Anwar Ibrahim, the hand-selected prime minister-in-waiting by Malaysia current 93-year-old leader Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, recently slammed the anti-gay sodomy laws on the books in his country.
The laws, which date back to Malaysia’s time as a British colony, routinely target LGBT individuals for prosecution for sexual acts.
Recently, two Malay women were publicly caned for allegedly attempting to have sex with each other in a car.
“What I was saying is that the laws on sodomy are not fair, outdated, and need to be reviewed,” said Ibrahim. “These laws were brought in by the British to India during the times of colonization, and Malaya at that time adopted these laws as well.”
In other Southeast Asian countries where Buddhism is the predominant religion rather than Islam, the majority have also been slow changing laws that discriminate against the LGBT community.
According to leading Thai family attorney Jitsopin Narasettapong, Thailand still discriminates broadly against gay couples with laws that prohibit marriage, civil unions, and adoption.
But, perhaps surprisingly, Ibrahim stopped short of saying that the country should follow in India’s recent footsteps by legalizing same-sex marriage, stating that “marriage is between a man and a woman” and that same-sex marriage is not compatible in a Muslim country.
Ibrahim served eight years in prison after being convicted of having gay sex, although human rights groups said the charges were politically motivated.
Ibrahim remains extremely popular in the country and is expected to become prime minister once Mohamad steps down or passes away.
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