KUALA LUMPUR – After public backlash against an article posted by the Health Ministry on sexual harassment, another controversial article was highlighted on social media – concerning the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
The 2013 article titled Lesbians or Homosexual Women, written by Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Jamil Yaacob.
The article provides reasons for “why a person becomes a lesbian”, stating: “women like women, because they are more likely to express their love to their partners. This is different from men, who as a whole, are perceived to be less romantic.
“When women advance their education to a higher level, where most students may be women, it is like they are trapped in a romantic situation among themselves.
“Women who make the decision to put their careers first – celebrating their independence, and then pushing away traditional norms. Women who have more adrenal cortex hormones are more likely to lean towards lesbianism,” the article said.
The write-up, however, acknowledges that homosexuality was removed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1973, and that lesbians are no longer considered to be suffering from mental health issues.
It then goes on to refer to this as a sexual orientation “problem”, with homosexuals seeking psychiatric help due to “emotional disturbances”.
“As a whole, lesbian couples experience less isolation from the community and have better marriages compared to homosexual men,” the article said, before referring to Quranic verses concerning homosexuality – which draws questions about the relevance of such information on a medical website.
The writer is understood to have begun his medical career in Taiping Hospital in 1988, before transferring to the obstetrics and gynaecology department in the Kangar Hospital.
He also served at psychiatric institutions in Perak and Johor up to 1998 where he began his work as a medical lecturer in Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan.
In 2001, he furthered his studies in Child and Teen Psychiatry in the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London.
The Vibes has contacted the Health Ministry for its response.
Yesterday, it was reported that an article on sexual harassment was uploaded to a Health Ministry (MoH) website without approval.
This is according to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba in commenting on the article, which has since been taken down following criticism from social media users.
“Nobody from the higher authorities in the ministry allowed this article to be published,” he said in a brief WhatsApp message to The Vibes yesterday.
The minister, however, did not respond to further questions when asked if he agreed that the contents were inappropriate and inaccurate, or whether the ministry will initiate an internal investigation on the matter.
The article, titled Emotional Impact on Sexual Harassment Victims, was last reviewed on January 5, 2016.
The write-up stated several factors that could lead to sexual harassment, including a “sexy and attractive body shape” and how women dress.
“Unrestricted social interactions are also one of the sources that provoke men to commit sexual harassment. In this modern era of globalisation, there are no restrictions for men and women to intermingle. As a result, certain parties will take advantage to commit sexual harassment,” the article read.
The piece has since drawn criticism from women’s rights groups, including the All Women’s Action Society (Awam), whose information and communications officer, Tan Chia Ee, said such statements could result in backlash against MoH. – The Vibes, April 14, 2021
