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PETALING JAYA: A lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activist has joined the chorus to tell Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to do whatever he can to call for stricter laws against hate speech.
The trans activist, Nisha Ayub, said that she supports what Muhyiddin said at the 1st Meeting of Asean Digital Ministers, she also hopes that her actions reflect her statement given the situation the community is going through in the country.
He said hate speech is continually spreading on social media where minorities are constantly targeted, including death threats and smears.
While existing laws not only criminalize gender identity or sexuality, they also amplify discrimination and hatred towards the community, he said.
“He (the prime minister) could start by ending all arrests or ongoing cases related to gender identity and sexuality,” he told FMT.
Earlier today, Muhyiddin said Asean countries might consider enacting stricter laws against hate speech, including harassment based on sexual orientation.
Trans men’s activist Dorian Wilde said that while the prime minister’s call for ASEAN countries to enact stronger laws against hate speech is a step in the right direction, it should also be followed by the implementation and enforcement of such laws in Malaysia.
And it should be based on the Rabat Plan of Action and the recommendations of civil society.
The Rabat Plan of Action was launched by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2013 and addresses discrimination, hostility and violence on national racial and religious grounds.
He said that hate speech of all kinds is used rampant in Malaysia on all social media and even mainstream media.
“The fact that a deputy minister in the prime minister’s department issued a statement on the creation of tougher laws against various sexual orientations and gender identities shows a clear disconnect,” he said, referring to Ahmad Marzuk Shaary.
Marzuk had recently said Putrajaya was considering giving sharia courts the power to impose harsher punishments against LGBT people.
Dorian said the prime minister and his cabinet must be on the same page, and “if they want to do the right thing on the part of Malaysians, then they should do it based on human rights principles and best practices from other countries.”
Thilaga, founder of Justice for Sisters, an NGO that advocates for transgender rights, said there are many good practices in Asean that Malaysia can learn from.
This included Singapore’s Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA), which following an amendment in 2019 explicitly protects LGBT people, atheists, people of various nationalities, including foreign workers or new citizens, from group-incited violence. or religious movements.
However, most importantly, it was urgent to review and repeal the existing laws that criminalize LGBT people, as these laws allow discrimination, violence, and community persecution to continue with impunity.
“These laws also empower ministers and state agencies to make statements that cause alarm and fear not only among LGBT people, but also among their loved ones.
“There should be a moratorium on these laws and the government should stop the prosecution and investigation of people on the grounds of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Numan Afifi, founder of the Pelangi Campaign, an NGO that seeks to raise awareness and defend LGBT + rights in Malaysia, said that while welcoming Muhyiddin’s comments, Putrajaya must first demonstrate its commitment to human rights.
He said when Muhyiddin’s own deputy minister said they are considering tougher laws against LGBT people, then what the prime minister said “is still lip service.”
Numan also called for the discriminatory laws to be repealed. “But start with a meaningful engagement with LGBT groups,” he said.
