Fridae

At last count, 14 countries have legalised same-sex marriage. In Asia, the issue is gaining steam in Vietnam and Thailand as its governments are considering legalising same-sex marriage and civil unions respectively. Is this a cause all gay people should get behind? Malaysian gay activist and co-founder of Seksualiti Merdeka Pang Khee Teik writes that while this right should be celebrated, it is not the most important right for LGBTs.

With bullies running the country, many LGBTs find themselves hiding further and further beyond the margins of the legal, beyond the reach of the laws that deem them unfit for society. Making a person think he deserves no justice is NO different from denying him justice. And that is how many LGBTs are denied one of the most fundamental rights of being human: the right to justice. 

Pang Khee Teik, co-founder of Malaysia's only sexuality rights festival, Seksualiti Merdeka, writes in an open letter to the community after hearing from many that they were "doing just fine" but are now under scrutiny after Seksualiti Merdeka 'decided' to fight for LGBT rights publicly.

Malaysia's top private radio operator says the words "gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered" from Lady Gaga's latest track "Born this way" might violate "good taste or decency or (are) offensive to public feeling." Activist and writer Pang Khee Teik explains why gay anthems are important and why Malaysian radios are cowardly and hypocritical for censoring them.

Pang Khee Teik, co-founder of sexuality rights festival Seksualiti Merdeka, and co-editor of Body 2 Body: A Malaysian Queer Anthology, recounts his experiences growing up gay in Malaysia and appeals to mainstream society to understand the struggles of LGBT people.