Local media reports indicate that the Minister in the Prime Ministers Department (Religious Affairs), Zulkifli Hasan, has been at the receiving end of controversy following his remarks that attributed work related stress and social reasons to what he termed as LGBT behaviour evoking criticism and a broader debate among the population of Malaysia.
The response to it came in the form of a written answer given by Zulkifli in the Parliament when he was asked about the trend of LGBT in the country, in which he referenced a study conducted by Sulaiman et al. in 2017. The minister, in his response, pointed out that the role of an individual in the LGBT related behaviour might be affected by various factors among them being the social environment, past sexual experiences, work stress and individual circumstances.
Going by the study, Zulkifli indicated that there could not be single cause of such behaviour and that a conglomeration of factors could be involved in the formation of such behaviour. In his response, which was quoted by the media, he pointed out that such factors tend to interplay with each other and can have collective effects on the outcomes of individuals.
The minister was answering one of the questions asked by Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff, an Rantau Panjang MP, who wanted to have updated statistics and data of the issues related to the LGBTs in Malaysia. She had requested the government to supply data on trends, both age and ethnic of reported cases and the major factors felt to be contributing to an increase in reported cases.
The comments made by Zulkifli received instant criticism among activists and parts of the population who argued that he was propagating stereotypes and simplifying complicated problems. The remarks have since led to a wider debate on the place of the policy formulators, interpretation of scholarly research and how government deals with sensitive social matters in Malaysia.
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