Chaos in Parliament as Hamzah cites news report on ‘first homosexual PM’

Kuala Lumpur, Dec 19 — A shouting match erupted in the Dewan Rakyat today when opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin (Larut-PN) called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Tambun-PH) to take stern action against international media companies who spread “disrespectful” news about the latter’s sexual orientation.

Hamzah claimed in the Dewan Rakyat today that after Anwar was appointed prime minister on November 24, an Italian news agency had published an article titled ‘Malaysia: First full-blown Homosexual Elected Prime Minister in an Islamic Country’.

This then prompted Pakatan Harapan MPs to urge Hamzah to retract his statement.

Hamzah dismissed their calls and told them to let him finish his sentence, saying he wanted to ask Anwar if he will take legal action against Agenzia Nova.

“This report has insulted (Anwar) and strict action must be taken. The government has a responsibility to inform the world that (Anwar) has received a royal pardon (for sodomy charges),” Hamzah said when debating Anwar’s motion of confidence. 

He urged Anwar not to settle for being a “village hero” who was only brave enough to act against those within the country.

“(Anwar) should fine the publication. Do not let things get to the point where the whole world believes that (Anwar) is a raging homosexual.”

Anwar was imprisoned over sodomy charges in 1998 and again in 2015. He was subsequently granted a royal pardon and released from prison in 2018.

Later on, Hamzah trained his guns on the Anwar-led government, stating that while they had advocated freedom of speech in the media during its 15th general election (GE15) campaign, the situation now seems to have taken a turn.

“Besides the craziness of suing anyone who criticises (Anwar), the government is also restricting the freedom of speech of youth on social media.”

NMT