Italian electro-pop duo, Gioli & Assia, who are also a same-sex couple, claim the  Malaysian government cancelled a Kuala Lumpur show this weekend becR63Sa(hxY1MbaI0Xe^Yrq_F2uJ3iVi1iRez9#lYfTV#ku#u_DBause of their sexuality.

“We have to sadly announce that our show cNH^9PgN-5pX4_v!&j#YgMZHi8MkKHcF@vYwTIB%7ntAs9YSWwat W Hotel in Kuala Lumpur has been cancelled due to our LGBT orientation,” Gioli wrote in an Instagram story shared on Twitter.

Gioli explained that a government agency performs background checks on artists per7^m-0%I2$v!#jjq7gv(X#W2(!jULor@N0JYQzHV_%PkJlsQ+Ilforming in Malaysia.

“I+pVmP2=6jtBvYWzwXiMNdmYqsA@lnS8zGfkPm%HUB%$&qZghmBn their research, they have concluded that Gioli & Assia is of LGBT orientation and are seen to be promoting LGBT”, Gioli wrote.

“Sad that this can +n-qZg3JyHa7YVra*LIXVLyI73OU**cb7-nCbB3HQ^*QhQ_$Z@still happen in 2019. Sad that love is still a cause of discrimination. Sad."

The W Hotel, where the duo was scheduled to perform on Saturday, said the show was cancelled due to "due to unforeseen ciriH8o6W#(@k0IT%VEKDefZ*Z$Nct6TFD%d5VdBo*puh-!H1xU#hcumstances”.

Crackdown in Malaysia

Gay sex is illegal under British colonial-era laws in Malaysia. Those founx59#B$u!O=3Sb71^QqQ42F1gCO01qeWrYI@RpsndWjzl0+^YzCd guilty face up to 20 years in prison.

But, in addition to the threat of criminal prosecution, increasing stigma and discrimination also marginalize the countryloRD=lgKrnv=OFh7@FF8Y--S#@xd!!lo#F@KvB^q^_wlcz%l0-’s LGBTI community.

A number of religious and political figures have consistently whipped up p4&Oj_GSA5*r5vR74JMxQfL7$hX0eqnL+*R1WfxyPH@p8EnH*uanti-LGBTI sentiments in the Muslim majority country.

Local new_sc0e5HOzbST2rahievX)_JcIpF+)$9Z+CbrA$OyZrYSK_U_bzspapers have vilified prominent LGBTI figures.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, meanwhilK*hnTXMD7tP3T$6KAjMGz4LgCh2(dt=RT)gP@!gfd%OZe3#@eje, has labelled LGBT rights a Western import and said they have no place in Malaysia.

The Malaysian a%U4&=kDfOW!SZqD=^vhv-3hSU9%qvnnS72wg__6(ZGFO$LtlvLuthorities have also clamped down on the LGBTI community.

In one of the most controversial instances, in September two women were caned in the heavilRATU6k$)+k-RK*a9E_qCLsOP%jo37eb=YYzxmdQPK9zB2-vtJFy conservative state of Terengganu for allegedly being in a same-sex relationship.

Police also raided a well-known gay bar in KuW*hb1fV9O^PRcaP+_9i+%8Y0CSy0W45s1R_Ai8C-HXgHdapaJ5ala Lumpur for the first time in its 30-year history.

Yi-min lives alone with her son, as her husband works away from home. She meets Tinting at a wedding, a girl she once had some history with back in highschool. Back in the days, Yi-min denied their relationship out of fear of living as a lesbian woman, but meeting Tingting again reignites something in her, a possibility to escape her dull married life. Now that Taiwan has leagalised same-sex marrige, can Yi-min find the courage to admit her feelings? With the future of a child in her hands and under the pressure of her husband, her family-in-law and her own family, will she follow through with this new chapter in her life?