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Hong Kong.
Malaysia's only openly gay pastor is urging homosexuals in the mainly Muslim
country to "keep coming out" to help battle homophobia, as he gets
set to tie the knot with his American partner.
 |
| Reverend Ouyang Wen Feng, Malaysia's only openly gay pastor, is urging homosexuals in the mainly Muslim country to "keep coming out" to help battle discrimination. (AFP Photo/Dale de la Rey) |
Reverend
Ouyang Wen Feng is a highly controversial figure who faced outrage and threats
when he opened in 2007 the first gay-friendly church in conservative Malaysia,
where sexual identity is a hot-button topic.
Homosexuality,
still a crime punishable by 20 years in jail under Malaysian laws banning
sodomy, remains taboo across the racial and religious spectrum in Malaysia,
which is home to large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.
But Ouyang,
a journalist-turned-pastor, said gay men and women should speak out to
"break the vicious cycle" and help fight misunderstandings about the
gay community.
"When
society discriminates against gay people, you only push gay people into the
closet," he told AFP in an interview last week on a visit to Hong Kong to
launch a new book on homosexuality and Christianity.
"When
gay people stay in the closet, people don't know what is gay or homosexuality
and because of ignorance they keep discriminating and that will perpetuate
prejudice," said the outspoken 41-year-old.
"Gay
people cannot just blame straight people for not understanding us."
Ouyang, wearing a flesh-coloured top with a crucifix and tattoos on his
shoulder and arm, called on gay Malaysians to show their "true faces and
tell them who we are".
"Gay
people should keep coming out and straight people who are okay with homosexuals
should also come out to say publicly that being gay is okay - 'I'm okay with my
gay friends'," he said.
Ouyang's own
"coming out" took place in 2006 when he published the story of his
decision to make public his sexual orientation, after a nine-year marriage to
his now ex-wife, whom he described as an "angel".
"She
encouraged me to come out. She asked for a divorce, and this is the biggest
gift she could ever give me, she literally set me free. I owe her big
time," said the pastor, who grew up in a conservative Christian family.
Ouyang now
lives in the United States, where he is pursuing his doctoral degree in theology,
while teaching sociology at a college and works as a staff pastor.
But he
regularly returns to Malaysia and other parts of Asia to promote awareness of
homosexuality. Also a prolific writer, he has published 23 books, about half
delving into gay-related themes.
Ouyang said
the church he co-founded, which has been operating quietly in suburban Kuala
Lumpur, is "growing and developing" and continues to draw gay
Christians for Sunday services and bible studies.
"I am
not promoting gay culture. I am promoting honesty, love and justice," he
said, in response to the government's stance that it would not allow the church
to run officially and religious leaders' claims it would encourage
homosexuality.
Ouyang has
previously said the church - which also embraces bisexual, transsexual and
heterosexual people - would help the gay community know they are "not
alone in fighting the battle".
But
influential Malaysian religious figures remain vehemently opposed to the
growing prominence of the country's gay community, with a vocal Islamic cleric
last year saying homosexuality was "going to destroy the world".
Authorities
periodically raid gay-friendly bars or massage parlours, leaving some with a
constant fear of persecution, while a prominent religious body in 2008 issued a
fatwa, or Islamic religious ruling, against lesbian sex.
Malaysia's
opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is currently on trial accused of sodomising a
former aide, which he has repeatedly dismissed as trumped-up charges designed
to prevent him from taking power.
Meanwhile
Ouyang is set to wed his partner, an African-American Broadway musical
producer, after the latter popped the question on June 26 - two days after New
York City legalised same-sex marriages.
"It
was also the day of our two-year anniversary," said the pastor.
"He
went to the church and he wrote a song for me. He proposed at the end of the
song in public," he smiled, saying the wedding date has yet to be set but
the couple are planning to hold a wedding ceremony in the US and in Malaysia.
AFP
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