On August 28, the Malaysian Islamic court cancelled the caning of two women convicted for having sex, according to Reuters. The cancellation gives human rights activists more time to fully stop the impending punishment to be carried out. Intolerance towards the LGBT community in Malaysia has been growing over the past months. It was only two weeks ago, that a transgender woman was brutally assaulted by a group of assailants while two portraits of LGBT activists were removed from a public photography exhibition by the authorities citing that it promotes LGBT activities. The use of torture for legal and religious punishment presents a blow to basic human rights and freedom of expression even for a conservative nation.

Malaysian Muslims make up around 60% of the country’s population. Therefore, Malaysia operates a dual-legal system. The Islamic courts handle the religious matters as well as adultery cases. Under Malaysia’s constitution, each state possesses the legal power to enact laws that threaten the Islamic precepts. Most states in Malaysia had prohibited sexual relationships between women. This case, in fact, will be the first ever in State of Terengganu where women will be canned for a sexual relationship. According to Human Rights Watch, caning is deemed as an inhumane, brutal and cruel punishment under the international law. This punishment, therefore, violates Malaysia’s obligation under the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which the nation ratified in 1995.

The growing bigotry towards the LGBT community is quite concerning for which there are implications that are life-threatening and dangerous. The instalment of punishments such as caning is contributing to the already heavily stigmatized and discriminated community. The government continues to defend the harsh acts against the Malaysian LGBT group. Furthermore, there’s an emergence of vigilantes encouraged by the hate towards LGBT people. This is also due to the conservative and far-right propaganda published and shown by Malaysian newspapers and media outlets.

The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Fuziah Salleh insisted that LGBT people are unwanted as “role models for their children” which shows the discriminative position of the government. However, Graeme Reid, director of LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch, stressed that “prosecution and punishment will only fuel the recent wave of homophobia and transphobia in Malaysia.” She encourages the government to provide better protection for the LGBT community rather than leading the brutal and inhumane treatment of the group because of religious beliefs.

Ultimately, this case demonstrates the growing failure of the nation to recognize the LGBT rights due to religious beliefs. The conviction of the women for having a homosexual relationship will add-on the ever-growing list of human rights violations concerning the LGBT community. Therefore, the new government must stand against inhumane brutality and dangerous discrimination while committing to endorsing tolerance and equality to the conservative nation. Additionally, domestic human rights activist should find a way to create a healthy discussion and debate in the national level to help soften the stigma towards the LGBT community while international community must emphasize the obligations of Malaysia to the UN agreement and international law.