A strong religious grounding and presumably upbringing in the precepts of one’s faith, will save one from being a gay.
At least, that is what Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir believes to being a deterrent from plunging into homosexuality.
Though the comments were reported by the Malay Mail in 2014 the former premier said homosexuality is prevalent because the gay and lesbian communities have been following their emotions and lust. He once caustically noted that the world would come to an end because of men marrying men and women marrying women.
“If you understand your religion, you will never be gay,” the 88-year-old said after a lecture in the International Islamic University Malaysia “If you strengthen your faith, your iman, then you’ll never be gay,” he added (http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/those-with-strong-faith-wont-ever-be-gay-dr-m-says)
Dr Mahathir said that one of the dangers posed by the LGBT community is that they cannot have children, despite religion prescribing sex as a way to procreate.
“It is good that they are having gay marriages, very soon they will disappear,” Dr Mahathir added, referring to the Western world.
Homosexuality and liberal sexual attitudes are hot political potatoes in conservative leaning Malaysia which is predominantly Muslim.
Malaysia’s Islamic anchor is deeply rooted in the psyche of the nation that it was cause for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to object to the inclusion of LGBT rights when signing Asean’s first human rights charter in 2012, saying Malaysia could not accept principles that went against the order of human nature.
In the same year, the Education Ministry was forced to deny endorsing any guideline on spotting homosexuality symptoms among schoolchildren, following its then deputy minister’s apparent support for a controversial list that has triggered widespread disapproval. Mohd Puad Zarkashi, who was the then-deputy education minister also said in March 2011 that his ministry may look into extending a parenting seminar on how to curb LGBT activities, to all districts in order to reach out to a wider group.
Malaysia’s ‘detente’ with homosexuality is an uneasy alliance of tolerating homosexuals but not condoning homosexuality.
Malaysia’s highest profile case was that involving the nation’s former deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 who was fired and later imprisoned for sodomy.