Court upholds police ban on gay festival in Malaysia

[Gaybutton]

Court upholds police ban on gay festival in Malaysia

March 1, 2012

Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian court on Thursday rejected a petition by gay rights activists to review a police ban on its arts and music festival in Kuala Lumpur.

High Court Judge Rohana Yusuf said the police were entitled to order the ban on the festival called Seksualiti Merdeka, meaning sexuality independence, which was to have been held in November.

The police banned the festival on safety grounds after Muslim groups threatened to disrupt the event which aimed to promote dialogue about gay issues.

The organisers challenged the ban in the court in January.

Pang Kee Teik, one of the organisers of the event, lamented the decision of the court.

"When the police’s arbitrary powers cannot be reviewed in court, we are allowing the police to get away with abuse of power," he said in a statement.

He said he would continue to fight for the rights of homosexuals, transgenders and bisexuals.

"We want to remind them that they too have family members and friends who can be helped by the work that Seksualiti Merdeka does," he said.


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