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Kuala Lumpur: The government strongly opposes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activities, especially among Muslims in the country, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar.

He said the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) also supports the government’s position. However concerning human rights under the Federal Constitution, the government does not deny specific rights to the LGBT community, including the right to education, he added.

“Therefore, the approach taken by Jakim is to work with other agencies to raise awareness and take action. The goal is to help this group to return to the fitrah (natural state) and become aware of their mistakes,” he said during the oral question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

Replying to a supplementary question from Aminolhuda Hassan (PH-Sri Gading) who wanted to know if Jakim has information regarding the number of same-sex marriages in the country, Mohd Na’im said Jakim has not recorded or registered any same-sex marriages.

“The Islamic religious departments in the states have not recorded same-sex marriages. That is clear. Even if such marriages were to occur, individuals intending to register their marriage in this country would face difficulties because it is against the law,” he said, referring to the Islamic Family Law Act or Enactment.