Media Quote
27 February 2026
Responding to the recent announcement in Parliament by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (Religious Affairs), Marhamah Rusdi, that the government has directed that the term “LGBT” be discontinued and replaced with “deviant culture” or “budaya songsang”, Amnesty International Malaysia’s Campaigner, Qistina Johari said:
“We strongly condemn this appalling decision by the government. When public officials label LGBTI people as ‘deviant’, they are not upholding morality—they are legitimizing hate and discrimination against a highly vulnerable group. Words from those in power carry weight and real-world consequences.”
“Use of such hateful terminology legitimizes violence and discrimination against LGBTI people in Malaysia. Government leaders should never weaponize language against marginalized communities. The past weeks and months have seen an alarming rise in human rights violations against LGBTI people in Malaysia. We urge the government to reverse this reckless decision, and end its harmful attacks against LGBTI people immediately,” said Qistina Johari.
Background
On 26 February 2026, the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (Religious Affairs), Marhamah Rusdi, said that the government will discontinue the use of the term “LGBT” which will instead be referred to as “deviant culture” in public discourse and on social media platforms with immediate effect. The minister stated that frequent use of the term “LGBT” could cause related content to proliferate via algorithms and described measures by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to monitor and report content they deem in breach of legal or religious norms.
The statement comes amid an increasingly hostile environment for LGBTI people in Malaysia. In recent months, authorities have cancelled events and carried out raids against venues perceived to be linked to the LGBTI community, while civil society groups have raised concerns about censorship and discrimination.
For more information, kindly contact AIM’s Communications Officer, Divya Shesshsan at [email protected]