Asian Morality

Not enough has been said of Singapore's recent decision to uphold Section 377A of the Penal Code despite efforts by prominent Singaporeans to repeal it. The decision serves a blow not just to LGBT rights in Singapore but to the SE Asia region (with the exclusion of Thailand) as well because Singapore is seen as the bellwether for its neighbors. When secular Singapore decides to uphold 377A, Muslim dominated Malaysia and Indonesia will see no reason to discuss the matter. They will reason that if a secular SE Asian nation cannot find support to repeal the act (which exists in a similar form in Malaysia and Indonesia), then it will fail to achieve significance in their country as well.
The discussion in the Singaporean Parliament was, as usual, rife with doublespeak. PM Lee Hsien Loong's call to allow LGBT individuals (but more specifically gays) to have a place in society and live unharassed private lives was negated by his decision to keep the draconian act.
PM Lee and his supporters fail to see that by criminalizing homosexuality, the Singaporean parliament sends a message to Singaporeans that LGBT individuals are fair game for both government and society. It sends a message to employers that it is all right to fire an employee if someone see him walk into a gay bar. It sends a message to constituents that gay men are inferior to the rest of society and cannot hold a political post. It sends a message to the school bully who sees it as validation for taunting the 'faggot' in his class. PM Lee fails to see that by repealing the act he doesn't allow gays to "set the tone for Singapore society" but by upholding it, he allows homophobes to do just that.
On the bright side, some proponents of the repeal have found success despite the decision. The discussion in the Parliament was the first discussion regarding homosexuality, a breakthrough in sex-averse Singapore. Furthermore, it allowed LGBT individuals to come out of the woodwork in the public sphere for the first time and show heterosexual Singaporeans that the perceptions of LGBT individuals as child molesters were false.
It's a sad week for many of us but the battle is uphill from here. The conversation must go on.

Beer for Malaysian Queers

Walking down a busy street packed with bars, clubs and tourists, looking for La Queen, a popular gay club in KL, I realize my gross underestimation of the gay scene here. Instead of a dark back alley with a nondescript entrance, the club stands three storeys tall on the corner of a busy intersection, a rainbow flag draped conspicuously over the front door. After hesitatingly paying the 30 ringgit cover charge, I climb the stairs to the main dance floor. At 11:30, it is nearly at full capacity with boys dressed in their twillight best, gal pals in tow. I stand on the sidelines for a while but soon realizing my awkwardness, I decide to explore the place a bit. The level above the dancefloor contains its own bar and balcony and above that, another alcove and loungey room with beds (!) and couches. I see the requisite glass birdcage that hangs from every gay club I've been to and upon closer inspection, I realize that it's a glass birdcage WITH a shower. In between the spurts from the fog machine, I realize how much La Queen reminded me of Pure in Philadelphia or G-A-Y in London, a serious party venue with plenty of eye candy and loads of fun.

Since I still don't have any pictures to show you, I'm doing the next best thing: Steal someone else's photo from Flickr.

This is a photo of one the bars along Jalan P. Ramlee, a street close to the twin towers where revellers pack the street every weekend.

Queer Malaysia

Here's some gay news from Malaysia to spice things up. I don't really know what to make of the level of acceptance of LGBT people here since on one hand, we're seeing very real homophobia from political leaders but on the other hand, the media is quite tolerant about LGBT issues (last week, they ran an op-ed piece by a M to F transgendered person).