Malaysia’s state-run news agency Bernama reported on Saturday that a gay fitness centre at a shopping mall in Pulau Tikus, Penang wasraided by police on Friday night.
Seven men - a caretaker and six workers - aged between 20 and 30 were arrested. The report quoted Penang CID Chief SAC II Wan Abdullah Tunku Said as saying that police also seized three towels, massage oil, tissue boxes and a tube of lubrication jelly believed to be used during gay activities.
The Star also reported that the men would be investigated for committing acts of gross indecency under Section 377D of the Penal Code.
He added that the venue did not have a business licence and had been raided three times before in five months this year and 10 times last year.
The same weekend, the police raided two massage centres in Kuala Lumpur. The Star quoted the Malay-language tabloid Harian Metro as saying that the walls of the centres were plastered with pictures of male masseurs available to serve male clients.
According to The Star, 25 male clients were detained during the raid at the two centres which were equipped with closed-circuit television at the main entrance where clients were only admitted into the centres after giving a password.
Last Thursday, TV3’s 999 programme showed a 7-minute clip of a reporter going undercover with a concealed camera in a gay massage centre and a raid on an establishment in Cheras where the authorities stormed occupied private rooms.
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Reader's Comments
Now if you think about it, the same thing could be said about most countries including those referred to as the West, at the head of which is the US where "christian" (I insist on the quotation marks) fanaticism drives most of the southern states into bigotry, intolerance, self-righteousness, hatred and abuse of all sorts.
There recently was an article here on fridae about two guys in Malawi (South of Africa) who were sentenced to 14 years in jail for trying to organize a kind of marriage ceremony. I wrote two comments, the second one somewhat ironic about how "religion" could support such a barbaric sentence (which is precisely what the church in Malawi did)... and for the first time since I joined fridae and wrote comments on its articles, I received a hate mail. A real hate mail. From a man who is gay and a devout christian of whatever obedience (he didn't bother to tell me) and who obviously can't read anything that even slightly questions his religious masters without going nuts and extremely nasty. That's what his masters want actually - it's called manipulation -, and that's what religion does to people, to nations, to mankind.
Or maybe it's what people, nations and mankind do to religions... I would prefer it that way because it would imply that those religions are fundamentally and initially good even though their seeds keep falling on rotten soil...
not likely to vote for the current government and administration, in fact, will support whatever there is out there that isnt BN.
xoxoxo
As long there is the Penal Code in our law, against homosexual, as long the public mind still influenced by historic British colonization ruling, largely homophobic, lack of respect and understanding when concern of sexuality diversity, they will keep report and complain to authority. As long homosexual is criminalized in this country, there will be raids to gay places in coming days. This will never end. Police will still conduct "Ops" (operation). part 1,2 ,3 and so on, to gay places. esp if triggered by local Media.
There is no 1Malaysia when this issues concerned. Minority based sexual diversity is excluded.
this shows that those bastard cops are really corrupted.(well,not a surprise in Malay-corrupt-sia)sorry for being unpatriotic but Malaysia is doomed in the sense of LGBT rights, and this triggered me even more to leave and say Gaga Goodbye Lady Gay Gay Malaysia...(hope i don't get any hate mail like poster #3...gosh! who would hate such hunky daddy? XP)
shows how desperate they are to bring "sensationalized" news on screen to gain viewing popularity...
so malulah sassysetsuna(meioh? sailor pluto?)
The change in Penang and Selangor is marked.
The Mak Nyak in Penang is getting better known now by the DAP chap http://malaysiakusayang.blogspot.com
in singapore it is against the law but at the same time they tend to live and let live.they do not bother or raid places unless there is evidence of drugs or other activities.in malaysia,media n police are bent stirring up things w/o any reason.whereas in singapore,they dont report on tv about things that are done behind closed door and in private.
just my view.
The police should deal with problems such as this > http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2010%2F5%2F25%2Fstarprobe%2F6332643
but well police in Malaysia are a bunch of pussies, prey on the ones need to be protected while keep an eye shut for the chaotic groupies... that mentioned, reminded me of the few current police shootings on civilians... a mother(wounded with 5 shots) and a 15 yr old kid(dead)
Greed in power and laziness to think are the two components for the rationalisation of religion. Just and wise people don't need religion.
