KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — Malaysia has no international obligations to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He told Parliament that such lifestyles were not accepted in the country and incompatible with local values, when explaining why media content with LGBTQ links could be summarily banned in Malaysia.
“In this context, I am pleased to say that Malaysia has never ratified any international convention on LGBTQ and does not recognise any LGBTQ lifestyle,” Saifuddin told the Parliament when explaining the empowerment of the film censorship board.
The minister said the same treatment was applied to media content that contained elements of Islamophobia or against Islam.
Responding to MPs’ questions about the Home Ministry’s position on monitoring content on streaming services such as Netflix, Saifuddin said this came under the jurisdiction of the Communications Ministry.
However, he said he would meet with the communications minister to streamline the government’s position on such matters.
Saifuddin also acknowledged views that media restriction in Malaysia could be rigid, noting that the country both censored content and imposed classifications that could limit viewership.
