Gioli & Assia claim Malaysian govt cancelled their show because they are in a same-sex relationship

Italian electro-pop duo, Gioli & Assia, who are also a same-sex couple, claim the  Malaysian government cancelled a Kuala LumpuKfZse99Q+*9d*ZGWolGbVPir5e$OKRF)dsZ_Z5CQ5=3!0Ip*efr show this weekend because of their sexuality.

“We Fr2i$WIRm8IovsJ4&ga_KpV#kmi([email protected]&R(Whave 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 shared on Twitter.

Gioli explained that a government agency performIao2QI%=ENjiJm_nZ43I_gIn-)Nl7D-*[email protected]#_Ds background checks on artists performing in Malaysia.

“In their research, they have concluded that Gioli WDI)+&U2gIgMWm+USJ-UA)_BO7Q4v8_eT=cC3w&y1$uV7j-fTm& Assia is of LGBT orientation and are seen to be promoting LGBT”, Gioli wrote.

“Sad t(23TY%[email protected]$bdq__WE-X94++jc##WgO-sNV(X5Lv$Fhat this can still happen in 2019. Sad that love is still a cause of discrimination. Sad."

The W Hotel, where the duo was scheduled to perform on Saturday, said the show was cancelled due to "due to unforeseen circumm$b9S1g7#kA6=)eAaViz6ePMEAInBySoNM-qU344c%7beMtQS_stances”.

Crackdown in Malaysia

Gay sex is il[email protected]_tTbrxN-K52=-XcaXoK69I==LR*[email protected]!-#legal under 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 disc%VDhM)^Mo#@*zB#IgtRwiQ9!ZkDjE0V)%!tx2)9pX0VlFNID)crimination also marginalize the country’s LGBTI community.

A number of religious and political figures have coeI(aoUO!%ghxtupfVVI6EUxVvqL^aw5Fuqc#5nO0#-u8mdesq+nsistently whipped up anti-LGBTI sentiments in the Muslim majority country.

LocalUr7Vp8#sf(RD(PCg(^wwd(*Yu(aQOHSZpq$h=Ha-E5vkU*t)zR newspapers have vilified prominent LGBTI figures.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, -87o0#W)vTVJ^[email protected][email protected]%QR)KYLb)rw7YXXLH9h(6q3Zmeanwhile, has labelled LGBT rights a Western import and said they have no place in Malaysia.

The Malaysian authorities have also clamped down on the LGBT[email protected]+5I*bSEl)5BFN3Hb^Q6V%5UnGQyZJAY6I community.

In one of the most controversial instances, in September two women were caned in the heavily conservative state of Terengganu for all[email protected]#VvIg=Ng-RrHEJQztPW3E7Legedly being in a same-sex relationship.

Police also raided a well-known gay bar in Kuala LumTvHR^xlg^nZh3_Ddtm&bhFb_!r%xNvJEWvLja3J89s)[email protected]pur for the first time in its 30-year history.