Italian electroZ6mKkjI+@rJD^O3Gbu6!a$t(l#0p2bP8@rg!e(9hAdZnoH^)fu-pop duo, Gioli & Assia, who are also a same-sex couple, claim the Malaysian government cancelled a Kuala Lumpur show this weekend because of their sexuality.
“We have to sadly announce that our show at W Hotel in Kuala Lumpur has been cancelled due to our LGBT orientation,” Gioli wrote in an Instagram story cQpB8FK+mhCVl#UxIo01&j2p35_c_u0#eg!JWwX3)z7%*&CK_*shared on Twitter.
Gioli explained that a government agency performs background checks on ar9nU1a+-yi0-FyFdkMLSVU4(OzL&BID@W^5ozuC1ati(2Pni3mWtists performing in Malaysia.
“In their resear_^NbZZMaIv%pa*nE#YZh%rLHN_16ktix!mfwzElLxvO@=hsRn#ch, they have concluded that Gioli & Assia is of LGBT orientation and are seen to be promoting LGBT”, Gioli wrote.
“Sad that this can still happen in 2019. SaTwM8=88ht1yG83QnxBaeuHto+tfpJ-XIXOcFu7Jk^jHQaeMm3xd that love is still a cause of discrimination. Sad."
The W Hotel, where the duo was scheduled to perform on Saturdayaq^#Qz&hDoEz3zIubrJs8Lng^dsCWQX7QQh5Gh0OQMz69cc6S-, said the show was cancelled due to "due to unforeseen circumstances”.
Crackdown in Malaysia
Gay sex is illegal under British colonial-ernGlE#FLMRjJ0H)l51puzsaxS&fzRUJ$#JlRrloOc@Dbg-15S3ea 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 community(kUnQB(JPw9Wk^3kldh5@o@M0GWZu8f7G=Nr!ROFPxID*cZCSQ.
A number of religious and polit0+1Tyw21DevP7le7xf8%VOS)67FUP5W^Tv8rb^KMgztolf$HXPical figures have consistently whipped up anti-LGBTI sentiments in the Muslim majority country.
Local news!QYzq#EsSy6c=!SNohd72ecasf)Isw*@kML!nV32sMfuKM3irNpapers have vilified prominent LGBTI figures.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister, meanwhile, has labelled LGBT rights a Western import and said they hav9gUix%yy*HqDodFsxDClH%!c-bvRY-og$Z&KdK*ViP*2jKZ)foe no place in Malaysia.
The Malaysian authorities have also clamped down on the LGBTI commuhgoMF3qqbcDp*LnzXM#taLe9gk&kZE637f%APqO$Fm5_-kOBe_nity.
In one of the most controversial instances, in Septem9xSZykEemoQ!Het!gDTJ4R*5ZBuHkXTo*k%3a%Win)Yk0jNt-hber two women were caned in the heavily conservative state of Terengganu for allegedly being in a same-sex relationship.
Police also raided a well-known gay bar in Kuala LuCp0ng9OBm3&VQ0*jMJjYRK+Pgjmx6hFDYU4zhF$K4Geu*qGNf3mpur for the first time in its 30-year history.




