KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Education Minister Mohd Puad Zarkashi lashed out over the weekend the few campaigns that jokingly criticized the governments recent efforts to “educate” parents on how to catch “symptoms” of their children being gay or lesbian. He said that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues int he country “should not be a joking matter.” He was commenting on the recent campaigns that saw a local restaurant offer discounts and free biryani to men wearing V-neck t-shirts after the government labeled that one of the tell-tale signs of a potential gay child. He added that his ministry is determined to push forward to “curb the trend of LGBT” in Malaysia's schools. He said this “trend” appears to be prevalent in society and popular media, making it imperative for the government to prevent it from penetrating schools.” LGBT activists have laughed at his comments, but told Bikyamasr.com that the reality is the government continues to attack something as if it is a disease, “instead of understanding that it is not a choice.” But the minister was obstinate. “It is not prevalent in school yet but preventive action is needed to ensure that it does not spread among students,” he said. When asked how prevalent the phenomenon is in schools, he said the ministry has no data currently. “I don't know because we don't have the facts. We don't have the data to show how serious it is,” he told the Sunday Star. He added that when the issue “exploded” – specifically the disputed LGBT-symptom guidelines – he received a lot of criticism, but it has only made his belief that the LGBT lifestyle “is not a healthy way of life.” “There are two reasons: it is the biggest cause of HIV after drugs. It also causes a lot of social problems such as broken marriages. That is why we need to nip it in the bud,” he said, even though international health professionals have dispelled the myth that being gay or lesbian is a cause of HIV. Activists in the country have repeatedly spoken out against the continued crackdown on the LGBT community, which has seen ministers and officials level accusations against the community over the past few months ahead of a general election. Reiterating the government's commitment to its project, the minister stressed that it is crucial for parents to get exposure and knowledge of the LGBT trend so that they can be more vigilant of the signs and tackle the threat early. However, he declined to elaborate on what action would be taken to “correct” or “prevent” LGBT in schools, arguing instead that the “science of it is debatable.” “I don't want to be drawn into the debate of whether it (LGBT) is a lifestyle or natural instinct. That is why we want to bring it out in the open because it can be debated on. However, it is not something that should be joked about,” he continued.
