We visited Malaysia, where it's illegal to be gay
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
- Should LGBT tourists visit Malaysia? That's the question we sought to answer during our recent trip to Kuala Lumpur. In this video, we'll explain the history and current situation for LGBT travelers and provide some advice and tips for sensible precautions to help you enjoy your trip.
Malaysia's anti-sodomy laws date back to the time of British colonization. These are enforced with brutal punishments, such as public caning. But meanwhile the country is eager to attract gay and lesbian tourists and so has had to walk a delicate line. As we found out, it is reasonably safe for LGBT tourists to visit Kuala Lumpur as long as they follow some sensible precautions.
And the city is well worth visiting. Its numerous landmarks, such as the National Mosque, the Petronas Towers (which you might know from the movie Entrapment), the KL Tower, the Butterfly Park, and the Aviary, all make this a fascinating city that's well worth a look.
00:00 Should gay people go to Kuala Lumpur?
01:45 Matt Healy and the 1975
02:46 History of Anti-Sodomy Laws
03:50 Enforcement of the Law Today
05:28 Sensible Precautions
07:28 Things to do in KL
10:17 Would we go back?
Malaysia authority will never arrest gay & trans hanging out on streets or working inside malls.
Unless you are PROVEN showing Public Display of Affection (PDA) & sexual activity. And it applies to married or unmarried straights & gays.
And please avoid publicly ‘showcase’ any clear symbolism related LGBT movements or hosting events related to it.
Cross-dressing is allowed in public but not in religion & government buildings.
You are giving out false information about Malaysia.
Firstly, yes there is an anti-sodomy law in Malaysia, as in many states in the USA, both in the secular and syariah law. However, if you do not flaunt your sexuality, either straight or gay, in public you won't draw attention to yourself, especially for tourists. Just go there, enjoy youself and keep your sex life behind closed doors.
Secondly, you are knowingly showing public canings that was in Indonesia, and NOT in Malaysia. You can clearly distinguish the Indonesian coat of arms on their uniforms. Any corporeal punishments in Malaysia are done in private, in prison so as to protect the dignity of the offenders. (Killers, rapists etc) There are NO public canings in Malaysia. I therefore question your motive in making this false and misleading video.
Thanks for the comment. I believe if you rewatch the video, you’ll find little disagreement between your comment and the thesis I presented. As we both concluded: If you don’t flaunt your sexuality, especially as a tourist, it is unlikely that any harm will come to you.
On the comment about caning however: Regrettably Malaysia *does* use caning as a punishment for many crimes, including violations of the anti-sodomy statutes. This has been condemned by Amnesty International as torture. The caning procedure used as punishment in Malaysia is often far more brutal than the clip from Indonesia that I included (which I did indicate as being from Indonesia and not from Malaysia). Unfortunately canings in Malaysia are not filmed (or at least the films are not publicly released), and the caning is conducted in a courtroom in front of witnesses from the public. As there are no recent films of caning in Malaysia, I opted to include this representative clip from neighboring Indonesia, with a disclaimer that the footage was from Indonesia and not Malaysia.
It’s certainly not my intent to mislead in any way and I do my best to present honest and accurate information.
Thanks again for your comment, and I hope you’ll give it another watch with this context in mind.
@@barrel_boy Again you are trying to confuse the issue. The point I was making isthat there are NO, as of yet, any public caning in Malaysia regardless if you're gay or not. Again, you're making wild ,categorically untrue allegation that canings in Malaysia is being done in the courtrooms. I repeat. Canings are done discreetly in prisons with minimal attending officials, such as a couple prison wardens and a medical doctor.
As a FYI for you who like to make ignorant and untrue claims, if a prisoner was sentenced to say 10 strokes if caning, he would NOT be caned all 10 times in one sitting. There is no footage of public canings,be it in courtrooms or not in Malaysia, for the simple reason it is not done there. Amnesty should investigate migrant child labor in Alabama and Lousiana first. Look at yourself first before commenting abt others that you know nothing about.
@@barrel_boy Representative means to represent something. Its not representative of Malaysia at all. It represent your biased and ulterior motivation well. None of what you claimed abt Malaysia is true. No public canings in the town square nor in the courtrooms with public attendance. You are so diabolical in trying to paint Malaysia as an evil place. Whats your agenda really? I dont watch bigoted, false and misleading contents such as yours.
