Malaysia has taken another step in its purge of “deviant” gay dating apps from the Muslim-majority nation, after the government was questioned by the opposition Islamist party over its commitment to expunge LGBTQ+ identity from the country.

In a written parliamentary reply two weeks ago, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the country’s Internet regulator, said it was “examining several legislative measures to curb these applications,” Bloomberg reports.

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Malaysia just blocked its citizens from downloading Grindr. It’s part of a troubling trend.

The answer came in response to a question from a member of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, who asked whether the MCMC would work with app providers to block downloads of Grindr, Blued, and Growlr, which he said had become a primary platform for promoting “deviant” relationships in the country.

“The MCMC will take action against content or application functions that violate domestic laws,” the regulator said, “including those involving the spread of pornographic or immoral content, exploitation or abuse, fraud, child abuse or threats to public safety.”  

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Malaysia had already blocked online access to the apps in February. Following the query, Google and Apple removed Grindr from their app stores last weekend, according to Thilaga Sulathireh, a founding member of Justice for Sisters, a Malaysian trans rights group.

“The blocking of LGBTQ related apps is part of the ongoing and increasing trend of state-sponsored discrimination against LGBTQ people in Malaysia,” Sulathireh told the Washington Blade. 

Grindr shared a statement condemning the move.

“We are disappointed in the decision to block access to Grindr in Malaysia and believe that online platform regulation should be proportionate and consistent with international human rights law,” the site said.

Malaysia has some of Southeast Asia’s harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Same-sex intercourse is illegal under a British colonial-era sodomy statute, with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment. Muslims are subject to additional penalties under Sharia law, including capital punishment.  

Google and Apple’s concession to Malaysian government demands follows other recent hostile actions targeting LGBTQ+ identity in the country.

Authorities cancelled the remainder of a music festival in Kuala Lumpur in 2023 after The 1975’s lead singer, Matty Healy, denounced the government’s harsh anti-LGBTQ+ policies from the stage, and then kissed a male bandmate.

The same year, the government raided 11 Swatch stores in malls across the country, confiscating Pride-themed merchandise made by the Swiss watchmaker. 

According to Sulathireh, Malaysia’s Religious Affairs Department announced in February that the government will replace references to all things LGBTQ+ with the term “budaya songsang,” or “deviant culture.”

Authorities are encouraging “others to do the same to avoid LGBT normalization in all spaces, including social media,” the trans advocate said. “At the same time, it called on members of the public to immediately report ‘suspicious activities, events or content.’”

“The blocking of these apps and websites severely impacts all areas of LGBTQ people’s lives,” Sulathireh said. “I think being able to find love, intimacy and connections is critical for LGBTQ’s self-acceptance, self-worth, health, and well-being.” 

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