Many online attacks against Malaysian LGBTQs begin with other social media users (although some suspect that political or religious groups can help coordinate them). Individual threats can escalate. For example, when a social media post or account is deemed “insulting Islam” and reported to the police, the poster may face state surveillance, arrest and prosecution. Many of these responses are under the auspices of the controversial Multimedia and Communications Act, passed in 1998, which gives authorities broad powers to regulate media and communications in the country.
Numan Afifi, one of Malaysia’s most high-profile activists, packed a suitcase and left the country in July 2017 after the government threatened to prosecute him for organizing an LGBTQ event. He spent six months traveling between six different countries. He often sleeps on sofas, has no income, and has no idea if he’ll ever be able to return. He said law firms offered him pro bono support for him to seek asylum.
But before the 2018 election, which many hope will lead to a more progressive government, Afifi went home instead. “I decided to return to Malaysia believing in my dream” tweet of the era in 2019. “I still believe in that dream for myself and for the thousands of gay children who are like me in our schools.” Doesn’t she feel at risk? “Yes, always,” he says. “But you still have to do it because people need our services. I have to do it.”
Pakatan Harapan, a coalition considered to be on the more progressive end of the political spectrum, won Malaysia’s May 2018 election. At first, there were signs that the group intended to deliver on its promise to put improvements in human rights, including LGBTQ rights, at the top of its political agenda.. One week before the administration, Afifi was appointed as a member of the press by the minister of youth and sports. In July, the newly appointed minister of religious affairs called for an end to discrimination against LGBTQ people, which is seen as a significant break from the status quo in the workplace. But there have been a number of high-profile setbacks over the months. Afifi resigned amid growing public backlash over the appointment of an LGBTQ activist. Police raided a Kuala Lumpur nightclub popular with gay men. Two women were arrested for “attempted lesbian sex” in a car and beaten with a stick.
Since the 2018 election, human rights defenders have warned of an alarming erosion of human rights in the country, which goes beyond the treatment of LGBTQ communities to the treatment of immigrants and broader questions of censorship and freedom of expression. During Pride Month in June 2021, a government task force went so far as to propose expanding an existing Sharia law that allows action against those who insult Islam to specifically target people who “promote LGBT lifestyles” online. “Things just got worse, like really, really bad,” says one activist, who asked not to be identified for security reasons. “I don’t know what will happen.”
Despite the risks, many activists are clear: If online platforms are the latest battleground for LGBTQ rights, this is where they will take a stand.
For example, at organizations like the trans-led SEED Foundation in Kuala Lumpur, experts have been brought in to educate members on the intricacies of cybersecurity, helping them how to prevent device tracking, prevent social media accounts from being hacked, and prevent social media accounts from being hacked. stop tracking of emails.
Malaysian authorities to block access to websites, private blogs and news articles. 233 of the Multimedia and Communications Act. The law allows removal of any content deemed “obscene, indecent, false, threatening or offensive”; this is a definition used to censor international LGBTQ websites such as Planet Romeo and Gay Star News. While equally vulnerable, smaller local sites have so far avoided this fate. But many remain cautious about digital security. One activist says the site he’s on gets hacked every six months. “With risk assessments for everything we do, we always have to think about back-end security,” adds she.
