Please Accept Me for Who I Am.

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By: Yap Suan Zi, Lim Siew Tong, Chai Jing Hsuan and Leong Zu Er
  
“Accept me as I am, or forget it!” This word comes across their mind when people are unwilling to accept their sexual orientation and tried so hard to “cure” their “sickness”. Homosexuals, people attracted to the same sex, remain objectionable by most of the people even until today. 

However, more and more Asian countries are starting to say “yes” to homosexuality. In Taiwan, the government came out with a bill to recognize same-sex marriage in 2003. Even though the bill failed in the end due to the lack of support to make it as a law, it shows that homosexual rights are part of the consideration of Taiwan government. 

In Vietnam, the government is in the process of legalizing same-sex marriage. It might be the first Asian country to recognise the marriage between homosexuals. It is good news for Vietnamese homosexuals because their rights have been taken care of by their government. Vietnam shows the world that it is a civilize country that respects the sexual orientation of their people

In Singapore, more than 15,000 Singaporeans recently held up pink lights in a park at night to show their support to homosexuality in their country. How about in our homeland, Malaysia?

Homosexuality in Malaysia

Even though homosexuality remains as a controversial issue in Malaysia, but there are few homosexuals willing to stand out to fight for their rights. 

In 2005, Jessie Chung or Zhong Xuan Tai, a transsexual’s marriage came as a bombshell in Malaysia. Jessie Chung, who was born as a male and had undergone transsexual operations in 2004 finally agreed to marry Joshua Beh Soo Kiang after rejecting his marriage proposal for six times.

 The first ever reported lesbian marriage in Malaysia was in year 2011. 29-years-old Thomas and 27-years-old Apple, a lesbian couple held a traditional Chinese tea ceremony at their home in Batu Pahat, Johor. Most the press in Malaysia had published their news on the front page of the newspaper at that time.

Ngeo Boon Lin, who also goes by his pen name O.Young or Ouyang Wen Feng, is the first openly gay pastor in Malaysia. In 2006, he ended up his nine-year marriage and officially announced to the public that he is a gay. He got married with Phineas Newborn III, an African-American Broadway musical producer in New York last year and came back to Malaysia to for a traditional wedding banquet in Kuala Lumpur this year. "I wanted to inspire others to speak the truth and to stand up for our rights," he told the press.

First gay wedding in Malaysia: Ngeo (right) and his husband Phineas Newborn III (left) conducted a traditional wedding banquet in Kuala Lumpur on 4 August 2012. (Photo taken from huffingtonpost.com).

However, homosexuality is still unacceptable in Malaysia. There is an Islamic law - Federal Territory Syariah Criminial Offences Act 1997, used to punish the homosexuals. Muslims will be sentence to canning in jail for up to twenty years and or whipping if they are involve in any homosexuality activities. 

Last year, “Seksualiti Merdeka”, an annual festival to promote sexuality rights in Malaysia since 2008, was banned by the government with the reason that it is a deviationist activity that could demolish the practice of religious freedom. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister Malaysia even said that it is a “non-beneficial” event and is a waste of time.

Seksualiti Merdeka: An event in Malaysia that focuses on the human rights of people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. (Photo taken from suarapakatanrakyat.com)


Last month, Prime Minister Najib Razak said that homosexual, bisexual and transsexual are part of a "deviant culture" that should "not have any places in this country”. He also said that LGBT community along with liberalism and pluralism are the enemies of Islam.
 
Malaysia’s opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim related homosexuality with other vice activities such as free sex and gambling in a BBC interview. He also agreed at a High Court hearing that homosexuals should be discriminated against to protect the sanctity of marriage. However, he pointed out that archaic laws should be reviewed to avoid innocent people from being punished. 

Homosexuality was also discussed in Dewan Rakyat this year. Mashitah Ibrahim, Deputy Minister in Prime Minister’s Department, defined homosexuality as a “social problem” and announced that government is cooperating with several NGOs to conduct anti-homosexuals campaigns recently. 

Baharum Mohamad, Sekijang MP claimed that three out of every ten Malaysian males are gay and thus he suggested to the government that Malaysia should set up a rehab centre for the homosexuals. Moreover, Mohd Nizar Zakaria, Parit MP classified homosexuality as a “mental problem”, which homosexuals are the people who are trapped in the wrong body.

As a human being with emotions and feelings, we said it proudly that love is guiltless, but why is love a wrong doing, a shame or even a sin when it happens between two men or two women? Is it because they are the minority group in the society so we can label them as abnormal and thus reject them?

The Voices

            “It gets very hard to acknowledge  myself and to tell the world who I am, because we are still perceived as the abnormal people in the world, which is very unfair to us,” said Ms. C.J., who tried to reveal her homosexual identity to her friends before, but it always caused unpleasant experiences to her. Because of her honesty, one of her friends warned her directly to the face, and announced that it was the end of their friendship and did not want to contact her anymore.

            “Homosexuality is not a disease, not a mental problem and not a psychology problem. APA (American Psychiatric Association) has declared that homosexuality is not a disease even in 1973. But why people still think that we are sick and reject us?” said Yuriko, a psychology student, who found herself as homosexual since secondary school.

            “We’re just born this way!” said Joseph Yong, who found his first boyfriend when he was 17-years-old. They finally broke up because his partner could not cope with the pressure. “It was very hurtful when he said that we just can’t be together,” he drew a sign after saying it.

            “It may take some time for the Malaysian society to accept homosexuality since sex education also faces oppositions in Malaysia,” said Ang Siew Mun, a senior lecturer who has a Master in Sociology. 

            There are many text books in America, from primary level to university level, that have included the topic of homosexuality in their syllabus. However, Malaysians are only exposed to homosexuality when they are at university level when most of the private universities are using American text book. Due to this reason, most Malaysians do not have much knowledge about homosexuality. They tend to rely on distorted facts about homosexuals and thus refuse to accept them even until now.

            “There should be proper education to let the people know that homosexuals are shaped by genetic components and thus we should accept them,” Ang emphasizes. 

Ang: We should accept homosexuals because they are shaped by genetic components and it is not their fault.

            Homosexuals are just as normal as we are; the only different is that they have a unique sexual orientation. Think before you point your finger at them. Please do not violate the rights for an individual to choose their love. Be fair to the minority and stand up for them. Please accept homosexuals as who they are.





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