TV & Movie / Aug. 25, 2019
Malaysia’s netizens h%p+kP*yx3!g5W&kjRaM=56J=*43jZ@uWYiKR-M4s!adu6&v0jjave slammed popular 90s actress and model Azah Aziz after she attended an LGBTI pride parade in Canada.
The 46-year-old uploaded a photo of herself at Montreal Pride 5fKy5!zraIrOhDs)ZTFxO=$Iwax*HrF*#wQJ-bieHu#JF-nl!wlast week. “Share the love, no hate” she wrote.
Commenters beneath thcXqc0w_!=dKnYsq6qGRco_K*30W8hfMRBINk^UBPEcv2Q-tnZBe post called Aziz “sinful” and said she had “abandoned Asian values” according to the New Straits Times.
Muslim-majority Malaysia has become increasingly hostile towardsR+ctNr&dz^W3beKCFzpqZchR7*x=!JbLu31^qpYNOGwHhYIT*M LGBTI people. The country’s prime minister last year said LGBT rights would never be accepted by the country.
But, Aziz who has lived in abroad for the last two decades, defended her stance. “This is my Instagrama=PhMe*qZyqEx1-&dr(0$%*nH#k32_@WmeBg)(^Ey&LXkDme7m and to each his or her own. Life goes on as usual,” she replied to one Netizen.
She also included the hashtags “far far b!%WI5bjET@ppEJCG$d_5QYcr(qhJ$yP=WNF-R$EmU-Nkrt7kEaway, don’t care" and “ok, bye”.
LGBT rights in Malaysia
Gay sex is illegal under British colonial-era laws in Malaysia. Those found guilzzUs$UiuwJKanN(K3ddZ_iIR2fzCK8e$1b7l(1*tDzRX_hbSYety face up to 20 years in prison.
In addition to the threat of criminal prosecution, deep-seated cultural stigmas still face the country’s LGBTI(EUn^0#T0gBJaU_BMz7h5=l#pcn_zifYzdnL+@7LlB_SgHS0&+ community.
Numerous religious and political figures have consistently whipped up anti-LGBTI sentiments in the Muslim majf-lQ6u*GJKE_=oB&rm$5%aA+kI0Q+8Dk3ptPI2wL-G(bVemRgjority country.
The Malaysian authorities have also clawqZvrzCjC%mxfNoY_GE(A53JG9(&0E2CB4CXF6qHxpqlFS^6r0mped down on the LGBTI community.
In one of the most controversial instances, in September two women were caned in the heavily conservative stateuHs^higOxHH$k0Nk@F3%T=HBam$VOACEfFP&HQ*2S4Jj=SqRVB of Terengganu for allegedly being in a same-sex relationship.
Police also raiKFu_SFxyRj0rA2WC0sFhvoU=93j)F_o0Ljzc9Sna2LkgR)^v)4ded a well-known gay bar in Kuala Lumpur for the first time in its 30-year history.
In July last year, Afifi steppkTWaVGgPkQk0hjdhHl(nLwSdQc*aAgl8OIRQgUQL=2*tgq6FY&ed down from his role as press officer for the Youth and Sports Minister due to the threats and abuse he received because of his sexuality.
LGBTI rights activists have repeatedly highlighted the lack of protections for LGB-!dnZbK%+94morlMF8XT*w7XtF2SJflYWx3qK)t-W^=hwAB!R6TI people.
(Cover photo: Instagram)
