingly clean, there is another side of Singapore that can be experienced in the former British colony. As can be seen in these images, the vibrancy of Singapore's Chinese, Malay and Indian people can be felt. Their cultures and traditions are still very visible in everyday life - especially once you escape the consumerist paradise of Orchard Road.

Words by Tarko Sudiarno and Christian RazukasImages by Tarko Sudiarno

3 Children's Books Banned In Singapore Over Gay Storylines

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The National Library Board (NLB) in Singapore is standing by its decision to permanently remove from its shelves three children's books featuring plots with gay or unconventional families.

In a statement issued Thursday, the NLB said it will not only remove the titles -- which purportedly go against 'pro-family' values -- but will also destroy them. The decision comes after a few library users launched a complaint against the books.

The titles on the chopping block are And Tango Makes Three, inspired by the real-life story of two male penguins raising a baby chick at the Central Park Zoo; The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption, which revolves around a lesbian couple's adoption journey; and Who's In My Family: All About Our Families, which depicts unconventional family setups.

Defending its actions, the NLB, home to 5 million books and audio-visual materials, said in part:

NLB's collection development policy takes special care of our children's collections to ensure they are age-appropriate. We take a cautious approach, particularly in books and materials for children. NLB's understanding of family is consistent with that of the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Ministry of Education.

On Friday, Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim issued a statement on Facebook, supporting the NLB's move. 'NLB's approach is to reflect existing social norms, and not to challenge or seek to change them,' he wrote, in part.

Gay sex remains illegal in Singapore, and homosexuality is a taboo topic. As news of the book pulping spread, gay rights activists and education proponents went on the offensive.

'This is a very unfortunate step backwards,' Kirpal Singh, associate professor of English literature at Singapore Management University, said of the decision to ax the books, per TIME.

Deborah Tan, founder of Singapore-based women's site Material World, slammed the library in a blog post. 'Do you not think it is important for children to grow up understanding that such topics are not taboo and that they are not society's outcasts for thinking they might want something different?' she wrote, 'It's not just an education for the kids, but also an education for parents who need to learn how to embrace their children for who they will become.'

Alvin Pang, an award-winning poet based in Singapore, echoed Tan's sentiment. 'This is a serious impoverishment of what books are and what knowledge means, and it can only harm our intellectual development and broader social discourse,' he wrote on his personal blog. 'This is at odds with the spirit of the National Library I have grown up with, come to love and continue to support. The best thing any library can do to serve society is to be resolutely neutral in making accessible the world's available knowledge.'

Critics of the NLB's move also took to social media to air their frustrations, using the hashtag #FreeMyLibrary.

Since when is it a social norms to marry a girl that you just met at a party? Will NLB ban cinderella too? #FreeMyLibrary

- Darryl Kang (@dk) July 11, 2014

Local writers are boycotting NLB in retaliation to the ridiculous ban of the books - I support this! #FreeMyLibrary

- 【NOYA #秘密UKE 】 (@salmondesu) July 11, 2014

What does Singapore have against gay penguins? #FreeMyLibrary

http://t.co/uwqe4V3oNL

- Ben Thambiah (@benedictjt) July 11, 2014

As The Washington Post points out, And Tango Makes Three has appeared a number of times on the American Library Association's annual list of 'frequently challenged books.'

Singapore bans book based on Central Park Zoo's 'gay' penguins

Singapore is putting the freeze on a children's book about the Central Park Zoo's 'gay' penguin couple - by taking copies from ­libraries and ­destroy­ing them.

The country's National Library Board will pulp three copies of 'And Tango Makes Three', claiming the tale is inappropriate, government officials said.

'[We] support teaching children about conventional families, but not about alternative, nontraditional families,' said Yaacob Ibrahim, the country's minister of communications.

'The approach is to reflect existing social norms, and not to challenge or seek to change them.'

But the book's West Village-based authors - Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell - say the issue is not so, well, black and white.

