The government has banned the portrayal of gay, lesbian and transsexual characters in all state-owned television and radio stations.
The directive was issued by the Information Department, which has been posted on its Facebook page.
“With immediate effect, the department will stop the airing of programmes containing ‘soft men’ and ‘pondans’, and characters which are against the norms of our religious society on its radio and television stations…”
“These characters appear to support the rise of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexuals (LGBT),” it said in a statement.
On Nov 3, the authorities had clamped down on a Seksualiti Merdeka event despite the organisers having held it for several years without any problem in the past.
Seksualiti Merdeka is an annual festival celebrating the human rights of people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity, organised by a loose coalition of NGOs, artistes, activists and individuals since 2008.
Motion to ban LGBT from becoming MPs
Two days ago, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that the rise of LGBT cases in Malaysia can be curbed through effective counselling.
“Sexual orientation problems also threaten the family institution,” he stressed, adding that the trend, which was previously prevalent in Western countries, is against religious and moral values.
Meanwhile, Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Mohamad Hashim will table a motion in Parliament next week to bar LGBT individuals from becoming MPs and senators.
“A person who is qualified to become an MP is also qualified to become the prime minister, and we don’t want a PM who will go around the world with a same-sex partner.
“It will reflect badly on the country,” the former PKR man said.
[More to follow]
Article source: http://my.news.yahoo.com/govt-bans-lgbt-state-owned-tvs-radios-031823043.html
Tags: LGBT news