MP appearance at Pink Dot gains media coverage: A sign of changing tides?

The Pink Dot made its colourful presence felt this weekend after a two-year hiatus since the start of the pandemic. For the first time, among the attendees were the People's Action Party (PAP) member of parliament (MP) Henry Kwek, which the organisers said was the first time an MP from the ruling PAP has attended the event. Meanwhile, Workers' Party MP Jamus Lim was also seen at the event.

The 14th edition of the event was held in the afternoon and evening, and saw media coverage in a range of publications – many of which were focused on the attendance of an MP from the ruling party. Meltwater's statistics from 14 to 20 June showed that the trending keywords were "first opposition mp", "pink signboards", "queer rights movement", "government", "biggest queer pride", "such changes", "army", and "policies".

There were 857 mentions of Pink Dot during the period. Most of the mentions came from the US followed by Singapore, Germany, India, and Malaysia. The majority of them were neutral (81%), while 15% were positive. Only 2% were negative.

When asked if the move to have an MP from a ruling party is a nod at the changing acceptance of the LGBTQ community, Edwin Yeo, GM of SPRG told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE the move was no doubt a “positive development for the LGBTQ community”.

“It sends a good message out that the PAP is genuinely trying to engage and evaluate the groundswell, and have a deeper understanding of the issues the community faces in real life,” he said. Yeo added that while there is still much more to be done for the community, it is “hopefully a good step towards mitigating an issue that has been somewhat divisive in our society for a long time”.

Cho Pei Lin, managing director of APRW, added that in her view the attendance of an MP shouldn’t be seen out of the norm, as the government has always been supportive of holding the Pink Dot event. What the government did not want, was foreign companies' involvement in domestic policies and affairs. “The involvement of foreign forces is what the government has been firm and consistent against. Previously, other politicians from PAP have spoken up for the LGBT+ community too,” she shared.

Meanwhile, Jose Raymond, director of strategic advisory at PRecious Communications where he helms the PRecious INC practice, said the move could definitely be a sign that the party is accepting that attitudes are shifting and that the ruling party needs to be seen to be listening and moving with the tide, feelings and aspirations.

Raymond, who also campaigned during the 2020 General Election by running for the Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency under Singapore People's Party, added that at some point, the ruling party will have to do the same with other areas such as looking into the death penalty, or accepting that the nation might be ready for a minority as a PM.

Meanwhile, agencies such as GOODSTUPH also lent their support to the event launching its own “Love All Shades” merchandise to show its support for the marginalised minority races facing discrimination within the community. The limited-edition T-shirts were launched exclusively for Pink Dot Singapore 2022. According to GOODSTUPH, the design for the T-shirt, and the set of stickers that come along with it, is of love and acceptance, from both the affected and unaffected alike, as the challenges of some must be overcome by the effort from all.

The t-shirts and stickers are available at THE DAMN GOOD SHOP, and all profits from the sale of merchandise will be donated to Pink Dot SG. This will be in addition to its cash sponsorship of SG$5,000 as a Pink Dot sponsor, marking the seventh year GOODSTUPH participated as a Coral Sponsor for the event. Pat Law, founder of GOODSTUPH, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE previously that the monetary investment year-on-year is kept consistent, and mindful of the intent of the merchandise.

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