Malaysian Tourism Minister: No Gay in Our Country

Kuala Lumpur, MINA – Malaysian Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi sparked controversy after he stated that there were no gays in the neighboring country. This was revealed to German media Deutsche Welle.

According to Deutsche Welle, Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi who was in Germany for the ITB Berlin tourism exhibition asked by the German’s media whether Malaysia would welcome gays.

“I don’t think we have anything like that in our country,” he said as quoted by the Straits Times on Thursday.

Welle also claimed that Mohamaddin avoided the question of whether Malaysia was a safe destination for homosexuals and Jews.

An assistant minister later told the Malaysiakini news portal that the comments were Mohamaddin’s personal view, even though it was in line with the Pakatan Harapan government’s attitude to not recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT).

“Tourists who come to Malaysia like other countries are welcome regardless of their beliefs, sexuality, religion or skin color,” said the aide, whose identity is kept confidential.

The Malaysian opposition group represented by Deputy Chair of the Malaysian Chinese Association Mah Hang Soon said Mohamaddin’s statement about homosexuality had made Malaysia a laughing stock, the news website The Star reported.

“He was asked by a journalist whether Malaysia is safe for homosexuals. What he needs to say is that Malaysia is a safe country and every tourist is safe here,” Datuk Mah said. (T/Sj)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)