Malaysia Won’t Welcome Gay Officials
The
Advocate, November 2, 2001
Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday
that if a gay British cabinet minister visited Malaysia with his boyfriend,
both would be expelled. Mahathir, Asia’s longest-serving leader, made the
remarks in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., explaining that
he had planned to step down from power a few years ago but could not after he
discovered that his deputy was gay. Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country
in Southeast Asia, would not accept a gay leader, Mahathir said. “It’s a
difference of values,” Mahathir said. “British people accept homosexual
ministers, but if they ever come here, bringing their boyfriend along, we’ll
throw them out.”
British prime minister Tony Blair appointed the United
Kingdom’s first openly gay cabinet minister after the Labor Party took power
in 1997, making Chris Smith his culture secretary. Blair also backed
agriculture secretary Nick Brown, who acknowledged that he is gay when his
ex-lover threatened to sell his story to a tabloid newspaper.
In 1998 Mahathir fired his popular heir apparent, deputy
prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, because Anwar allegedly had engaged in
homosexual acts. At the time, Malaysia was mired in the Asian economic crisis,
and the two men held different views over how to resolve it. Anwar was also
widely thought to be attempting to try to maneuver Mahathir out of power. The
sacking brought tens of thousands of protesters into the streets demanding
political reform, but the movement ran out of steam. Mahathir’s coalition
won elections in 1999, and he celebrated 20 years in power in June. Anwar was
convicted of corruption and sodomy and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He
claims he was framed to prevent his challenging Mahathir for power. The
government denies it; Anwar’s wife, Azizah Ismail, however, heads the
opposition National Justice Party. In announcing the prohibition, Mahathir
appeared to be speaking hypothetically; there is no indication that either
Smith or Brown is planning a visit to Malaysia.
[Home] [World] [Malaysia]
