Activists slam censorship of LGBTIQ materials
Published on: Wed, Jul 16, 2025
By: Yee Suet Mun, FMT Text Size: Amnesty International Malaysia and Justice for Sisters said censorship under the PPPA fosters discrimination, silences voices, and undermines public understanding. PETALING JAYA: Human rights groups have raised concerns over the censorship of LGBTIQ-related content in Malaysia, warning that it fuels marginalisation, social division, discrimination, and identity suppression. According to a joint report by Amnesty International Malaysia and Justice for Sisters, 13 LGBTIQ-themed items were banned under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 between 2020 and May 2025. These accounted for 42% of the 31 publications banned during that period.
Advertisement The bans were distributed across the years as follows: two in 2022, four in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and two in the first five months of 2025. 'We see how morality, public order and national security are used to target LGBTIQ publications, but these are not legitimate justifications,' Justice for Sisters co-founder Thilaga Sulathireh told a press conference on the report's release. She added that the censorship had little to do with morality or safety, saying it was instead aimed at silencing and erasing the community. The report, titled 'Censorship of LGBTIQ Expressions under the PPPA', said the law had become a tool for state-sanctioned discrimination, in violation of international standards on freedom of expression and non-discrimination. It urged the home ministry to halt proposed amendments to the PPPA and instead develop a roadmap toward its repeal, among other recommendations. Amnesty International Malaysia's freedom of expression campaigner Kiran Kaur claimed that the PPPA was being misused to control public narratives and silence legitimate voices. 'Laws like the PPPA cannot be weaponised by authorities to silence LGBTIQ voices and promote harmful narratives rooted in discrimination,' she said, adding that such actions only deepened mistrust and stifled public discourse. Nalini Elumalai, senior programme officer at Article 19 Malaysia, said censorship in Malaysia was not new, but that its current scale was deeply worrying. She added that such censorship made young LGBTIQ people feel invisible and unsafe. 'Young LGBTIQ Malaysians grow up thinking they're alone, that there's something wrong with them. The erasure of their stories creates an unsafe environment. 'Children in Malaysia don't need protection from diversity, they need protection from violence and discrimination,' she said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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