M'sia minister suggests work-related stress as possible cause for 'LGBT lifestyle'

Malaysia’s Religious Affairs minister has suggested work stress as one of a number of causes for involvement in the LGBT lifestyle.

Intimate questions

Zulkifli Hasan, a minister in Malaysia’s Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), was responding to questions by opposition members of parliament on Jan. 26.

Opposition MP Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff had asked for the latest data and statistics related to LGBT issues in Malaysia, as reported by the New Straits Times.

Included in the question was a request for a percentage breakdown according to age group and ethnicity, but also the main factors "contributing to an increase in LGBT cases".

Work-related stress

The minister replied that the Malaysian government does not have official statistics on the size of the LGBT community in Malaysia, stating: “Comprehensive data on the number of LGBT people in Malaysia remains limited.”

As for the second part of the question, Zulkifli cited a 2017 "study", saying that there were several factors that might influence an individual’s “involvement in the LGBT lifestyle”, such as social influences, sexual experiences, or a lack of religious practice.

But curiously, he also included issues such as work-related stress, although he did not appear to explain how being stressed by work contributed to such a "lifestyle".

Entering better fields of work

Intimate same-sex relations remain illegal in Malaysia, with human rights group the Human Dignity Trust documenting several related instances of arrest and prosecution.

Zulkifli responded to another opposition MP’s question regarding the number of arrests related to LGBT activities from 2022 to 2025, saying that 135 people had been arrested in connection with such activities, as reported by Free Malaysia Today.

Where insufficient evidence was available, individuals were “given advice, counselling, or ordered to attend rehabilitative courses.”

The Malaysian government has “also held numerous special programmes and courses for these people”, he added, “to guide them in a more positive direction.”

“Assistance is also channelled to help them enter better fields of work or into business”, he said, via a written parliamentary reply.

Presumably, lines of work with better work-life balance.

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Top image via YB Senator Dr. Zulkifli Hasan/Facebook & Resume Genius/Unsplash