About canning - 2 type - under Islamic law (applicable to Muslim only) same as Acheh, Indonesia.. under civil law - severe canning..
@@ptaeiyu r wrong, if u do ur research, canning does happen to lgbt persons in malaysia. Most recent was only at 2019
Seriously???? We Malaysian nvr care who you are... No matter what is your religion, skin colour, sex orientation etc... Just do what roman did when you in rome... Just respect locals n our culture, that's it... Don't shove your ideology to our throat n keep it behind your door whether you are homosexual or heterosexual.
P/s : all the pics / video cuts regarding the syariah punishment are not in Malaysia. It's in acheh, the Islamic territory of Indonesia.
Spot on
Not sure about Trengganu and Kelantan. To be safe, stay in west coast like Penang, KL, Ipoh, Melaka and JB.Yup, we dont care as long as people keep it in their house.
That may be happening in yr surroundings. For my part, hatred and prejudice still exists and they keep humiliating each other with sensitive words and said they are geli. Worst still, some schools rejected the LGBT people to showcase their talents during the talent night. Still feel that Malaysia needs more progress in this perspective since UK law has already transformed this law ever since 2005. I doubted Malaysia since it took the orthodox approach of UK law ever since the ancient dino- era of Commonwealth. Ed Sheeran and Taylor they are both great celebrities and supportive of LGBT are forbidden from performing. The change is gradual and hopefully good things happen.
@@stevengoh3137 There are always idiots who say childish stuff to piss people. But are you childish to be bothered by what random people say? You should only care about what you think about yourself. Then the opinion of your family and close friends.
u chinese malay
Good video with one tiny minor exception. The restriction on public displays of "romantic" affection applies to EVERYONE - straight and gay. So in that regard, it really isn't requiring anything exceptional of gay people, or forcing them back into the closet. It's basically saying to keep your romantic physical behavior private because the country as a whole is pretty conservative and your private business should remain just that, your private business.
Agreeing as ethnic Chinese.We have public etiquette.
Just like Qatar said when they hosted the WC2022.
Honestly nobody care and nobody knows your orientation...it doesnt matter if you are gay, just dont display your affection in public...even straight people dont display publicly their affection, it is culture, and it is frowned upon. again, this is not west but east...and even if you have gay app, law enforcer have no rights nor power to check people phone and we have never heard about this, ever
Tu ah, pelik ah depa ni. Tak tanya pun gay ke tak
Why did you show public canning in Indonesia in this video.
He cannot find any in Malaysia. That AJazeera probably fake news. Never heard Malaysia has public canning. That Indonesian canning is more like sayang that girl. I heard 1 cane in Malaysia prison enough to KO a person.
I remember Malaysia had done before but it was in the Terengganu state carried out by shariah law. 5 lashes but with padding. So it only affects Muslim not the rest of the population. @@CattleFarmer667
@CattleFarmer667 The only public canning I know was in school in the early 80s. I got it fighting in class - over a rubber eraser.
@@munawaralias8980haha! sorry if its not funny for u. These westerners just want to export their sick minds. Cant even say they are shameless like animals cos even animals knows male & females.
just dont have s*x on the street or public place, it's a common law in every countries, not just Malaysia
What about religious police that harass people in the their private life? What would you say to them? they aren't showing public affection.
Just don't come to KL at all if you want to push your ideologies. We are okay with being underrated.
its simple, when u enter ur friends house u r the guest not the owner
💯% agreed...!!!! From 🇲🇾
Indeed
The video you showed was in Acheh, not Malaysia, and it's a MISLEADING MISINFORMATION.
We couldn't care less about your SEXUAL ORIENTATION as long as you respect our culture and tradition and do not engage in public displays of affection out of respect for others, regardless of whether you're straight or gay.
We are a conservative country, and we would like to stay that way, as Western cultures sometimes are corrosive and, in the long run, would bring moral decay to our society.
Typical western information 😑
I even have an uncle that was a transvestite ( he passed away few years ago). I am a malay, muslim, a hijabi and Malaysian. Honestly i don't give two hoot about anyone's sexual orientation.
I think Brunei is much stricter than Malaysia.
yup syariah law ..malaysia not
As long as you keep your "preferences" to yourself, nobody cares.
