Melaka Islamic Religious Dept probes hotel allegedly using ‘gay-friendly’ label after social media buzz

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — The state government has instructed the Melaka Islamic Religious Department (JAIM) to investigate claims that a hotel in the state is operating under a “gay-friendly” concept, following a surge of social media attention since yesterday.

State Executive Councillor for Education, Higher Education and Religious Affairs, Datuk Rahmad Mariman, said an official statement would be issued after the investigation is completed, according to a report in Harian Metro today.

“I have directed JAIM to look into these allegations,” he said when contacted.

The issue was raised in a social media post by independent preacher Firdaus Wong Wai Hung, who questioned the trend of businesses using “friendly” labels as a marketing strategy.

In his post, he compared the “gay-friendly” concept with other terms such as pet-friendly, family-friendly, and Muslim-friendly, which he said are now widely used in business.

“Creative branding indeed. The label ‘Muslim-friendly’ can become a business, so what about ‘gay-friendly’? What other creative ideas will emerge next? ‘Pig-friendly’ or ‘LGBT-friendly’? I thought only sports had ‘friendly’, but now ‘gay’ has it openly too,” he wrote sarcastically.

The post drew mixed reactions online, with some expressing concern over the open acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in the state.

“Don’t normalise what is wrong…things like this are a test to see if Malaysians will object,” wrote one social media user.

Another user claimed the budget hotel had received poor reviews from customers.

“Good that it went viral. Hopefully, Muslims won’t choose that place,” they commented.