Man wins Malaysia’s first legal challenge against Islamic law banning gay sex

In its ruling, Malaysia’s top court sided with the man, who was charged in a Selangor Islamic court, saying the state was not empowered to make such a law

Critics say the climate is worsening for the gay community in the Muslim-majority nation, with officials often speaking out against LGBT people

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Despite the legal victory, Islamic laws banning gay sex still exist in some other Malaysian states. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:34pm, 25 Feb 2021Updated: 5:34pm, 25 Feb 2021

A Malaysian man on Thursday won the country’s first legal challenge against Islamic laws banning gay sex, a victory hailed as “monumental progress” in combating persecution of the LGBT community.

He was charged in an Islamic court in 2019 with attempting to have “intercourse against the order of nature”, and several others in the same case have already pleaded guilty and were caned as a punishment.

Critics say the climate is worsening for the gay community in Muslim-majority Malaysia, with government officials often speaking out against LGBT people.

In Thursday’s landmark case, the legislation banning gay sex was enacted in Selangor state, outside Kuala Lumpur.

Multi-ethnic Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with Islamic courts handling some matters for Muslim citizens, and sharia laws set by individual states.

But local laws cannot conflict with legislation at the federal level, and sodomy is already a crime under the national penal code – although the statute is rarely enforced.