KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian government has begun holding
seminars aiming to help teachers and parents spot signs of homosexuality in
children, underscoring a rise in religious conservatism in the Muslim majority
nation.
So far, the Teachers Foundation
of Malaysia has organised 10 seminars across the nation. Attendance at the last
event on Wednesday reached 1,500 people, a spokesman for the organisation told
Reuters.
"It is a multi-religious and
multicultural (event), after all, all religions are basically against that type
of behaviour," said the official.
The federal government said in March
that it is working to curb the "problem" of homosexuality, especially
among Muslims who make up over 60 per cent of Malaysia's 29 million people.
According to a handout issued at
a recent seminar, signs of homosexuality in boys may include preferences for
tight, light coloured clothes and large handbags, local media reported.
For girls, the details were less
clear. Girls with lesbian tendencies have no affection for men and like to hang
out and sleep in the company of women, the reports said.
Malaysia frowns on oral and gay
sex, describing them as against the order of nature. Under civil law, offenders
- male and female - can be jailed for up to 20 years, caned or fined.
Actual prosecutions are rare,
although former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has twice been tried for
sodomy, in cases he called political conspiracies. He spent six years in jail,
but the courts have since cleared him on appeal or dropped charges for lack of
evidence.
Official intolerance of gays has
been on the rise. Last year, despite widespread criticism, the east coast state
of Terengganu set up a camp for "effeminate" boys to show them how to
become men.
The latest seminar for the
teachers and parents was run by deputy education minister Puad Zarkashi, his
office confirmed.
Zarkashi wasn't immediately
available for comment but national news agency Bernama quoted him as saying
that being able to identify the signs will help contain the spread of the
unhealthy lifestyle among the young, especially students.
"Youths are easily
influenced by websites and blogs relating to LGBT groups," he was quoted
as saying, using the acronym for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
community.
"This can also spread among
their friends. We are worried that this happens during schooling time."
Reuters
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