GEORGE TOWN, May 7 — Tanjung Bungah state assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu is asking the state legislative assembly to set up a committee to protect the transgender community here against discrimination.
Teh said he did so after his previous application to form such the committee through the state executive council (exco) was rejected last year, despite the support the proposal received from backbenchers last June.
“The transgender community are not being treated equal and are discriminated against so I need to set up such a committee to fight for their basic human rights,” Teh said in a press conference at his service centre in Tanjung Bungah today.
He added that his application to debate his motion has been approved, but he was is yet to receive a reply on whether this will take place at the next sitting later this month.
A long-time champion of transgender rights, Teh today also lamented that the plight of the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) was seen as a sensitive issue by both sides of the political divide.
“We are talking about basic human rights for the LGBT as they deserve to be treated equally but this has become a political issue played by both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) sides,” he said.
Although conceding that the he could form such committee on his own under his service centre, he said he preferred an official state-sanctioned committee to provide a formal body to oversee matters concerning the community.
He is also seeking an annual allocation of RM200,000 to conduct programmes for the group and assist them in securing jobs that will allow them to avoid entering the sex trade.
“I just want the public to understand the LGBT's plight and to stop discrimination against them,” he said.
It is unclear how large the transgender or LGBT community is in Penang.
