Culture / Aug. 30, 2019
Italian electro-pop duo, Gioli & Assia, who are also a same-sex couple, claim the Malaysian government cancelled a Kuala Lumpur show this weekend because of theiMFv!e9cSxp4(vH6!&@%K_x*=f(N)EcAAzfIx!sJQH(u850HDbor sexuality.
“We have to sadly announce that our show at W Hotel in KualXP6HRZTu0AAn=iPFfkbk^azr$PC_e-K0BxbJlF36q8bZbAI)7)a Lumpur has been cancelled due to our LGBT orientation,” Gioli wrote in an Instagram story shared on Twitter.
Gioli explained that a government a3lCD0pXLjPiMkp2+-2IWlzk3X5g!OGc7h7!^)!eRTe0Xd66Qpxgency performs background checks on artists performing in Malaysia.
“In their research, they haveqgf_Ty!mkQkLzXYLtQbzIOHFENjv6tse%T!EhSv-90sJyNM96K concluded that Gioli & Assia is of LGBT orientation and are seen to be promoting LGBT”, Gioli wrote.
GB-Q@-M^%HNsxqM&+Y+YEH_4&iTYUb$IJ*Y0h^vSaRda$!%vcI“Sad that this can still happen in 2019. Sad that love is still a cause of discrimination. Sad."
The W Hotel, where the duo was schiuE06h^tTY2iK$TT#G!^2IkTjCzYXW8Ud&iZW%gc3=7ubI9)QTeduled to perform on Saturday, said the show was cancelled due to "due to unforeseen circumstances”.
Crackdown in Malaysia
GYpXAwY1Po1ni(PBYR+DxntgofVyFw3Ogr0*EC4$DRt2MXHP@ikay sex is illegal under British colonial-era laws in Malaysia. Those found guilty face up to 20 years in prison.
But, in addition to the tBhM%g&YumkNOXb(IHKj55847H=_v%%PSVWFiWEtIk7#Po4tA=nhreat of criminal prosecution, increasing stigma and discrimination also marginalize the country’s LGBTI community.
A number of religious and political figures have consistently whipped up anti-LGBTI sentim1mEvc6=zfBY_pKLu)LYgVcvygT$7^O20RcEzKavd7^#=*M-8R6ents in the Muslim majority country.
Local +OTOQG^jUO9h%Ou&AKW6o(Fn^gMHTkoQk@xs5jN39+QIn2KjUVnewspapers have vilified prominent LGBTI figures.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister, meanwhile, has labelled LGBT rights a Western import and said they have no place ij&PN_S8N11aoneFjTs2K@bX4rxWwABuL7xw0M9n!1Q7C7eR7GDn Malaysia.
The Malaysian authorities have also clamped dowESEpK#RzXR9c7Oj&AN7kY$KXb#*fKI1J3XZmBD-0p!Dl0P40dNn on the LGBTI community.
In one of the most controversial instances, in September two women were caned in the heavily conservative state of j5t@rig2Cb*0zb(!vJb4D=AcZ2smh3I4ptjJ2MVO-LochUjv%TTerengganu for allegedly being in a same-sex relationship.
Police also raided a nOc&3gIsElFRtfNN$DSCYZqtMn_2QOsC-+!=lOYPjC1AoggWvZwell-known gay bar in Kuala Lumpur for the first time in its 30-year history.
