“Existing punishment is light” Dep Minister Wants Stricter Action Taken Against LGBT Community

Will this be a new issue under the #SiBodohKauDengarSini hashtag that’s going viral?

The Religious Division in the Prime Minister’s Department is in the process of amending Act 355 to increase punishment for offences involving the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religion),  Ahmad Marzuk Shaary, said the existing sentence of imprisonment up to three years, six strokes of the cane, and a fine is seen as light.

“We are not ruling out the possibility to ammend the existing punishment rate to make the ruling more effective.”

He added that the existing punishment still uses the same enactment today. Besides amending the act, Ahmad Marzuk also instructed religious agencies and state religious departments to improve enforcement and take stricter actions against the community, as reported by Astro Awani.

The strict action will involve punishing individuals who dress immodestly, contrary to customs, contradict, and conflict with the Syariah criminal enactment in the states. He said that this assertion is followed by a lack of action taken by the previous government.

The minister hopes that by rehabilitation and support programs by religious agencies, members of the LGBT community might gain awareness and “migrate”.

Over on Twitter, netizens have not been taking this news well and are using the hashtag #SiBodohKauDengarSini to remind the government that the LGBT community shouldn’t be the biggest problem in the nation especially at a time when the Covid-19 cases in the country are still fluctuating.

“People who fail to see how LGBT is discrimated against fail to see motivation behind such announcements. For everytime the government is not doing well, they would use LGBT as hostages to get the public’s attention away from their failure.”

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Also read: #TetapNormal Trends As Malaysians Say LGBTQ Is Wrong, Here’s What They Are Saying