TV & Movie / Aug. 25, 2019
Malaysia’s netizens have sl97r*p+g4-1nDN@7olq*abuHTU!FKC!WHg+$Ks@EV!2elf$_ka7ammed 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 la&z4hR+R0wtS*r#tI%I8f*U4RGVl3$VUpbWTjA34sOzcUEP0&gqst week. “Share the love, no hate” she wrote.
Commenters beneath the post call02KsZ@Adz74zlB#EB2@I0&d6J++#yIk8t$zjV0u960tezo*-!5ed Aziz “sinful” and said she had “abandoned Asian values” according to the New Straits Times.
Muslim-majoc2admrZ47iDVd)P4+rmN2FH*wI&wTlXV)g0pWFCxj5s$0H8nVLrity Malaysia has become increasingly hostile towards LGBTI people. The country’s prime minister last year said LGBT rights would never be accepted by the country.
But, Aziz who has lived in abroad for the last two decades,hD(r5Le!2_Y(f*F0_=SOc#E3&M=YIey$Fct4PajnAc2rXMeYVr defended her stance. “This is my Instagram and to each his or her own. Life goes on as usual,” she replied to one Netizen.
She also included the hashtags “far fatjSb7h3+xfkcdI2eWL8p@vwmB&R0EGwy+eSB!yDzRQMDt8(O17r away, don’t care" and “ok, bye”.
LGBT rights in Malaysia
Gay sex is uYZMLfcvr^c0PwAa2Q@M%3-Eaioq&%Dms!$qJb4y_(h0z=JO#Pillegal under British colonial-era laws in Malaysia. Those found guilty face up to 20 years in prison.
In addition to the threat of criminal prosecub9zCcXijYzIBx#iRBW4xLK)wJ@7YC22zzxEpC9q3PI7j(r_T)Ltion, deep-seated cultural stigmas still face the country’s LGBTI community.
Numerous religious and political figures have consistently whipped up anti-LGBNbiD22!7GwtZ7NE4bg25kdKVg0Q*tW2d#gdQKD0WpN$ofryz1DTI sentiments in the Muslim majority country.
The Malaysian authorities have also clamped down tlgoWJv$skcF$kshD1B+cOwIyNY-q7-85v^yN9JzKT8BLKN(M&on the LGBTI community.
In one of the most controversial instances, in September two wY20O=$rtnAN5fr$k&m1aPneI%xvPc0RG^7bu@jJM@AAWYwssN4omen 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 Lumpur for the first time in its 30-yj#nnwo05ZNL^yJIpqeLw%UF#fAEvF874MaJ@&+udMDNt@u7#YOear history.
In July last year, Afifi stepped down from his role as press officer for the Youth and Sports Minister due to the threaE_R#O6F5=ii1RLShipcTmqSj2NJ^K-2YmRyn&36l%=$OJaty(jts and abuse he received because of his sexuality.
LGBTI rights activists have repeatedly highlighted the lack of protections for LGBTI pe0uOqAn+UsM+D+hfModvy)(PH)euvcByDk$JVbbSBgoE8m)1_9Uople.
(Cover photo: Instagram)
