Penang: Pink Dot Penang 2014, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) program, scheduled to be held in Penang, Malaysia, on March 29 has been cancelled for security and safety reasons.
Event co-organizer, Suaram Penang, told myasiaout.com that organizers had decided to cancel the event after considering views expressed by various other organizations.
“Due to concerns over the personal security and safety of the organizers and participants, we have postponed the event indefinitely, ” Suaram Penang said.
Pink Dot Penang 2014 was to celebrate human rights and freedom of expression and it included a workshop and an evening party for LGBT at a leading hotel.
Suaram explained that it was an open social occasion allowing minority communities to meet and interact.
“The minority community need such an occasion for meaningful discussion and self-help. It is not a sex party as some groups have slandered it to be,” said Suaram.
At an earlier press conference, 1926 Heritage Hotel manager Peter Pedley confirmed that the event organizers had cancelled their booking made earlier this week, reports myasiaout.com.
Pedley said the organizers had cited that the booking was for a meeting, adding that the hotel would have rejected the booking had it known about the intended LGBT party.
“We were not aware that it would be a party. Our hotel would not support such an event,” Pedley said.
The Malay rights movement, Perkasa has lodged four police reports against the ‘immoral’ event at the Balik Pulau district police headquarters this morning.
The reports were made by state youth leader and Balik Pulau branch chief Rizuad Mohd Azudin, the branch’s youth chief Zambry Noor, women chief Juriah Semat and Puteri chief Atifah Anis Noordin.
Mohd Rizuad said he came across the event yesterday while surfing the internet.
“Perkasa would not allow such immoral activities to take place in Penang or in any part of Malaysia. It’s against Islam the official constitutional religion of the nation,” he said at the press conference.
The program posting on social network Facebook account Pink Dot SG disclosed that the event organizers were Penang Freedom to Love, Rainbow Connection and Suaram.
Perkasa Balik Pulau branch information chief Mohd Pazli Ismail said his checks revealed that a similar Pink Dot program was held in Singapore last March.
Pazli said Perkasa planned to meet with the Malaysian Hoteliers Association (MHA) to stop all hotels in the country from holding such ‘immoral’ events.
“Any religion would not allow such immoral sexual activities to take place in the country. We will stop such events from being organized anywhere in the country,” said Pazli.
Though many Malaysians are generally tolerant towards toward LGBT individuals, government and social attitudes towards the LGBT community are shaped by Islam, the official religion in Malaysia.
Malaysia retains Section 377A a Victorian-era British colonial law banning “carnal intercourse against the order of nature.” Malaysia is one of the 41 Commonwealth countries where homosexuality is outlawed.
Source: myasiaout.com
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