I am now 44. I have seen gays from 80s when i was little until now in malaysia. Nothing happened to them. Because unlike nowadays gays, they were happy enough with their partners. They dont have to be acknowledge. They dont need acceptance from other people. Their spine are solid enough to stand on their own. Current gays or the bigger lgbt community doesnt feel good enough to be happy on their own. The society needs to say they accept them. Malaysia and all other countries even where you come from has the same situation. Where lgbt demands attention and the other straight society doesnt really care. So you can just come here. Be who you are but dont flaunt it. Be happy as you are. Not because you need to be acknowledge. Our time in this world is short. Religion money power properties families partners friends kid. We leave all of it when we leave this world to our final resting place. Just be a good human is enough. Please come again. See other parts of malaysia. We have so much to offer. If you like nature, i recommend going to taman negara. Rainforest that's older than the amazon.
Gay or not, it's not our business, just don't show public affection or tell others that you're gay, that's your personal matter
In a country where two human beings are not allowed to show their affection and love for eachother in public is quite ...backwards. Sorry love should be above all. Period
Oh my. You've placed Singapore in Middle East on the map. That's a first! Americans usually think we're in China.
I don’t believe there is a map of Singapore in the video. You might be referring to the flight path map for SQ21 which did pass over the Middle East. But this is a map of the plane’s location, not of Singapore.
There are many gays in Malaysian society. They work in various job sectors, salespeople, salon workers, bankers, journalists and others. They are always seen together and they prefer to gather among themselves. It's just that in Malaysia there are some rules that you have to follow which are disrespectful behavior in public places, you can't wear women's clothes if you're gay, but the situation is different when you're in an entertainment center like in a disco, night club, bar, lounge and others can be seen they are wearing women's clothes and wearing makeup.
I wouldn't say not showing affection in public is "going back into closet", its just a matter of respecting differences between people and not to publicly show it.
If you don't eat rat, you don't want people to be eating rate enjoying it right beside you would be an example to understand it easier.
I visit Malaysia all the time with my partner as all his family know about us and I am as much thought about as an equal family member with all the family. There is no need for a closet to hide in but just common decency and respect and you'll have a great time with no judgement. Malaysian people are really nice and are very aware of peoples differences and accommodating as long as you respect there cultural differences. There is no problem
Malaysian muslim here. If you're gay in msia, keyword is: KEEP IT TO YOURSELF & DON'T ADVERTISE YOUR LGBT STUFF. Other than that, ppl won't mind your business. Some msian are openly gay n nobody bothers them. Even authorities. Why? Bc eventhough they're openly gay but also didn't promote or advertise they're gay. Ppl around them might know or guess but didn't bother them at all. Also cross dressing is illegal here. But sometimes you can see the gays are wearing women clothes to work. Depends on the company. Most companies cannot, only very few. But still authorities didn't bother them. The ones i saw was working as cosmetic promoter. The authorities will bother if you make a scene. Like gay parties or lgbt events or sx parties (both straight n gay sx parties are illegal). So if you wanna do stuff, do it in private. Even others don't do PDAs in public. Just respect locals social decorum, you'll be fine.
Went to Malaka with my boyfriend. People could not have been nicer. Stick to the right places and you will be greeted with great friendliness.
So you can’t hold hands or even kiss in public in Malaysia?
no kissing allowed...holding hands between men is common here....have you seen bangladeshi and pakistani men holding hands everywhere they go? THEY ARE NIT GAY LMAO
I’ve seen that in Msia (holding hands can be considered normal), but kissing in public rarely happened because Msian usually knows how conservative our cultures are. But of course it acceptable if we are referring to families, siblings or relatives (not in sexual context)
DO NOT KISS IN MALAYSIA. It is actually illegal to kiss in public in the country!
First of all, just because something is acceptable in your culture doesn’t mean that it is acceptable in other cultures or that it should be forced upon others simply because you believe it’s ok to do so. While many other religions, or western societies for that matter, have succumbed to lawlessness or immorality doesn’t mean the rest of the world will or should follow. Simply put, when you’re a guest in someone’s house or country, act like it and be respectful. If not, don’t go someplace trying to be disrespectful just because you believe you’re superior to them. Not going to happen.
Indonesia: Republic,Sultan Yogyakarta,King Ubud( Angelina Jolie),Run island (Manhattan),Moyo island ( lady Diana)
Malaysians are very friendly people, they may not agree with your sexual preference, but they don't hate you for that. You really don't get physically attacked for being gay.
