THE society should not discriminate against anyone because of their sex or disability, Penang state executive council (exco) member Chong Eng said.
“A man should not be discriminated just because he is a man; the same should apply for a woman.
“Basic human rights must be respected.
“However, while we expect the society to be civilised and respect differences, we have to be mindful that there are also those who disagree.
“We have people who are very emotional and refuse to accept any explanation because their mind is set. There are people who would go further to make threats.
“While promoting a cause, activists must be mindful of the many people they are dealing with,” state Women and Family Development, Gender Inclusiveness, and Non-Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Chong Eng said.
She was replying to questions by journalists, following the removal of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) activists’ portraits from the George Town Festival Exhibition.
It was reported that portraits of LGBT activists Nisha Ayub and Pang Khee Teik posing with the Jalur Gemilang have been taken down from a photography exhibition at the George Town Festival (GTF) 2018 on ‘instruction’.
“Promoting a cause is a long journey. You can’t convince everyone with portraits overnight. It would be better if the activists can reach out to those who can accept their cause first,” she told a press conference during a short break at the state legislative assembly today.
Chong Eng said the exhibitor could have taken a different approach besides only identifying them as LGBT activists.
“Perhaps (the exhibitor) can mention the other qualities the activists have,” she added.
Chong Eng stressed that matters concerning LGBT was not under her portfolio.
“Gender inclusiveness is about social construct and the ‘misexpectation’ of men and women. It is not about transgender,” she said.
She also said that she was not aware who gave the ‘instruction’ to take down the portraits.
“The matter was not discussed in the exco meeting. Perhaps it can be discussed in the next exco meeting.
“As a responsible government we have to listen to all views before making a decision, no matter how hard it may be.
“Openly promoting such lifestyle may also endanger the activists themselves.
“We do not want them to endanger themselves in the process of promoting their cause,” she said.
Chong Eng concluded by urging the public to respect a person’s human value rather than discriminating the individual because of his or her sexual orientation, gender or disability.
“Each of us is a package made by God, if you believe in God. Let us learn to be more tolerant of others,” she added.
When met later, state Secretary Datuk Seri Farizan Darus said he received complaints from the public and the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday evening.
“I instructed the host of the GTF 2018 to take down the portraits.
“(The festival director) Joe Sidek gave his full cooperation and took down the portraits on Tuesday morning.
“It does not mean that we do not respect these group of people. We (the state) respect this group of people; but we do not encourage such promotion which was done openly,” he said.
Story by Christopher Tan
Photos by Darwina Mohd Daud
Video by Ahmad Adil Muhamad