By IRENE NG

A PUBLIC forum on gays and lesbians scheduled to be held on Sunday has been cancelled. The Police Public Entertainment Unit rejected the application by businessman Alex Au to hold the forum, "Gays and Lesbians within Singapore 21". "The police cannot allow the holding of this public forum, which will advance and legitimise the cause of homosexuals in Singapore," said a police statement yesterday.

"The mainstream moral values of Singaporeans are conservative," it stated, adding that the Penal Code has provisions against certain homosexual practices.

"It will therefore be contrary to the public interest to grant a public-entertainment licence."

Under the law, sodomy and oral sex are considered unnatural sex and those convicted can be sentenced to life imprisonment.

The law also prohibits any man from engaging in "any acts of gross indecency" in private or in public with another man. Those convicted can be jailed up to two years.

Mr Au applied three weeks ago to hold a forum to discuss where gays and lesbians stand in relation to the Singapore 21 blueprint of the ideal society.

Its vision contains five key ideas -- every Singaporean matters, strong families, opportunities for all, the Singapore heartbeat and active citizens.

Contacted last night, Mr Au said he was disappointed. He declined to comment further, saying that he needed to study the statement and its implications. Also feeling let down was Ms Dana Lam, president of the Association of Women for Action and Research.

Ms Lam, who was scheduled to speak at the forum, said: "It is very sad. I did not expect the application to be turned down. I thought there was hope for this forum."