Malaysian LGBTQ retreat faces conservative backlash: ‘we are not criminals’

A camping retreat marketed as “Glamping With Pride” has become Malaysia’s latest LGBTQ flashpoint after a poster for the event went viral, triggering outcry among Islamic authorities and a police investigation.\nJejaka, an organisation supporting gay, bisexual and queer men, said this weekend’s planned retreat was “lawful camping activities at a registered venue [that] does not violate any Malaysian law”.\n“Camping, gatherings and community education are legal activities in the country,” it said in a statement, adding that the private, vetted gathering would focus on well-being and health awareness, including HIV education.\n“We are not doing anything illegal, and this ‘threat’ is misplaced,” Dhia Rezki Rohaizad, Jejaka’s deputy president, told This Week in Asia.\nThe real risk, he said, came from “threats, misinformation and vilification”, which could “actually [be] the threat to peace”, particularly given “real and potential calls for provocations and vigilantism against us”.\n\nDhia said the group faced “very serious security concerns” because of social media threats to disrupt the event but vowed not to be forced into cancelling it.\n“We are not criminals, we are Malaysians … and we deserve to have safe spaces,” he added.\nThe row blew up after a promotional poster for the camping retreat circulated online, with the Selangor chapter of Malaysia’s Islamist party, Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), last week urging authorities to take action.\nThe poster features rainbow-themed artwork and advertises activities such as campfire storytelling, a runway show and a skit competition, with the Selangor venue listed as “to be announced”, according to material shared by the organisers.\nWe deserve to have safe spaces\nDhia Rezki Rohaizad, Jejaka’s deputy president\nSirajuddin Suhaimee, the director of Malaysia’s Islamic Development Department (Jakim), on Saturday said it was “closely monitoring” the programme with Selangor’s religious department and police.\nThe department would root out any efforts to “normalise” what it labelled as “unnatural sexual practices”, he added.\nMalaysian law still criminalises certain consensual same-sex acts under the federal Penal Code’s colonial-era “unnatural offences” provisions. Muslims can also be prosecuted under parallel sharia criminal law in PAS-held states for same-sex conduct or gender expression.\nKajang police opened an investigation under Section 504 of the Penal Code (insults likely to provoke a breach of the peace) and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (alleged misuse of online networks to send offensive content), after five complaints were made, state news agency Bernama reported on Saturday.\nThe dispute has reignited scrutiny of intolerance in Muslim-majority Malaysia of LGBTQ issues, which advocates say often pits public health outreach and civil society work against religious policing and morality enforcement.\nPrime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has previously ruled out legal recognition of LGBTQ rights during his tenure, and rights advocates say enforcement actions have helped drive the community further underground.\nThe latest row comes months after a raid in Kelantan that police initially framed as a “gay sex party” in mid-June. Civil society groups have disputed this claim, saying it was an HIV medical outreach programme.\n