Better to go to Palestine or Iran, they love the gays there
Iis it the same in india?
The reason clips from Indonesia was used in this video about Malaysia is because you can't find any of Malaysia.
This video is craaaazzzzzzyyy
Another brilliant video with succint information about LGBT travel to Kuala Lumpur! I will share on the social media platforms! Great job, Daniel!
Aww thank you! I appreciate it!
Everybody can come. But don't show any love affection in public. Not just for gays people but also for a straight people too. Be respectful and you be ok.
Malaysians do not care about anybody sexual preference. There IS NO LAW against gays or lesbians. ONLY DO NOT flaunt or be loud in your preference in public. Keep it to yourself only.
Do you know you can banned Malaysia? Since Malaysia can banned anyone, so as tourist you have total rights banning Malaysia.
Tourists have more to worry about in the US with the gun violence than they do in Malaysia with the alleged anti LGBT stance. 🙄
You’re honestly just fear mongering for views.
Completely forgot what Sharia has to say about being gay.
Please respect our country...
Refer Acheh black tragedy where got big Tsunami and earthquake... Many of them practice LGBT..
I am a Malaysian... Pls do not get confused between being gay as an individual and sodomy. Being gay is an individual sexxual orientation which sodomy is an act of sexual engagement which is comstrue as ' abnormal sexual activity' and is not limited to sexual engagememt between individual of same gender. ..it also applies to having sexual intercourse with animals, minors, immediate family members etc.. .. .There is no law in our constitution that incriminate a person for being gay.. If you go to the police and confess to him/her that you are being gay, they cannot arrest you for your difference in sexual orientation.. You can only be arrested if you are found to engage in a behaviour that deemed to be improper. ..ie kissing .oral or anal sexual inter-course etc...
Misleading. 👎🏼
It's easy.. Tbh. People don't need to know what your sexualas preferences besides your partner. As Malaysian.. Honestly why do I want to know what people are doing in their bedroom?😭
Please respect the law and tradition of the country you would like to visit🫡🫡 All countries ( including yours) hate arrogant, bigot ,loud and rude tourists
Malaysia + Indonesia = A Lot..!!
It's just sensitive issue. I know
WHY ARE YOU TELLING THE WORLD :P :P
I really don’t understand how two guys could fall in love. It’s gross. Totally unnatural act.
There are gaya youtubers who came, and still alive
U can be gay but just do it in your room not in public
Kudos and thanks for the excellent historical context and wonderful practical travel information.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!
why delete the apps this is not China
What apps are you referring to in China? If you're talking about FB and Google, then they left China of their own accord. China asked them to abide by local rules, like keeping data within the country - the same rules which other countries like America insist on (Tik Tok keeps data within America and is still about to be banned). FB and Google would not abide by those basic rules, so they left. Don't talk about things you don't know. And by the way, it is not illegal to be gay in China and you won't get caned or jailed because of that.
Malaysia is beautiful country and people you talking non sense why some group should be above the law
don't do perverse activities outside the house...
don't envy others with perverse things
Interesting.
Glad you found it interesting! Thanks for the comment
As a gay person, I would never visit Malaysia. The govt even released a guide on how to spot a gay person to report to the authorities. I’d rather much travel to Thailand or Singapore.
Dont bring bad and negative idea to my country..😡😡😡😡😡😡
Jangan datang la, buat semak je!
Yes.. Only those called walauns can be gays.
Pls dont spread fake news. Learn the law atleast
So they ruined the concert for everyone with their selfish and silly display of affection.
So stunning and brave
Try open Grindr in Malaysia..😂😂.. you'll be surprised how many..
Malaysia is a great country.. very tolerating...love it🎉🎉🎉
But u may chat with someone that is actually the police to come arrest you, I’d say delete it even before u arrive
𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒖𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒎𝒌𝒕𝒓𝒑
religion....😭
Hm? You go to atheistic country like China you also can't openly show your perverted lifestyle in public. We are eastern people with conservative values, not western people.
🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬👎👎👎
Thats a bad sign.
Get out of there ASAP
Its up to u to be who u r in this country, just dont overdo it... u can even download hundreds of gay apps for all i know......we even have gay celebs......dont spread lies if u dont know the vountry well
Get lost
Go to Gaza or Rafah..coward.