Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin bin Yassin, who's also the Minister of Education and Deputy President of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) coalition, has called on his country's Muslim citizens to beware of the alleged spread of the lesbian, gay, trans-sexual and bisexual (LGBT) movement, and demands for freedom of religion among the Malays, reported The Malaysian Insider on April 22.
He was reportedly speaking at a meet-and-greet session with employees of Islamic agencies at the Usamah bin Zaid Mosque in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur when he warned Muslims of LGBT advocates who are said to be “poisoning” the minds of Muslims to accept “deviant practices” in the name of human rights.
Last July, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told 11,000 Islamic religious leaders and mosque committee members that "LGBTs, pluralism, liberalism – all these 'isms' are against Islam and it is compulsory for Muslims to fight these."
The report also noted that in November, Muhyiddin had revealed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had "objected to the inclusion of LGBT rights when signing ASEAN’s first human rights charter, saying Malaysia could not accept principles that go against the order of human nature."
According to a recent interview with LGBT rights activist Angela Kuga Thas on KiniTV, an Internet TV channel operated by independent online news website Malaysiakini, neither the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat nor the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) have addressed LGBT issues in their manifestos.
Last month, a government-backed musical that sought to "warn" young people about the perils of being lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) played in theatres in the capital city.
Anti-gay musical Asmara Songsang (Abnormal Desire).
Photo: Kakiseni Blog
The UK Guardian noted: "Asmara Songsang (Abnormal Desire) follows the lives of three LGBT friends who throw loud parties, take drugs and have casual sex, thereby incurring the wrath of their religious neighbours, who attempt to reintroduce them to the teachings of Islam. Those who repent are spared, while those who don't are killed in a lightning storm."
The upcoming elections on May 5 is expected to be one of Malaysia's most hotly contested polls.