BN lawmaker moots gay rehab centre

March 21, 2012

A gay couple pose for photographs on Valentine's Day in Beijing February 14, 2009. A BN MP today claimed three in 10 Malaysian men are gay. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — The government needs to create a “homosexual rehabilitation centre” to combat the phenomenon in Malaysia, according to Barisan Nasional MP who today claimed 30 per cent of Malaysian men were gay.

According to a Bernama Online report, Datuk Baharum Mohamad (BN-Sekijang) said in Parliament today that this was to aid those with homosexual tendencies or engaged in same-sex relationships to stop such behaviour.

Right now, three out of 10 men in Malaysia are gay. This is scary

“We have to find a solution to combat these activities from getting rampant just like the efforts we take to combat drugs,” Baharum said.

“A study has found that, right now, three out of 10 men in Malaysia are gay. This is scary.”

It is unclear what study the lawmaker was citing when he made his address.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is increasingly viewed as moral deviants and targeted for their non-heterosexual orientation.

Last year, the Seksualiti Merdeka movement championing the freedom of sexual orientation and gender identity, was barred from holding its festival despite having held it annually since 2008.

In January, a bureau chief at Umno’s Utusan Malaysia also attacked the Bar Council for its “support” for homosexuality among Malaysians, calling it part of a “deviant wave” that is fast gaining acceptance throughout the world.