Suaram Penang, who co-organised the event, said that organisers had decided to cancel Pink Dot Penang 2014 after considering views expressed by various other organisations.
“Due to concerns over the personal security and safety of the organisers and participants, we have postponed the event indefinitely,” Suaram Penang said in a press statement this weekend.
Suaram explained that Pink Dot Penang 2014 was an open social occasion allowing minority communities to meet and interact. It was to include an afternoon workshop and an evening party for LGBT at a leading hotel.
The event had been publicised on social media networks, including Facebook, which drew protests from Muslim groups such as Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim), Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and Malay rights group Penang Perkasa.
Penang Perkasa lodged four separate complaints to the police over the weekend. In a statement they labelled the Pink Dot event as “pesta seks sonsang Pulau Pinang” (Penang deviant sex festival). They also said: “We not condone LGBT lifestyle so we will not allow such events to be organised in Penang or even in any part of Malaysia,”
In response, Suaram released this statement: “It is not a sex party as some groups have slandered it to be, but the minority community needs such an occasion for meaningful discussion and self-help. Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to develop and discuss new human rights ideas and principles and to advocate their acceptance.”
Suaram Penang, who co-organised the event, said that organisers had decided to cancel Pink Dot Penang 2014 after considering views expressed by various other organisations.“Due to concerns over the personal security and safety of the organisers and participants, we have postponed the event indefinitely,” Suaram Penang said in a press statement this weekend.
Suaram explained that Pink Dot Penang 2014 was an open social occasion allowing minority communities to meet and interact. It was to include an afternoon workshop and an evening party for LGBT at a leading hotel.
The event had been publicised on social media networks, including Facebook, which drew protests from Muslim groups such as Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim), Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and Malay rights group Penang Perkasa.
Penang Perkasa lodged four separate complaints to the police over the weekend. In a statement they labelled the Pink Dot event as “pesta seks sonsang Pulau Pinang” (Penang deviant sex festival). They also said: “We not condone LGBT lifestyle so we will not allow such events to be organised in Penang or even in any part of Malaysia,”
In response, Suaram released this statement: “It is not a sex party as some groups have slandered it to be, but the minority community needs such an occasion for meaningful discussion and self-help. Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to develop and discuss new human rights ideas and principles and to advocate their acceptance.”