MGT538

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT & ETHICS

AS201
ASSIGNMENT 2: REFLECTION PAPER
TITLE: LGBT AMONG STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA

PREPARED BY:

NAME STUDENT ID GROUP

NUR AZIRA BINTI RAMLAN 2020866442 RAS2016B

NUR ELLISDA HANIM BINTI AHMADI 2020897228 RAS2016B

NUR FATINI BALQIS BINTI AZMI 2020834284 RAS2016B

SYAHIRA BINTI MOHAMAD ZAKRI 2020853402 RAS2016B

NUR DIYANA BINTI RAMLAN 2020862332 RAS2016B

SUBMISSION DATE: 3 JULY 2023

 TABLE OF CONTENT

NO. CONTENTS PAGE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

2.0 THE ISSUE CONCERN BY STUDENT?

● Anti-LGBT guidelines and improperly stated

campaigns
● Community's exposure to the students that LGBT is a
mental illness
● Homosexuality among students prohibited in
Malaysian institutions
● Discrimination LGBT community among students

3.0 OPINIONS ON HOW ELEMENT OF PERSONAL

DEVELOPMENT CAN HELP TO SOLVE THE ISSUE

4.0 CONCLUSION
1.0 INTRODUCTION

LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) refers to people whose sexual
orientations, gender identities, or expressions differ from cisgender and heterosexual
social norms. cisgender persons have their birth sex. Malaysia has done minimal
research on lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, and questioning persons,
despite a worldwide increase. Malaysia has three main ethnic groups which are Malays
(69.6%), Chinese (22.6%), and Indians (6.8%). LGBT Malaysians are varied. Lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, mak nyah (trans women), pak nyah (trans men), genderfluid,
and intersex are examples. It's hard to estimate the LGBT community's share of
Malaysia's population without population-based data because Malaysia has no LGBT
demographics data. Based on population, 3.8% of Americans are lesbian, gay, bisexual,
or transgender. Given LGBT youth's growing importance, this estimate may be higher.
These youth are pansexual, asexual, and genderfluid. However, the actual number will
be lower than predicted. This paper will explore about LGBT issues and possible
opinions to solve these issues.

2.0 ISSUES CONCERN BY THE STUDENT

● Anti-LGBT guidelines and improperly stated campaigns

There are many issues concerned by the student related to LGBT, and one of them is
anti-LGBT guidelines and improperly stated campaigns. This becomes an issue among
students because the anti-LGBT event that is being held sometimes becomes
traumatizes the LGBT and even non-LGBT students, which could lead to chaos among
the students themselves. For example, a seminar held at one of the universities in
Malaysia became a hot topic in the news, where its purpose of guiding the LGBT ones
became a disaster. They are using harsh words to describe those communities, making
some people uncomfortable. However, since it was the event that the university itself
was approving, the students could not debate much to avoid trouble. Datuk Suriani
Ahmad, who is the Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, once said
that LGBT is treated equally to other genders and are open to dialogue and suggestions.
Despite this, that could not be applied to schools and institutions as they have been
involved in anti-LGBT guidelines and campaigns, some spearheaded by government
agencies.

● Community's exposure to the students that LGBT is a mental illness

The next issue is the community's exposure to the students that LGBT is a mental
illness. Students are having a learning session where they still need a helper to teach
them what is good and bad. Since the LGBT concept is rarely exposed during childhood,
they seek the community to tell them the truth, but the information has been
manipulative. Some people hate LGBT people so much that they keep telling youngsters
the bad side of LGBT people to grow their hatred instead of not helping them at all. Lots
of talks kept saying that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender is abnormal, and it
is like any illness and should be treated. Not even the common talks, even during official
conferences by the two Perikatan Nasional (PN) MPs from PAS, had said that the
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community should be considered as
suffering from mental health illnesses and being agreed by all people during the
conferences. This would make the students misunderstand that LGBT people need to be
cured, but somehow, they are not sick.

● Homosexuality among students prohibited in Malaysian institutions

Another issue may be highlighted is homosexuality among students prohibited in

Malaysian institutions. These issues were raised due to a Malaysian university having a
forum in which concerns of the event returned LGBT students to their natural instincts.
Based on islamic laws, one of the concepts to educate LGBT people is having an
effective religious discussion that may slowly open their minds accepting their fate in life.
Instead of condemning the LGBT community will give negative stigma toward Malaysian
people as they live in Muslim-majority countries. Thus, if these issues are not being
curbed properly it may affect Malay community support as Muslims also governed by
state-level Islamic laws which carry provisions outlawing same-sex acts even though it is
seen as human rights in Western countries.
 ● Discrimination LGBT community among students

Thus, another issue has been discovered is discrimination LGBT community, especially
among students that gave serious concern in this country. Some activists claimed that
LGBT people are not criminals so that the oppression and discrimination against LGBT
community should be stopped immediately. These Right Groups react to the numerous
laws and regulations attributed to Sharia. For instance, prohibit a ‘man posing as a
woman,’ ‘sexual relations between women,’ and ‘sexual relations between men’
effectively criminalize LGBT community. Instead of stomping out these discriminatory
behaviors, there should be more education which emphasizes moral values against
bullying toward these LGBT communities.

