Italian electro-pop duo, Gioli &am4jNJIOZ!IRU56w^w+Db12X9QXHu(c70#Jk3p2t$RRiQmCqtTfxp; Assia, who are also a same-sex couple, claim the  Malaysian government cancelled a Kuala Lumpur show this weekend because of their sexuality.

“We have to sadly announce that our show at W Hotel in Kuala Lumpur has been cancellE2vC#EpzTLAoB*u_)i*r-BIu*CYVdSHM41ihJ_#0Yj#JbLgcE8ed due to our LGBT orientation,” Gioli wrote in an Instagram story shared on Twitter.

Gioli explz7!XgTg=(%8-*INlTW$KuPS*c5Cmp9KhoW^vy(C3_OuJLp%bY+ained that a government agency performs background checks on artists performing in Malaysia.

“In their research, they have concluded that Gioli & Assia is of LGBT orientation and are seen toXqqw(#CxkVLRnMlCA($1PpiB+Z#6NX#xVdssGH#FynTQqHKgm! be promoting LGBT”, Gioli wrote.

“Sad that this can still hapmp@ZFY(cx+zcm0bchAWyE(R(UskXn%doZ7)CPKKSgYVDhwx7Blpen in 2019. Sad that love is still a cause of discrimination. Sad."

The W Hotel, where the duo was scheduled 0LcmP+hcIhAkf-8FXxn=dv6-TrOxHlsXMVQzgVYLXjYhSoT_XFto perform on Saturday, said the show was cancelled due to "due to unforeseen circumstances”.

Crackdown in Malaysia

Gay sex is illegal undesKbd3ze7KNdE4D@jq*4!cVE(lFJ=#0B3U3c163PkzGc+fLYLRnr British colonial-era 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 marginalize8TvkOsXz04P!!CZK$-b@kQt3K5i_L@BA-s$$DX_+gezQB9rl=4 the country’s LGBTI community.

A number of religious and political figures have consistently whipped up anti-LGBTI sentiments in the Muslim majority countryoDHf6C+hsMXv350oAN)@&xne1F14Pptf+Ms%WkmUzjN5u!yO*G.

Local newspapers have vilified prom5dg2A3WRqZ^NekNfT%b1P5PRKX^!QHXYG0fnq1&4PE0Yf7!DG!inent LGBTI figures.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, meanwhile, has labelled LGBT rights a Western import and sai7pl07_6isf)I5b0n)ges_cKcl(F%4u48&tZVNp7VH$19ed67Kcd they have no place in Malaysia.

The Malaysian authorities have&@k*YBYBe4jwWBbMJvtTG$C3hEy34ZD+aTYBjz3WYLnYBd8DFW also clamped down on the LGBTI community.

In one of the most controversial instancesixK!RVOklkhQ!(Lw@Nkdh1AredT@xS3Bolx$+yKnO$E&PsXR5K, in September two women were caned in the heavily conservative state of Terengganu for allegedly being in a same-sex relationship.

Police also raided a well-known gay bar in Kuala Lumpur for the first time in its 30-year hi@@-jEkHX3NPm_bUz*CbA1z-Am9Dad21l*rUqtTTJ4S4fhbsEehstory.