Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has a big, gay problem.

Police yesterday arrested him on suspicion of sodomy, a charge put forth by a 23-year old ex-aide, but Ibrahim denies the “defamatory” charges as nothing more than a political conspiracy.

The politician, a former deputy prime minister who spent years in jail on corruption charges, claims Malaysia’s government wants to stomp him down after his return to the national stage earlier this year.

Despite - or in spite - of his claims, masked agents arrested Ibrahim yesterday afternoon: About a dozen policemen, some of them wearing ski masks, cordoned off the road leading to Anwar’s house and stopped his car, said his lawyer Sankara Nair. He said Anwar was arrested for suspected sodomy.

Anwar was bundled into a police car with dark tinted windows and driven to the police headquarters where a crowd of opposition lawmakers including his wife, Azizah Ismail, gathered outside. They were not allowed inside, and there was no trouble or violence.

”This is not a criminal case but a political case,” said Azmin Ali, the vice president of Anwar’s People’s Justice Party, adding that the arrest was ”outrageous and very uncivilized.”
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Three words we don’t like to see together: homosexual, problem, counseling. That said, you can imagine our worry over an article describing how Malaysia’s Women, Family and Community Development Ministry has pledged to “counsel” gays to help curb the “homosexual program.” Deputy Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon later described gays as a “social problem.” The move comes three months after police raided an allegedly gay sauna. [Bernama]

Some not-so-deep thoughts from a Malaysian citizen worried about the rise of gay bars in his homeland: “In the West, the morally wrong and corrupt homosexual act has turned into a sort of plague, spreading its tentacles far and wide, engulfing individuals with the tendency of adopting this immoral self-indulgence.” God, we had no idea we gays were so monstrous! [Bernama]

Some Malaysian men had a bad weekend. The heavily Islamic nation’s vice squad raided a gay sauna this weekend and arrested fourteen men and confiscated 1800 condoms: George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said six men, all naked, were caught in three toilets while the others were found patronizing the joint.

“We also found used condoms littered all over the place.”

He said the suspects, aged between 20 and 30, had been remanded to assist in investigations into immoral activities at the center.

He said police raided the premises after keeping it under surveillance for a while.

“This was the third time the center was raided since last November.” Considering all this heat, one would … Continued…

Security guards at a Malaysian mall are planning some stake outs after catching gays engaged in “unnatural acts.” [Malaysian Star]

Malaysian police are looking for Kulenthiran Amirthalingam, who the Canadian government deported last week. Apparently Malaysian officials are none-too-pleased after Amirthalingam spilled the beans about their repressive nature. See? This is why we need less stringent asylum regulations. [APP]

Asia-Pacific nations must do more to fight HIV or face certain doom, a UN-backed group says.
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A sex party’s end came too quickly Sunday in Malaysia when Penang-based police raided a “fitness center-cum-sauna,” according to The Star.

A concerned citizen tipped vice cops off that space had been used for clandestine trysts - and boy were they right. In addition to rounding up 34 men - including British and Chinese nationals - coppers found seven tubes of lube, 20 gay magazines, four pornographic movies and six boxes of condoms. Quite the party!

SUnday’s raid isn’t the first of its kind. Penang police busted two other parties back in April - all part of their continued mission to crackdown on “vice” activities. The sex party’s are especially naughty because sodomy remains illegal in … Continued…

Gay Reverend Ouyang Wen Feng won’t be having tea with Malaysian Catholic Bishop Datuk John Lee. Like Tourism Minister Adnan Tengku Mansor, Lee objects to Ouyang’s plan to establish a Metropolitan Community Church in Malaysia. Head of the Catholic Diocese of Kota Kinabalu, Bishop Datuk John Lee, said Tuesday, like other churches in the country, the Roman Catholic Church would strongly oppose plans to set up the proposed branch.

“It’s not acceptable. However, we cannot stop them from going ahead with what they want to do. All I can say is that we have absolutely nothing to do with them.

“Likewise, the church does not recognize ’same sex’ marriages,” he said, when contacted. As … Continued…

Malaysia’s primarily Muslim government ain’t so keen on gay Christians. Officials swear they’ll stop a gay Reverend, Ouyang Wen Feng, from establishing a queer congregation.

Tourism minister Adnan Tengku Mansor (pictured) vowed: We have no intention of being portrayed the same way like other cities such as Bangkok or those other cities in that league… We are here to be seen as a multicultural country with people who are good, excellent followers of their respective religions. Unless followers happen to be fags.

Despite the threats, Ouyang will not be deterred: he’s planning on holding an underground mass this Sunday: “For some of us, especially our gay brothers and sisters, we have experienced first hand that Christianity … Continued…

• We were briefly (and vaguely) intrigued when we found out Creed’s Scott Stapp and Kidd Rock had made a sex tape together. Too bad they don’t get busy with one another. [Gawker]

• You too can blow your entire annual salaray (and then some) on the shirts off of Jake and Heath’s backs. [Ebay]

• The Virginia Senate has passed a proposed constituional amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions which will now go to voters. What else would you expect from a state with a town named Lynchburg? [Richmond.com]

• Shock! Who would have thought that you could get more than just a rub down at a … Continued…

• Gays from Newark to Trenton could be shopping for wedding dresses and tuxes. Same-sex marriage is going to the New Jersey Supreme Court. [Newsday]

• Two of our favorite media subjects come together in one place. Tyra Banks tackles gay cowboys on her show today. [The Advocate]

• It won’t be Return to Brokeback Mountain, but Jake Gylenhaal and Heath Ledger might end up onscreen once again. [NY Times]

• We don’t know why the normally anti-gay Focus on the Family is endorsing a pro-gay bill, but we’ll take what we can get from them. [LA Times]

• There was a time when Madonna’s controversial performances were much more risqué … Continued…

Golden Globe fave, Brokeback Mountain, has been censored by the Malay film board. Actually, UPI, the film’s distributor, has decided to self-censor itself, not even bothering to seek the strict board’s approval. I guess they know what the answer will be already.

UIP, however, will not even apply for approval of Brokeback Mountain, director Ang Lee’s award-winning gay cowboy romance, said UIP publicity manager Dawn Liew. “We believe there is a market for Munich here, but Brokeback Mountain is definitely not going to make it here because its themes wouldn’t be right for our local audiences,” Liew told the Associated Press. Brokeback Mountain, about two cowboys who discover romantic feelings … Continued…