Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently reiterated the country’s stance on the policies against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
In an interview with CNN, Anwar explained that Malaysia bans content that openly supports the LGBT community because its people of diverse faiths have agreed to reject such public displays.
However, he said this doesn’t mean that the government condones harassment of the LGBT community.
In the interview, Anwar was asked about the Home Ministry’s seizure of Swatch’s Pride collections of rainbow watches to celebrate the LGBT community in May.
“I will not defend that action, and it was excessive. But the law, people in this country are Muslim and non-Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist; they expressed their consensus that they do not accept open public displays. In the issue of Swatch watches, no charges have been imposed.”
He also said that there is a need to respect both the law and the Malaysian public’s consensus and that the country’s stance on the LGBT should not be seen as a crackdown on individuals.
“But do we then go and harass them? That’s a different subject. I don’t approve of any attempt to harass,” he said adding that tolerance should be the prevailing approach.
Meanwhile, Anwar stated the need for a comprehensive review of the law to prevent its misuse for political persecution, as he had previously faced.
“I have made it quite clear that we need to review and look at the law. It should not be abused. It should not be an attempt to be used for political persecution. But finally, we have to respect the general sentiment of Malaysians.”
What do you think of his statements? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: “We’ll never recognise secularism, communism & the LGBT” – Anwar Refutes Claims by Certain Parties
