Letter from a GR user in Malaysia (September 24, 2009)

Hi GR,

I am from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This is an Islamic country made up of multi-racial communities - Malay, Chinese, Indian and others. Generally we respect each other and live peacefully despite the differences in our culture, religion and ethnicity, however when it comes to homosexuality, it is a different story. Basically, we live in a closet. Here “coming out” merely means an individual has the courage to meet other gays and to admit to himself that he is gay. It doesn’t really mean we are able to tell our straight friends and family, we are gay. Only a few lucky ones are able to do that.

Kuala Lumpur is the modern capital city of Malaysia, This is where the iconic KLCC (PETRONAS Twin towers) located. We recently celebrated our 52nd National Independence day on 31th August. Being a Malaysian, I should be proud of the achievements that my country has made. But I feel that freedom is not for all Malaysians. The “One Malaysia” concept is not for all. Our country is under the heavy influence of Islamic law and Penal code Section 377A for non-Muslims.

Geographical Position (Source: Wikipedia)

The gay community is often directly or indirectly harassed by the authorities and the media. The media report negative things about homosexuality to boost their sales. This often triggers police actions against gays. In 2006, intensive police raids followed a report in the “Malay Mail”. These raids then featured in a local TV show, strengthening the public’s negative perception of homosexuality as immoral. Up until now only a few journalists have written fairly about respecting sexual orientation as part of this country’s diversity.

Recently, homosexuality was even linked to H1N1 (Mexican/Swine Flu). Yes, you are reading correctly (Gay and H1N1). Luckily after strong objections, the author removed these misleading statements from his blog. Read this.

What does freedom mean to us?? We are citizens of this country. We pay our taxes, being responsible citizens like anyone else. We breathe the same air. We work hard. We proudly say we are from Malaysia. What do we want? We want and deserve to be treated fairly. Stop abusing us. Stop stereotyping us. Stop assuming we are the bad guys. Stop disrupting our lives by using the laws against us. Stop chasing us!!!

There have been constant raids in gay places in recent years. In the Penang region a few years ago, the authorities launched a campaign called “Zero Homosexuality”. They proudly said “Homosexuality is not a lifestyle for our communities. We must do something to eradicate it”. Gosh, as I read that, I was torn down. I am so disappointed, sad and angry that there are such barbarians (uncivilized people) in this modern world. We are not cows that can be erased. We are human, made from flesh. We have feelings. We have the right to live as individuals in this world. If this is a sin, who are they to punish us?? They are not God.

During the raids at saunas and other gay places many gays got handcuffed and locked up. The police seized condoms as evidence that sex parties were held. These actions mean that many operators are now scared to supply condoms, undermining a Safe sex campaign that was lauded by the PT (Pink Triangle) Foundation.

In Kuala Lumpur there were recently more raids in gay clubs. I hear many got caught and sent to police stations and I expect they were subjected to harassment and got police records. However, I am unable to find out what really happened and I shouldn’t speculate. I hope they are fine. The authorities also seized items from the clubs, preventing them from functioning. This kind of harassment recently forced an organizer to cancel all their parties. We were supposed to celebrate Independence Day at a club. But suddenly all parties were cancelled for our safety. I was very disappointed and angry. We also deserve to enjoy ourselves and to celebrate Independence Day in our own way.

It’s not easy for individuals in this country to come out and be brave enough to admit what we are. There are so many challenges, our own feelings, our families, workplace, the public and even within our small gay community. But after this personal struggle, we face the greater challenge of the authorities who abuse us with laws just because we have a different sexual preference.

Politicians often say that homosexuality is a lifestyle, a choice, and that we are influenced by our environment. They refuse to accept that we are born to be gay. There has been a lot of research on homosexuality carried out around the world. Can’t they read? Most of us know while we are still small. I knew I was different when I was small, and at that time there was no TV or anything that could have influenced me to be gay.

I will be 29 soon and I hope I will live to see all these anti-gay raids and harassment come to an end. But to hope for a better future for gays in this country seems like a dream that will never come true. Who can help us? Sadly it’s considered a domestic issue and the world can only watch and write letters to object.

A Malaysian

Source: GR