LETTER | I refer to the recent statements made by politicians and religious figures on the LGBT community. The actions and statements entrenched with full of hate and patronisation towards the LGBT community.

Pictures of LGBT activists were taken down and the justification for this action was uncalled for especially those made by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Mujahid Yusof Rawa, where he was reported to have said that the government does not support LGBT culture.

Perhaps the most nauseating statement was made by the Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Fuziah Salleh which was severely criticised by disabled activist groups.

It does not take a rocket scientist to know that the LGBT and disabled people are different in so many ways. The LGBT are able-bodied people who do not need the kind of assistance that disable people need and that is why toilets for the disabled are specially constructed with hand railings etc. to enable them to answer the call of nature without experiencing any difficulties.

Therefore it was absolutely unnecessary for the minister to make such a patronising statement against the disabled and the LGBT community. These ministers should make a public apology to both communities.

I believe that politicians who were voted into power to carry out the mandate of the people should stop spreading hate and make patronising statements against the LGBT, the disabled or any other vulnerable group.

Certainly, the removal of the pictures of those LGBT activists was done in bad taste as it had directly or indirectly spewed hate towards the LGBT community.

The more they make these type of statements or act in such a manner, the more people and especially the young would form negative and prejudicial feelings towards the LGBT, consciously or subconsciously, and as such, would not hesitate to speak ill of them and worse still, discriminate against them.

Human beings are not born to discriminate but are taught to do so mostly by irresponsible politicians and religious figures. In fact, religion teaches us not to discriminate but however, the opposite has been the case.

The central teaching of all religions is that all human beings are equal in the eyes of God. There can exist differences but this must not result in differential status, position, and more important still, the dignity of the person must be respected and protected.

We must understand that the LGBT community has been around for ages and it’s not something new. They are part and parcel of our society. As such we should not be in denial of it.

No amount religious teaching or indoctrination is going make things any different. It would only cause and create more problems as there would be more people from LGBT community being harassed and abused by religious authorities and this will snowball ultimately into a grave human rights violation issue.

It’s important to note that the Indian Supreme Court in the case of National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India on April 15, 2014, in a landmark decision declared that transgender people to be a ‘third gender’ and this community of people will be accorded with the fill rights and protection under the Constitution of India.

The Supreme Court even directed that they must be provided with separate toilets facilities and there shall no discrimination against them in terms of employment and education. This decision was seen to be a major step towards gender equality in India. India has taken a bold step in recognising the rights of a vulnerable group like the transgender, the least we could do is to be more careful with our words and actions to prevent hate and condemnation from being spewed against the LGBT.

Politicians from both sides of the divide must actually learn and appreciate the difficulties faced by these vulnerable groups and perhaps then they will be more sensitive towards their plight. They must stand up for them even if religious leaders have opposing views. What good is a government if they can’t even stand up to defend the plight of the vulnerable people like the poor, disabled and the people with different sexual orientation.

We cannot deny that there is a pressing need to eradicate the hate and discrimination faced by vulnerable groups like the LGBT. With the drawing up of the Hates Crimes and Equality Bills, which might be tabled in the next sitting of Parliament, I hope these issues faced by vulnerable groups like LGBT and the disabled are addressed once and for all.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.