Gay travel guide to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia launched

The editor of a new gay and lesbian travel guide to Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia is hoping the book will foster more acceptance of homosexuality, which is outlawed in two of the three conservative Southeast Asian nations. The Utopia Guide to Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, launched in late April, is the first such guide for the three countries, according to Utopia Guides editor John Goss.

"We are simply shining a light on an aspect of society that exists in every country around the globe, but one that has been mostly in the shadows here in Asia," Goss told the Associated Press.

Unlike Malaysia, Indonesia does not deem homosexuality punishable by jail time, but it remains a sensitive topic. But Islamic hard-liners in Jakarta have carried out their own raids on events considered un-Islamic and once attempted to shut down a transvestite beauty pageant.

Singapore also outlaws homosexuality, saying it violates conservative Asian norms, but prosecutions are rare in the country and in Malaysia. Despite Malaysia's conservative stance on homosexuality, Utopia says it is has the "hottest gay scene going," based on surveys conducted from Singapore. (Sirius OutQ News)

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