State-run TV in Malaysia to ‘ban’ programmes featuring gay characters

by Christopher Brocklebank

The Malaysian Information Department has banned television shows which feature
gay characters, starting with state-run channels.
The country's Deputy Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk
Maglin Dennis D'Cruz said the ban would be effective immediately beginning with
state-owned TV and radio stations.

Mr D'Cruz said: "If it means cancelling some of the shows, so be it." He added
that the intention behind the move was to curb the "influence" of the LGBT
community in Malaysia.

The decision will apparently be later expanded to cover privately-owned
stations as well as satellite TV providers. Foreign productions will be dealt
with by the national censorship board, which will remove episodes from TV shows
which are already up-and-running and prevent the local screening of films with
gay characters.

Issued by the Information Department on its Facebook page yesterday, the
directive stated: "Effective immediately, radio and TV stations are asked to
stop screening shows which feature gay, effeminate men as well as characters
that go against the norm of a religious society because this encourages and
promotes LGBT now."

For a short while, there was a rumour that the directive was merely a
"discussion topic" but the Culture Minister confirmed it was a genuine edict
and that guidelines would be produced for TV and radio stations on how to avoid
allowing LGBT characters on screen or the air waves.

This news comes in the same week that Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin announced funding to enable counsellors to tackle "sexual
orientation disorders like LGBT".


Fonte: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/04/06/state-run-tv-in-malaysia-to-ban-
programmes-featuring-gay-characters/

Pubblicato da Lorenzo Bernini