11. Malaysia
In both the federal and Sharia laws that Malaysia honors, homosexuality and ‘homosexual acts’ are all considered illegal. These homosexual acts – including sodomy – can be punishable by fines, whipping, and even prison time of up to 20 years. Homosexuality became hot news in the Southeast Asian country after former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was convicted and given a nine-year jail sentence for committing sodomy with his then speech writer and close-in aide in 1998.
In 2012, the Malaysian Ministry of Education released controversial guidelines that are addressed towards parents who are looking to detect signs of homosexuality in their children. In 2015, current Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak came under fire from LGBT rights activists worldwide for comparing members of the LGBT to the terror group ISIS. It is rather safe to say that Malaysia can get hostile to members of the LGBT.
Traveling to Malaysia as an LGBT member may mean you’d have to be discreet about your sexuality, stay in the urban areas where people are more tolerant, and never show PDA at all!
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