#3, Care to show the content of the hate mail you received. No need to say whom it's from if you dun want to. Just wondering why a so called "devout x-tian" would visit Fridae and post hate mail. :P
NYC and San Fran already closed most bathhouses since 2008... so passe this topic is.. arrest the owners, not the patrons, its just a money scam anyway
whatever happened to great gay romance and the art of the chase and using conversation and wit to get someone into the sack?
not into fast food sex at all, so yucky and non of my gay friends are either
oh well in other important news today, American teenagers are getting bigger sized free Trojans!
gosh, we love the name brand condoms!! so cool:)
High school students and college-age adults have been complaining to District officials that the free condoms the city has been offering are not of good enough quality and are too small and that getting them from school nurses is "just like asking grandma or auntie."
So D.C. officials have decided to stock up on Trojan condoms, including the company's super-size Magnum variety, and they have begun to authorize teachers or counselors, preferably male, to distribute condoms to students if the teachers complete a 30-minute online training course called "WrapMC" -- for Master of Condoms.
The reason is I believe that there are in fact mostly good points in the teachings of the individuals who initiated all the great religions. However the gap between their ACTUAL teaching and the religion supposedly based on it is abyssal.
There is evil in this world, that's for sure. It seems to be deeply ingrained in human beings, and has this amazing talent for turning gold into lead with a flourish. That's what happened to the teachings of Buddha, Christ, Mohammed, Confucius, Lao Tse, Gandhi, and many others who tried to show human beings how to suffer less, fear less, hate less and understand more. Their "faithful" followers will take the matter into their hands real fast and all too often end up doing the exact opposite, thus actually helping the devil, directly or indirectly, but always in the name of the prophet ... brrr....
If they were to magically come back all of a sudden, the said prophets who are at the source of every great religion would probably be the first to fight head on the institutions which have since then confiscated their teachings and turned them into instruments of power, manipulation and more than often, death. Fighting the established religion of his time was exactly what Christ did, by the way, and it cost him his life.
To illustrate this, it is interesting to see the huge difference between the 4 Gospels and the Epistles of St Paul. They clearly show how a rather mystical and esoterical teaching can quickly turn into a doctrine (to its followers it becomes "The Truth" rather than a "Way") and all with the best intentions in the world of course.
This is why I do not need to publish the hate mail i received and certainly not give the guy's ID or report him to Fridae. He's not worth the trouble, since he's just another indoctrinated zealot and as such I pity him but I certainly don't hate him. I have no reason to be hurt by his attitude, because it's a mechanical reaction on his part, and it's absurd to hate the drill of the dentist even if it causes a momentary pain in your jaw.
the problem in malaysia is....the reporter n tv presenter who r bring this gay issue in malaysian media is actually gay & bisexual
they r hypocrite....at least...we know...the anwar told AFP long time ago...that sex between male 2 male is consider ur private life...n that law must be change or deleted
p/s : i saw that article from axcest.com 3 years ago
Not wishing to take that risk I did not go.
I feel sorry for gay people in Malaysia its a terrible law I hope that they can somehow bring about political change to change the law.
The media and the police are just picking on a minority group. It makes the majority feel safe because it looks like the law is working. It might be working but it is wasting its resources on victim-less crime. It is like having a train that runs smoothly but doesn't take anyone anywhere useful.
Malaysia and Malawi, are they two similar countries. Both are post-colonial and practise imported religions that dabble in imaginary real estate and earthly politics.
Is there a heroin trade in Malaysia? I bet there is. How is is able to flourish. Who turns a blind eye? What are they doing instead of chasing the heroin kingpins. Persecuting minorities.
Thankfully Australia has moved on a little since then, but only a little
Prostitution isn't exactly a glamorous thing to do, straight or gay, so I stand neutral to this. It's not helping that students are working there for their school fees or allowance. Probably something more constructive the government should do to help these people.
