In a survey conducted by market research company Ipsos, more than half of Malaysian respondents agreed that transgender people should be allowed to live their lives as they please, free from restrictions.
Ipsos said that 54% of respondents from Malaysia agreed with the statement, compared to 40% who disagreed, in the report of the 2023 edition of its Global Trends survey, which was published this week.
“While it is tempting to think that it is the youngest members of society who care the most about people being able to define their own identity, these beliefs are actually fairly consistent across the age groups,” it noted.
“We saw earlier that large differences remain between markets when it comes to transgender rights. Within countries those of different ages tend to think somewhat similarly, suggesting, perhaps, that, without the driving force of youthful energy, these beliefs may not change too much over the coming years.”
The common view held among conservatives in Malaysia is that queer people are part of liberalism which they (the conservatives) perceive as a threat to their traditional beliefs.
Considering their heavy reliance on Malay votes, past and present administrations have always taken a harsh stance toward the LGBTQ community to appease the majority.
The Ministry of Home Affairs banned three publications deemed harmful to Malaysian morals earlier this month including two that contained LGBT elements.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to advance legal reforms last month in order to better protect minority communities, including LGBT people.
The international watchdog’s deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said the Malaysian government should stop abuses against the LGBT community at the local launch of HRW’s World Report 2023, which documents country-specific human rights violations from the previous year.
However, in a televised interview in January, Anwar stated that his government would never formally recognise the LGBT community or secularism in Malaysia.
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