In Malaysia today, gay men and women are frowned upon by officials and the police due to their own beliefs and qualms about the subject matter.

They don’t seem to want to diversify our culture and make it safe for everyone to practise what they believe just as long as it is not harming anybody. They can’t accept the fact that there are gay people in this country and want to suppress their lifestyle.

This was exactly the sort of thing that caused the AIDS epidemic in America. It wasn’t legal for gay men to exist as people, so they went underground and safe sex was not even in the picture.

Gays have a history dating back to the early 1900s. Safe sex was enforced on the premises of these now legalised venues and the AIDS epidemic started to reverse.

The more the police raid these “gay parties”, the more the parties are going to go underground, making it even more unsafe for the participants.

I am actually glad to have heard that there were condoms available at these venues.

Countries that have legalised these establishments as sex-on-premises venues have strict regulations on what has to be available so that the health of the participants are not at risk.

The problem lies in the fact that these practices are labelled “indecent”. It is discriminatory for these raids to happen; in fact, the “indecent” label is discriminatory as well. The lawmakers in this country should really just grow up and smell the roses. There is a gay community in this country who pays taxes and contributes in many ways to the culture and lifestyle of this country.

If you want to say that Malaysia is “Truly Asia”, then these rules and these acts of discrimination should be well and truly behind us.

[Submitted to Star by] JAU, Kuala Lumpur.

Direct link: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/5/focus/2454441&sec=focus