Malaysia Sends 66 Teen Boys to Anti-Gay Counseling

Jakarta Globe, April 19, 2011

Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian authorities have sent 66 Muslim schoolboys whom they consider effeminate to a four-day camp where they will receive counseling on masculine behavior.

The education director of a northeastern state in this Muslim-majority country says the measure is meant to help prevent the teens from potentially becoming gay or transvestites.

Gay rights advocates criticized the effort Tuesday and called it a sign of homophobia.

The boys, between 13 and 17-years-old, reported on Monday for what is officially being called a “self-development course” after their schoolteachers in Terengganu state identified them as students who displayed effeminate mannerisms, said Razali Daud, the state’s education director.

They will undergo religious and motivational classes and physical guidance, Razali said.

The camp is meant “to guide them back to the right path in life before they reach a point of no return,” Razali said. “Such effeminate behavior is unnatural and will affect their studies and their future.”

It is the first such program in Terengganu, a conservative state. Over the years, Terengganu’s officials have held programs aimed at promoting Muslim morality, such as offering free honeymoons to save the marriages of couples considering divorce.

Razali denied that the boys were compelled to attend the camp, saying they were simply “invited” to do so.

“It is not an overnight cure. We can’t force the boys to change, but we want them to know what their choices are in life. Some effeminate boys end up as a transvestite or a homosexual, but we want to do our best to limit this.”

Pang Khee Teik, the cofounder of a Malaysian sexual rights awareness group, called the counseling camp “outrageous.” “If we don’t do anything to stop the rot of homophobia I worry it may get worse,” he said.

Gay Malaysians say they face discrimination from government policies such as a law that makes sodomy punishable by 20 years in prison, though the law is seldom and selectively enforced.

Last year, a young gay Malaysian who posted a YouTube clip defending his sexuality received death threats, and authorities accused him of insulting Islam.

Malaysia’s most high-profile use of the anti-sodomy law involves opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is on trial on charges of having sex with a male former aide. Anwar, who is married with six children, insists the charge was fabricated to smear his reputation. The government denies plotting against him.

AFP, AP

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About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channeled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack) - “You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.”