When Big Brother enters the bedroom

FREE VOXPOP 'When Umno made use of the mosque to allow Saiful to reveal his ‘unholy' act, we didn't hear Harussani say why allow a gay man to speak in the mosque.'

Utusan, BH says Anwar now backs gay rights

Hani: I have my own views on homosexuality, but I do not support punishing them, and that's what Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was trying to say too.

Everyone has rights, including the LBGT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community.

Tbala: Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria said, "Muslims must oppose same sex relationships be it between males or females."

I don't remember Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan opposing it. In fact, he voluntarily and wittingly engaged in an unnatural act only to complain about it later for political gain. Saiful did it for the sake of winning political support for Umno-BN, but you said nothing.

In the fight between Anwar and Saiful, both Umno and BN, including its allies, took the side of Saiful. We didn't hear you say why you support a gay person then.

When Umno made use of the mosque to allow Saiful to reveal his ‘unholy' act, we didn't hear you say why allow a gay man to speak in the mosque.

When Saiful adamantly dragged God to be his witness after having voluntarily engaged in an unholy act, we didn't hear you ask him not to drag God into this.

Vgeorgemy: Harussani, even DPM Muyhiddin Yassin is fighting for the rights of Saiful, who admits carrying gel for such activities. Remember, the charge by Saiful against Anwar was consensual sex.

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: For Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian, Anwar must be gay or bisexual. For the rakyat, Umno of course is full of gays, bisexuals, lesbians, womanisers and the occasional murderer.

It is just that the Umno ‘deviants' are always protected by the government and the media. They practise and indulge in their ‘alternative' lifestyle in private, secluded and well-guarded surroundings or abroad.

If Anwar's detractors took half the time to read and understand his comments, it will be abundantly clear that he is not advocating gay and lesbian rights or same-sex marriage. He merely said that outdated and archaic laws ought to be reviewed and abolished if deemed suitable.

The state has no business to interfere with any form of consensual sex whether straight or gay provided that the parties are adults and it is done in private.

Islamic law prohibits homosexuality, that will not change and it will continue to apply to Muslims. But the secular civil law must be reformed to respect human rights, dignity and privacy.

Ferdtan: Ironically the more they attack, the more popular Anwar becomes - judging from the crowd attending his ceramahs prior and after to the court verdict on 901.

If there is a smack of truth in such allegations - just a little - the people would not be fooled to keep on believing in him.

Please come out to engage in something more which will benefit the country, like talking about the runaway corruption and the state of our country's economy.

If you like sex, please keep it to the confinement of your bedrooms. We are not interested.

Manjit Bhatia: What would be wrong if Anwar were to recognise gay rights? Absolutely nothing at all.

With the typically unintellectual views of the three stooges still locked in their Islamic dark ages, Anwar may well want to drag a culturally regressive and ideologically repressive Malaysia into the 21st century by protecting the rights of this minority group of human beings.

And if I could put this in stark terms, to those who use their grossly bastardised versions of their faith steeped in their rank hypocrisy: to hell with your faith.

When you lie, deceive, practice racism, discrimination, repression and unjustly punish others - as you have - you make a complete mockery of your own faith and total idiots of yourselves.

Blind Freddo: Any religion that thinks it's acceptable to sacrifice the reasoning powers of young Malays just to protect its own empire is in no position to be critical of others.

Heaven forbid that anyone should let religion dominate the decision making in the face of the facts, tolerance and common sense. This statement by the mufti shows just how insecure Muslims are as regards their religion.

Open Minded: There is a never ending onslaught against Anwar and many people like me are getting fed up of it and totally disgusted with this incessant character assassination. But I suppose it works to Anwar's advantage.

Podeh: Harussani and the rest of Malaysia's Islamic clerics, please come live in the real world of today. Sex - both straight or gay - is between consenting adults and has nothing to do with anybody else.

You'll be surprised at the goings-on behind closed doors amongst adults of all religions, including Islam.

Islamic and Catholic clerics however, are so ossified in their fatwas that they can't or are not willing to change.
In the more than one and a half millennium that Islam has been around, the world has changed beyond belief. Only the hardcore traditionalists, especially the religious ones, remain as if cast in stone.

Docs: So Harussani, are not gays also human? Are not gays also eligible to vote? Anyhow thanks to Harussani and Utusan, Pakatan has just got the support of the gay community.

Proarte: Certain religions may disapprove of sodomy and they have every right to do so but that is not the issue. We have freedom of worship in Malaysia and individuals are free to disagree with religious views on sodomy.

Section 377 is a Victorian law which is unworkable and illogical. It criminalises even oral sex let alone sodomy between consenting adults.

What is the religious injunction against oral sex? There is none but yet this archaic law criminalises more than 90 percent of sexually active heterosexual Malaysians.

Clearly there needs to be a review of these ridiculous laws. Even India, which is a conservative country, has repealed its anti-sodomy and anti-oral sex laws.

Religious orders are free to preach what they deem to be appropriate or inappropriate sexual practices but they cannot dictate what individuals do in their bedroom as that would be flouting their freedom of worship and rights to privacy.

There is a clear distinction between recognising sexual rights and promoting sodomy.

Keturunan Malaysia: It is as good as blaming God for this minority creation of His as the said creations are not at fault for what they are...

Changeagent: Anwar diplomatically sidesteps the question about advocating for gay rights and talks instead about reviewing punitive and discriminatory laws against them.

The idiotic mufti chooses to misinterpret the statement as an unequivocal support for gay rights. As Aunty Bersih would say, they are not at the same level.


Ex-MCA chief Tee Keat denies joining opposition

Bluemountains: Former MCA chief Ong Tee Keat must realise that he has no more future in his party, especially after he was betrayed by his lieutenants at the EGM (emergency general meeting) in which he was ousted as president.

They will make it absolutely certain that Ong does not get nominated for the 13th GE. The writing is already on the wall and yet he is still hoping against hope.

Anonymous: _05: Tee Keat, the appropriate time to make your announcement is now and your best announcement will be that you'll be quitting politics for good.

Whatever you had done or failed to do, your time is over. The opposition does not want you either.

Jeremy Ng: His time as active politician is over. Ong should instead concentrate on being an elder statesman to assist Pakatan Rakyat to knock off BN in the coming election.

If he is sincere, he should not stand as an election candidate. As an ex-MCA president, he should have stood up against all the abuses within BN then.

Little Han2: If you don't want to join PKR or DAP, it's fine but please leave MCA and contest Pandan as an independent.

I am sure the people of Pandan will return you with a bigger majority since you have served them well as an MP.

Malaysians owe you for your steadfast and persistent efforts to unearth the PKFZ (Port Klang Free Zone) scandal and as far as we are concerned, Chua Soi Lek is the leader of MCA, not the Chinese Malaysians or Malaysians in general.

Yes, fight on sir, even as an independent. Malaysia needs people like you.

Fair Play: Frankly Ong, if you have no intention of joining the opposition, why bother meeting with them? Are you still 'negotiating' for a better deal and thus now is not the time to make an official announcement?

If you stand as an Independent in Pandan against a Pakatan candidate, I have my doubts you would be re-elected.

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