Amnesty slams ‘deviant’ label for LGBT community

2026-02-27 - 08:43

Amnesty International campaigner Qistina Johari urged the government to reject the deputy minister’s suggestion to label the LGBT community as ‘deviant’. (Facebook pic) PETALING JAYA: Human rights group Amnesty International Malaysia has slammed deputy religious affairs minister Marhamah Rosli’s call for the public to use the term “deviant” when referring to the LGBT community. Amnesty campaigner Qistina Johari said the “deviant culture” label was akin to legitimising violence and discrimination against a vulnerable group, fuelling hatred and discrimination. She urged the government to reject the suggestion and end what she described as harmful attacks against the LGBT community. “Words from those in power carry weight and real-world consequences. Government leaders should never weaponise language against marginalised communities,” Qistina said in a statement. Marhamah told the Dewan Negara yesterday that people should use the term “deviant culture” when referring to the LGBT lifestyle to prevent its normalisation and promotion. She claimed that repeated use of the “LGBT” term on social media could cause more of related content to appear through search algorithms, thereby “unintentionally promoting deviant culture”. Earlier, women’s rights group SIS Forum (Malaysia) also criticised Marhamah over her statement, saying it came with both legal and social consequences. SIS communications manager Ameena Siddiqi said the Federal Constitution does not recognise “deviant” citizens and that Article 8(1) instead guaranteed that all persons were equal before the law and entitled to equal protection. Describing this as “selective moral outrage”, Ameena questioned why the “deviant” label was not tagged on to those involved in corruption or sexual violence.