'Public attitudes are changing, and the government in Singapore is underestimating its people,' Richardson, 59, told The Post.

The story, published in 2005, is based on Roy and Silo, the male chinstrap penguins who together tried to hatch a rock as if it were an egg.

Singapore Plans to Destroy Some Books With LGBT Themes

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Singapore's state-run libraries will reportedly 'pulp' copies of three books with ' alternative, non-traditional' family themes, including a children's book featuring the true story of two male penguins that raised a baby chick in a New York zoo.

From the Associated Press report:

The books are 'And Tango Makes Three,' about a male-male penguin couple in the Central Park Zoo; 'The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption,' which involves a lesbian couple; and 'Who's In My Family: All About Our Families.'

The books were already removed from the shelves of Singapore's 26 libraries earlier this year. Minister of Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim framed the decision within the context of the norms of 'teaching children about conventional families.'

The efforts have brought some protests including petitions and plans to boycott the library system. Singapore is known for having a conservative majority and for its particular strictness on a whole host of social issues. What was defined as gay sex during British colonial rule is still outlawed in Singapore.

Related

Singapore Destroys Gay Penguin Book: Cites Family Values

Tweeted by @pinkdotSg, LGBTQ rights group in Singapore that holds annual events promoting diversity and inclusivity

As a child, I would spend hours at Singapore's National Library, losing myself in faraway worlds through my favorite activity - reading. Some of my best memories of growing up in Singapore are hidden among those tall shelves.

So I was deeply distressed to hear Singapore's National Library Board (NLB) will destroy three children's books that are not 'pro-family.'

The books in question? And Tango Makes Three is about two male penguins who adopt a baby and behave as though they are a couple. The other is The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption, about a lesbian couple's attempt to adopt a baby from China. There's also Who's In My Family: All About Our Families, about unconventional family set-ups including same-sex and single parents.

Despite criticism from Singaporeans and even international media for banning the books, the NLB has held firm in its decision.

'NLB takes a pro-family and cautious approach in identifying titles for our young visitors,' says a statement on their Facebook page. 'We have a collection of more than five million books. In selecting children's books, we sieve through the contents and exercise our best judgement.'

Can you pretend people don't exist?

The decision to ban books contradicts Singapore's status as a first-world, tolerant, liberal Asian power.

Singapore has long upheld religious tolerance and racial harmony as a core tenet of the country. But to pretend a section of society doesn't exist, reeks of intolerance to me. To 'shelter' children from a reality, to raise them intolerant of people unlike them is dangerous in a society as multi-ethnic as Singapore. As these very kids go on to become our future leaders, they will only accept and promote people like them. We risk rendering an entire growing section of the population, invisible, if we continue down this path.

Diversity promotes economic success

Singapore has often been lauded for making practical decisions based on economic merit. I've previously stated the business case for diversity: Firms with diversity tend to innovate and out-perform others, a Center for Talent Innovation study finds. Employees at these companies are 45% likelier to report that firm's market share grew over the previous year. They are 70% likelier to report that the firm captured a new market.

Acceptance of gay people even in corporate America has lagged behind. There are very few openly gay chief executives in Fortune 500 companies. 'Even as the gay rights movement progresses at a faster clip than civil rights movements before it, there is an overwhelming pressure in the workplace to hide one's sexual orientation,' this New York Times article states.

Interestingly, this is one area where Singapore could lead even the U.S. in championing for diversity. U.S. policy is guided by Christian values, but a secular country like Singapore has the opportunity to make decisions not influenced by religious interests.

Secular Singapore has worked hard to differentiate itself from Muslim-majority neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia. But actions like burning books is something I would expect from these countries, where artists like Lady Gaga have been banned from performing.

Leaders of the future will continue to come in all colors, backgrounds, and sexual orientations. The earlier we accept this reality, the better.

Do you agree? Do you agree with the decision to destroy library books?