Joining LGBT march obviously against laws, religious teachings — Jawi

KUALA LUMPUR: The actions of some Muslims in joining the recent lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) illegal march in the capital are a matter of obvious opposition to the laws, religious teachings and cultural norms of Malaysian society, according to Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (JAWI) director Mohd Ajib Ismail.

He said although the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government assures that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, it does not mean that anyone especially Muslims could violate the laws and religious teachings.

“JAWI condemns the action of some of our Muslim brothers and sisters who joined the LGBT march recently, in which some of the rights they fought during that march were not the rights they should fight for (such as ‘free my nipples’ and ‘sex work is work’).

“It’s true that freedom of assembly and speech are guaranteed in the constitution and the government itself, but that does not mean we are free to fight for something that is clearly against our law, religious teachings and cultural norms,” he said when contacted by Bernama here yesterday, in response to the LGBT illegal assembly in conjunction with Women’s March last Saturday.

On Monday, Deputy InspectorGeneral of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim was quoted as saying that the police would call the organizer of the event to assist in investigations under Section 9 (5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 for holding an assembly without a permit.

Mohd Ajib said JAWI was committed to implementing various programmes guided by the Federal Territories Mufti to educate the public on the LGBT issue, including a special programme designed to help the LGBT people.