Linking work stress to how individuals "become” gay is an example of how mental health language can be used to cause harm to the LGBTQ+ community, said critics of a minister who recently made the claim in the Dewan Rakyat.
They argued that this tactic amounts to pathologising, where certain identities or behaviours are framed as medical disorders to justify control, discrimination, or punishment of marginalised groups.
Clinical psychologist Shaleen Chrisanne said this strategy masquerades as concern or correction while perpetuating stigma and moral judgment as well as deepening social hierarchies.
"In other communities, mental health discourse is usually oriented towards support, destigmatisation, and access to care,” she told Malaysiakini.
"However, when applied to LGBTQ+ identities in Malaysia, it is often used to question or dismiss their identities instead."
She noted that those in power have long used this tactic to pathologise minority groups, including women and racial minorities in Western societies.
Queer rights activist Gavin Chow echoed this view, saying that the practice of pathologising the LGBTQ+ community in Malaysia has been ineffective, unscientific and extremely harmful.
"LGBTQ+ people do not become so because of stress, but we instead experience daily stresses as a minority group while coping with trauma, discrimination, and marginalisation," said Chow, who is the executive director of People Like Us Hang Out (Pluho).
Minister cites study
In a written parliamentary response on Jan 26, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Hasan said the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) has limited information and no statistical data on the LGBTQ+ community.
Zulkifli then cited a 2017 study by Sulaiman et al, claiming it identified factors such as work stress, community influences, sexual experiences, and other personal factors as contributing to what he described as “involvement in an LGBTQ+ lifestyle”.
Checks by Malaysiakini found an Indonesian study by Sulaiman, Hasmiana Hasan, and Hafidh Maksum titled "Model Project Citizen Untuk Mengatasi Gaya Hidup LGBT" (Project Citizen Model to Overcome LGBT Lifestyle), which stated five factors of a person becoming LGBTQ+: the community, work, sex, the self, and spiritual strength.
However, it did not elaborate on the factor of work, nor did it mention work stress specifically.
Malaysiakini was unable to verify whether this was the study that Zulkifli referred to.
Weaponising misinformation
Commenting on the issue, Justice For Sisters (JFS) co-founder Thilaga Sulathireh said the government is no stranger to employing misinformation when it comes to the queer community.
Research has found that diversity in sexual and gender orientations is natural and normal, she added.
"The World Health Organization and other bodies have stressed that LGBTQ+ people's sexual orientation and gender identity are not a result of any form of medical, behavioural, sexual illnesses or deficiencies," she said.
Pointing to religious programmes that aim to "rehabilitate" LGBTQ+ sexual and gender identities, she said this is based on misinformation that reinforces assumptions that such identities can be changed or "corrected".
It also creates harm by validating discrimination and strengthening inequalities, isolation, and exclusion, she added.
"I think the government clearly is misinformed about and has a bias against LGBTQ+ people.
"The LGBTQ+ misinformation often has a religious intersection. I think that makes it a bit more challenging to correct, especially in a conservative environment where there is a hegemonic and patriarchal interpretation of religion and where LGBTQ+ people face high religious exclusion," Thilaga added.
Concerns over crackdown
JFS had called 2025 an abysmal year for LGBTQ+ rights, with over 307 arrests between January and December based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
The queer advocacy group further raised concerns about how the authorities had, within the year, turned public complaints into legitimising repression of the queer community, such as with RTM pulling the children's cartoon “Santiago of the Seven Seas” off the air after viewers expressed worries about LGBTQ+ influences.
It also found that federal and state authorities, along with religious and political actors, have intensified anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns by exploiting HIV, religion, and moral narratives to spread misinformation about the community, entrench stigma, and justify harmful so-called rehabilitation practices.
It noted a considerable increase in censorship of LGBTQ+ content in media, arts, and culture, citing the ban of publications, stricter performance guidelines, and gendered dress codes. - Mkini
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