3.0 OPINIONS BASED ON PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

In my opinion, based on the first issue stated above, campaign or presentation

organizers should organize ahead of time by studying what sensitive themes may harm
or make viewers and listeners uncomfortable. Avoid using language that may insult the
audience, such as calling someone out in public with a harsh and impolite remark. In
actuality, the organizers must also learn how to conduct such gatherings intelligently in
order to avoid misunderstandings among themselves. This is due to our desire to
prevent anything bad from happening. As a result, event organizers can make a wise
option by engaging independent speakers of high caliber and popularity who can
educate the audience about the occurrence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
incidents while also sensitizing the group. Therefore, in this kind of issue personal
development plays a major role in tackling LGBT concerns among students. This is
because personal development focuses on increasing an individual's self-awareness,
confidence, and interpersonal skills, which can help them manage difficult circumstances
and communicate more successfully with others.

Personal development can aid in the development of confidence and self-esteem, which
is especially crucial for LGBT students who may suffer prejudice or harassment from
others. However, this group may be ashamed to reveal stories because they know that if
they speak the truth to others, they would be hit and seen cynically by the surrounding
community. So, this is the issue that prevents LGBT individuals from sharing and from
trusting those around them because they are afraid of being reviled and humiliated for
the cursed thing. Other than that, improving communication skills may be a beneficial
tool in every aspect of life, and there are numerous methods for developing excellent
communication abilities such as practicing active listening. According to the situation
described above, the speaker should play an essential role in active listening, which
means fully focusing on and comprehending the other person's point of view and
feelings. Avoiding distractions, asking questions, and paraphrasing what the other
person has said are all part of this.

Next, practice empathy to LGBT students. Empathy entails attempting to comprehend

the other person's point of view and feelings. Put yourself in the shoes of the other
person to better understand their point of view. As humans, we must help them
comprehend why they continue to be LGBT even if they know homosexuality is totally
wrong. Even as Muslims, we have been taught by our parents to avoid doing things that
will harm us rather than benefit us. By practicing empathy regularly, we may improve our
communication abilities and our connections with others. Empathy is especially crucial in
instances involving conflict or misunderstandings because it may help us navigate
challenging situations with grace and understanding.

Evan community exposure to students that LGBT is a mental illness, LGBT cannot be
considered a mental illness as stated by malaymail even in 1952, the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders had listed homosexuality as a type of mental
disorder but was removed in 1973 from the list. From there we can see that this LGBT is
a choice that can be chosen not a disease but for some people who are not sure about
their identity who do not show a clear gender may consider this LGBT is the right choice.
Personal development for this opinion is self-exploration and self-acceptance. It is
important for individuals who are uncertain about their identity or do not conform to
traditional gender norms to engage in a process of self-discovery and personal growth.
They are confused with their personality and thus lead them towards LGBT. However, as
an Islamic country, LGBT is prohibited in our country because Islam prevents same-sex
relationships until an incident occurred where the people of the prophet Luth had
adopted a perverse lifestyle until Allah brought down a disaster that was so terrible that it
buried the people in the ground as described in the Al-Quran. Therefore, we cannot
practice LGBT practices even for persons whose gender identity does not reflect their
sex characteristics.

To avoid this from worsening, all parties involved, including parents, educators, and even
the institution itself, must take a vital role in preventing homosexuality among youths.
Symptoms like this can emerge as a result of peer pressure or being exposed to
LGBT-related tales, particularly in nations that embrace homosexuality. As a result, the
responsible party, such as Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (JAWI), should
carry out their job in terms of education and instruction so that they can return to the
beginning of the path. Wan Salim also stated in the Berita Harian that the government
should utilize any means and measures to solve the homosexual problems. Among
these, JAWI is granted the complete right to arrest and imprison people engaging in
these undesirable activities in order to protect society, particularly students, from their
impact.

Therefore, the element that may help this issue is professionalism. This element entails
the importance of thinking. Thinking abilities allow us to comprehend information, recall
facts, and apply knowledge in a variety of settings. The students in Malaysia need these
kinds of skills. They need to think of the negative consequences of homosexual among
students if they are involved in this issue. This will require them to think before they act.
By doing so, the students are able to prevent this symptom from happening to them.

Discrimination among the LGBT community is a serious concern today. Every day there
are more and more LGBT people in the society of this country like mushrooms that grow
after the rain. Personal development in the context of addressing decreasing levels of
shame and the promotion of ethical behavior involves cultivating a sense of personal
responsibility, empathy, and values. The nature of shame in every human being
nowadays is decreasing so that they are not ashamed to do and show wrong actions in
public. This cannot be allowed to happen and needs to be stopped immediately.
Therefore, universities or schools need to increase the number of campaigns and
lectures related to LGBT issues that are becoming more prevalent now so that they are
aware of the consequences of their actions. In this sophisticated era, all the applications
found in gadgets such as TikTok, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagrams and others can also
be used as a platform to spread awareness and advice on this LGBT practice. So, do we
have to obey the prohibitions that have been set by our own religion to avoid unwanted
things happening like the events of the Prophet Luth.

4.0 CONCLUSION

Malaysia is one of several nations that does not allow the growth of LGBT culture,
therefore the topic of LGBT conclusions has been particularly controversial as of late.
This paper will address several LGBT-related issues, including anti-LGBT guidelines and
improperly stated campaigns, the community's exposure of students to the idea that
LGBT is a mental illness, the legal prohibition on homosexuality in Malaysia, and the
serious concern that discrimination among the LGBT community has caused. We next
consider some possible solutions to these problems based on our previous discussions.
Our group's opinion was that it is important to work on developing self–confidence and
practice empathy, professionalism in critical thinking, self-exploration, self-acceptance,
and cultivating a sense of personal responsibility, empathy, and values. We hope that the
LGBT issues prevalent in Malaysia may be resolved with the help of these many
opinions.