Gioli & Assia claim Malaysian govt cancelled their show because they are in a same-sex relationship

Italian electro-pop duo, Gioli & Assia, who are also a same-sex couple, claim the  MDp_+(9k+Uf!tmi0dh))ZxR%)X)-Mi4HDrZdES1kgzgaGOdxLpbalaysian government cancelled a Kuala Lumpur show this weekend because of their sexuality.

“We have to sadly an=Ja$VLIk13qPh8K1xjg_E3%m)12S3%hT*3&5_2i&!Fm7dJgSv2nounce that our show at 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 p-!vLVBfl1^zJ2!f#Og7jG=s-B6gLq48^jP7nou6fbv5-GE+__-erforming in Malaysia.

“In their research, they have concluded that Gioli & Assia is of LGBT orientKnLwpoROwzf%[email protected]$rOzbNiUaZRbr4k^p-qpAANation and are seen to be promoting LGBT”, Gioli wrote.

“Sad that this can still happen in 20OmJMBPWa+tw8yc13&-8US*EIgw9wrmgE8-lEfUg2l)3-fB%e8019. Sad that love is still a cause of discrimination. Sad."

The[email protected]!d+2pMrLMa%s*h4+$c W Hotel, where the duo was scheduled to perform on Saturday, said the show was cancelled due to "due to unforeseen circumstances”.

Crackdown in Malaysia

Gay sex is illegal under British colonial-eUr=X!h#wy+YOHtZ!ME7zP&+0y)#!^cFwZlA#pBJNLRd2zEg=G!ra laws in Malaysia. Those found guilty face up to 20 years in prison.

But, in addition to the threat of criminal prosecution, increasing stigma and discrimination also marginalize the country’s LGBTI communiJ=MzI-JvRu9Oi+I^Cz&-&xw5+BFpkg^4YCq^$M%fPVVq3G_hCvty.

A number of religious and political fRGRSAkBb4S(RXJ(ZIr+iIPTrvJY*[email protected]=KJ6-X#3A=4Jigures have consistently whipped up anti-LGBTI sentiments in the Muslim majority country.

Local ne$pk!CppJUsJVaG^OvZ7Uz6ztch6Ik_XuoyQl4SxdT9JJq&lZ*Kwspapers have vilified prominent LGBTI figures.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, meanw*SSld=7(_yBNJ=FD6wduF5Jb$77Z6WLyIov2IIy11r(E=Ij-Ubhile, has labelled LGBT rights a Western import and said they have no place in Malaysia.

The Malaysian authorities hyu8+lwhN7&t39efBxmSs*x6xYV=aSytl$k2nl*Fg_=^Nze-3)Gave also clamped down on the LGBTI community.

In one of the most controversial instances, in September two women were caned in the heavily conservative state of Terengganu for allegedly being in a same-sex relationsL%Z)[email protected]@Wn%$&y#kXNEV4N=wG4%bKx!)lyqbYE-%nqO7hip.

Police also raided a well-known gay bar in Kuala Lumpur for the first time in its 30-year hisA(!e)[email protected]tory.