Debated in Parliament on 11 Nov 2013.
Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Social and Family Development in light of the community reaction to the Ashley Madison website in Singapore, what is the Government's approach in dealing with societal agents and forces that harm the institution of marriage.
Today, we are confronted with content and messages over different channels – the mass media, television, Internet and, increasingly, social media – that may undermine the institution of marriage. Some of these may trivialise permissiveness, promiscuity and infidelity.
MDA has a regulatory framework to act against such content that undermine social norms and public interest. For example, in the case of Ashley Madison, MDA has directed the Internet Service Providers to block their website.
Apart from MDA, ACRA has powers to reject an application to register a business entity in Singapore. In addition, MHA has powers to dissolve registered societies that are prejudicial to the welfare or good order in Singapore.
But there is only so much we can do with regulation. Couples today experience other work and life stresses that impact their marriages. To strengthen marriages, MSF also works with partners on promotion and education efforts. For example, we work with employers, community organisations and the media to run marriage preparation and enrichment programmes. This includes smaller scale programmes at individual organisations as well as large scale initiatives such as the annual Marriage
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Convention.
Under the recently announced Family Matters! initiative, we will continue to expand such family promotion and education efforts.
PAPERCUTS