Civil society groups and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil have expressed their outrage following a report in Malaysia’s New Straits Times newspaper that the Terengganu Education Department has sent 66 schoolboys with ‘effeminate’ tendencies to a boot camp. The four-day camp, which started on Sunday, is said to comprise religious and motivational classes and physical activities.
In a report titled “Besut boot camp for 66 sissies”, the Times on Monday quoted education department director Razali Daud as saying that the camp, which is officially called a "self-development course", is being held to intervene before the boys “reach the point of no return.”
He said the boys aged between 13 and 17 were identified by their schoolteachers in Terengganu state as students who displayed 'effeminate' mannerisms. It is not clear what 'effeminate' mannerisms mean.
"We understand that some people end up as mak nyah (transvestite) or a homosexual, but we will do our best to limit the number," Razali was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has declared the camp to be illegal and called for it to be abolished in a statement released on Tuesday, reported The Malaysian Insider.
“We believe that such ‘boot camps’ must be abolished on the basis that they are harmful and do not serve the best interest of the child, and are therefore in clear violation of the Child Act 2001.”
“Every child is entitled to protection and assistance in all circumstances without regard to distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, social origin or physical, mental or emotional disabilities or any other status,” added the minister, referring to the preamble of the Act.
“The experience of being singled out on the basis of perceived characteristics is an extremely traumatising experience, particularly for adolescent teens.” She was quoting as saying in the New Straits Times.
The education department has also come under fire for violating the basic tenets of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which Malaysia ratified in 1995. In a letter published by Malaysiakini.com on Tuesday, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG), a coalition of seven women’s groups including Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) and Sisters in Islam (SIS), blasted the education department for “perpetuating restrictive gender stereotyping” which will ultimately be “detrimental to the development” of the children involved.
“Article 2 of the CRC dictates that all children should be accorded equal rights and treatment without exception, the Education Department of Besut is clearly in violation of this.
“Secondly, the role of education as entrenched in Article 29, is to nurture the personality and talents of the child and inculcate respect for human rights in preparation for responsible adulthood. However, the boys in this case have been denied and persecuted for the expression of their personalities and identities,” the letter read.
PT Foundation, a community-based organisation that provides HIV/AIDS and sexuality education and care services, said in a statement made available to Fridae that it disagrees with the education department’s stance that any ‘effeminate’ behaviour needs to be modified and that "if not corrected" may lead to homosexuality and transexuality.
“By forcing them [the boys] to change is to tell them that they are not acceptable as they are. As far as I am aware, no religions force such doctrines on their followers. These teenagers may become scarred for life and it will take many years of counseling and psychotherapy to be able to accept themselves as they are.” Said Acting Executive Director & Programme Director Raymond Tai.
The northern Malaysian state of Terengganu, which is governed by the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition after a short rule by the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) from 1999 until 2004, is said to socially conservative. The PAS is however said to enjoy strong support from the state of Terengganu.