Calling Someone Gay Still Might Be Illegal In Malaysia

Except the decision to toss the case was made on technical, not substantive grounds: “Malaysia’s appeals court has struck out a bid by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to sue former premier Mahathir Mohamad for nearly 30 million dollars for calling him gay, lawyers said Wednesday. Anwar served as deputy premier to Mahathir until he was sacked in 1998 and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges. The sex conviction was later overturned and he was released after serving six years in jail. Anwar lodged the defamation case in 2006 after Mahathir said he could not have allowed his former deputy to become prime minister because he was a homosexual, a comment the lawsuit said was ‘false and malicious’.”