KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Melaka Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam told reporters he wants “firm action” to be taken against a Malaysian gay pastor who held a same-sex marriage reception in the country earlier this month. Rustam, who is also Melaka Islamic Religious Council chairman, said the action of the pastor was “contempt” and added that it was not only disastrous to the country and Islam, “but also to other religions, which opposed same-sex marriages. “They are clearly challenging the laws and the values of our country, especially in the month of Ramadan, so I hope the government can bring this matter to face justice,” he said. Malaysian-born Ngeo Boon Lin and his African-American husband Phineas Newborn III, quietly held the closed reception on Saturday, reports said. The couple even stole public kisses and had karaoke ballad performances with some 200 guests, including a handful of Chinese-language journalists who were asked not to report on the event until afterward. It came on the heels of Malaysian government officials lashing out at the LGBT community, including Prime Minister Najib Razak, who said last month that the gay community was “un-Islamic" and had “no role" in Malaysia society. “We're thankful to be able to make Malaysian history here," Newborn said. “I think it is great that we as a society are able to accept this kind of thing despite our conservative clerics continuing to be antagonistic towards the gay community," said Asha Mahammad, a 22-year-old university student in Kuala Lumpur. “All my friends are really excited and hopefully this will show Malaysia as a gay friendly country that is also Muslim," she told Bikyamasr.com. The 41-year-old commonly known as Ouyang Wen Feng among the Malaysian-Chinese community currently lives in the US. When news of the US wedding broke, Christian groups, politicians and non-government organizations alike rushed to slash Ngeo. Some NGOs asked the government to ban their Malaysian wedding in advance, but Ngeo was adamant about proceeding with it. Ngeo has always been a controversial figure in Malaysia, where he opened the first gay-friendly church in the country in 2007. But, it could be a turning point in Malaysia's ongoing struggle for LGBT acceptance, which has seen numerous calls for dialogue to take place in the Islamic country towards changing existing legislation that is anti-gay.
