Fridae

Swedish retail giant H&M has confirmed that its Pride Collection will not be made available in Malaysia. Anti-LGBT politician from the opposition UMNO party, Fathul Bari Mat Jahya, tweeted the company asking if it would sell its ‘Love For All’ collection in Malaysian stores. ‘I want to ask @hmmalaysia. Is H&M Malaysia also involved in the LGBT campaign as featured on the ig (Instagram) of H&M (UK) and United Nations Free & Equal ig?’ he wrote on Twitter. ‘That 10 percent of sales will be donated to the UN Free & Equal movement to support the LGBT struggle? Thank you @azmanhaj’. Abby Wee, H&M’s Singapore and Malaysia communications manager told Malaysiakini that the Love For All tags were from last year’s campaign. ‘With multiple collections launching each season, it is up to each local market to decide on what collections to carry,’ she said.

The LGBT Community is under increasing attack in Malaysia, where gay sex remains illegal under legislation dating from the British colonial era. Such attacks are being deployed as political tools, e.g. the leader of UMNO, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, blaming the LGBT Community for a deadly earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, stating that ‘If we look at the situation in Malaysia, we are concerned over the incident of earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Indonesia, recently, where it is believed more than 1000 [LGBT people] were involved in such activities’, ‘but the whole area was destroyed as part of God’s punishment.’

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