It would have been another story if the police raided a licensed gay outlet doing an honest business. A direct discrimination against LGBT community.
like, doesnt the police like, have anything better to do? stop harassing our fellow brothers and sisters there lah please.
however, i believe instead of making fun or rude comments, we should be more sympathetic and perhaps more supportive toward the more unfortunate ones.
i hope the younger generation of the singaprean do realize that, we are depending on each other. there's really no need to make hostile comments, and keep measuring their success (largely economically) by comparing to their poorer and less developed neighbour, malaysia.
as the X MEN say, united we stand.
btw, quite contradicting to the media's portrait, i think most gay guys here do not live in fear. we club and date and fall in love, just like those in singapore and bangkok.
It's very easy to judge other countries, though, isn't it? Any gay Malaysian could read the recent article about what happened recently in Malawi and think, "Well I'm glad I don't live in THAT cesspool of a country where two men are sentenced to 14 years of hard labor just for publicly declaring their love for each other!"
A Singaporean might (and actually did) look at Malaysia and state, "So glad I don't live in that draconian country where they're still raiding gay establishments."
An American may look at Singapore and think, "Well, thank god I don't live in that stupid little country where having sex with another man is actually ILLEGAL. Wow. Can you get caned for that?"
Then a Belgian or a Canadian could very well say, "Wow, I'm so glad I don't live in the uptight, puritanical United States where gays can't get married in 46 of the 50 states, and even in the states where they can marry, they still get no federal recognition or benefits."
And around and around it goes... like #32 mentioned, it's much more helpful and empowering for gays if we actually support each other instead of basically adopting that "sucks to be you" approach that #5 did.
I know that Singaporeans are conditioned from birth to believe that they're superior to everyone (kind of like us Americans are -- and wrongly so, I might add) -- but every nation has its shortcomings. Except for maybe Norway. They seem to have a lot on the ball, don't they? :P
So for any of you guys living on the Little Red Dot who think you've got it so good down there as a gay man, please take me out on a night of gay clubbing on my next business trip there. I would love to see how it stacks up to the gay nightlife and dollar vodka nights and trashy gay stripper bars back home in the States. Then we can talk about how progressive and open-minded Singapore REALLY is... or isn't. :)
This story is to remind people of the court case going on against the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of his second sodomy charge.
In the criminal history of Malaysia, the penal code of of men-to-men anal sex (which thanks to the Bristish law where we inherited) was hardly invoked until the super drama unfolds 12 years ago by the "Maverick" Dr. M to discredit his ex-deputy (Prime Minister) at that play.
Admittedly at times there were raids on gay outlets (more sexual activities related) in the country but hardly on gay drinking bars etc. Police usually will not disturb what is between 2 men in the room in private.
May I just add some local political perspective here.
Social change is slow, arduous, and oftentimes contentious. Bowing down and acceding to the establishment over and over again serves no one, least of all the trod-upon minority. As history has repeatedly shown us, change will only take place when people stand up for themselves and demand equal rights.
1) a country whose constitution states that its national faith is Muslim,
2) a legal system incorporating Muslim courts,
3) a society with the majority being Muslims, straight and conservative,
4) both secular and Muslim courts have anti-gay laws
5) (most importantly), just a spot on Earth
should listen to an insignificant minority.
In raiding these businesses the authorities involved are negatively impacting the public health programmes we run at PT Foundation.
The communities most affected by HIV in Malaysia are already very marginalized and this activity will drive them further underground thus making our work more difficult and HIV prevention harder to achieve.
It is unfortunate that the police had tipped off the local media to intentionally seek maximum publicity on the raids conducted. The media hype further deters operators of such premises from taking part in harm reduction programmes with PT Foundation.
PT Foundation will continue to work with the Malaysian AIDS Council on the following steps to support our HIV prevention programmes:
* Document all cases to ensure an accurate record of these activities is captured
* Dialogue with the authorizes involved to highlight the HIV prevention and public health issues involved
* Meeting with specific media owners to dialogue and educate them on the impact of their reporting
* Workshop for the business owners to build their capacity on how to ensure our HIV prevention programmes can continue to run in their venues.
btw, is it safe for me to go to the QAF sessions and any other program(s) that is from PT? will there be raids? or no?
For those of you interested, check out PT Foundation's Fridae page and add us! There is information about everything PT does in KL and the Klang Valley in Malaysia, including events conducted.
Another massage center article covering the snake massage.
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