Perhaps Dr Thio should also be made to answer Alan John's questions to Josie below subject to relevance in her new capacity as feminist mentor of the new AWARE exco
April 23, 2009
AWARE SAGA
Too many questions left unanswered
By Alan John, Deputy Editor
IT IS almost a month since the leadership of the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) changed in what can only be described as an extraordinary power grab.
But here's the thing. We are still none the wiser about who the new women in charge are, aside from basic information about their jobs, educational qualifications (for almost all), marital status (for some) and religious background.
In the week since she became president, Ms Josie Lau has issued one written statement and chosen to meet the media only once - on a half-hour television programme with honorary treasurer Maureen Ong beside her.
Yet, she is still nowhere near providing a clear picture of her new team, and what they hope to do with Aware now that they are in charge of it.
For a long time, not many people have been overly interested in who leads this well-established women's group, or what happens at its annual general meetings. But whenever there was a new president, she would be approached for media interviews to find out about her and her plans.
Aware's presidents have been smart, articulate women who have had no trouble fielding questions about themselves, their feminist beliefs, attitudes to men and the authorities, and their priorities.
Some in Aware have been more aggressive and confrontational than others in pushing for what they believe needs to be done, and have been known to rub people the wrong way.
But is this a group that deserves respect for what it has achieved over more than two decades? Yes, because it takes exceptional dedication and stamina to build a voluntary association, given the ebb and flow of members' active support.
It also takes guts to seek change in uncomfortable areas that may rattle the authorities, irritate men and even turn off some women. It says much for Aware that it has produced three Nominated Members of Parliament.
This year, as before, the Aware annual general meeting (AGM) passed unnoticed on March 28. It took a good two weeks before word spread that something quite unusual had occurred.
The meeting drew almost four times the expected number of people. The majority were new members. And several unknown faces swamped the new executive committee, wiping out long-time members who had been ready to serve.
Did that call for public attention and scrutiny? You bet it did, not least because the same might well happen elsewhere. And given the twists and turns since, this unfolding saga remains riveting.
How often have you heard of a newly elected president quitting after just 11 days? Mrs Claire Nazar did that.
How often have you heard of a newly appointed president being ticked off openly by her employer for defying her bosses' advice to not run for office? DBS Bank did that, immediately after Ms Josie Lau became president last week.
How often have you seen two past presidents of an organisation come out to complain that a new team had shown them scant respect, and did not value the views of past leaders?
Mrs Constance Singam and Mrs Nazar did that. Mrs Nazar described Aware's new team as 'stormtroopers' who brushed her aside as they replaced sub-committee chiefs and disregarded input from those who had been there longer.
How often have you heard of a secular society, that prided itself on having a multiracial, multi-religious leadership, electing a new leadership utterly lacking in diversity? It happened at Aware and, in the absence of better information from the new people, a Google search turned up links to strong anti-homosexual views expressed by some of them.
And how often have you heard of members following up on their AGM by calling for an extraordinary general meeting, possibly to throw out the newly elected team? This also happened at Aware.
What is most disappointing is that Aware's new leaders have refrained from explaining who they are and why they are there.
Ms Lau has said she does not understand why older Aware members appear to be so angry with her and her new team, even though they played by the rules and were elected legitimately.
Rather than acknowledge the questions sorely in need of answers, some of her supporters have hastened instead to label Aware's old guard as sore losers. They pretend that nothing unusual happened at the AGM.
There would have been a lot less interest in Aware's elections if, at the outset, the challengers had been upfront about why they were there and what they felt was wrong with the organisation that needed fixing. Had they done that, many would have agreed that Aware's old guard should quit griping.
Ms Lau may be a week-old president, but she surely understands the need to address misperceptions, communicate and persuade, having made a career in marketing everything from Singapore to credit cards in her jobs at the tourism board and DBS Bank.
Yet she has chosen silence, as several questions remain unanswered. Among them:
Why did she join Aware in January, how long has she been interested in women's issues, what does she want to achieve as president?
Whose idea was it for the newcomers to turn up at the AGM in such large numbers and contest the exco positions?
Is it true that several of Aware's new leaders attend the same church, and will their religious beliefs guide their actions at Aware?
What is her husband's role in this saga? Dr Alan Chin is an affiliate member of Aware and made his presence felt at its AGM, according to some present.
Why this great reluctance to open up about who they are, and what they most wish to change at Aware?
Why grab Aware? If the new members had clear ideas about what needed to be done in terms of women's issues, why not start a new group? There's no limit on the number of women's groups Singapore can have.
Ms Lau might yet prove to be the best thing to happen to Aware. But her silence does nothing to stop questions being asked about her team's mission at Aware.
...man this saga get's more intriguing and entertaining by the day...professional cat fight...pass me more of the popcorn and coke
