Matty Healy spoke for us on stage in Malaysia

I write this in an answer to Peter Tatchell's piece ( Matty Healy is not a white saviour for showing support to Malaysia's LGBTQ and people on the 25th of July). One of my students came across my civil partner, he excitedly shouted, "Oh my God! I'm also gay!". We nicknamed him "IGT". The shock he felt at the thought that he could be an academic leader in a heterosexual partnership and his joy in the conviction that everything is good was easy to be able to see. When I first saw him, my friend and I both felt a bit amused and regarded each other with eyebrows raised.

LGBTQ

I am Malaysian. I left to England to pursue my studies at 16 years old and went on to work and live. When I was 50, I returned to help care for my father who suffered from dementia, and also to take the position of a professor in senior academics. While I had a little understanding of the discrimination LGBTQ and people of all ages were facing in Malaysia had to face the majority of interest and concerns I felt was uninterested and unengaged.

I was just thankful that I could in varying degrees throughout the years, to express my sexuality and lead the way I wanted to live. After returning to Malaysia and speaking to a few close friends or colleagues I began to learn about the struggles and stress that some gay students at the university were facing. The anxiety and fear of being rejected by their families and the repression of the system left teachers who were mentored by the students in a state of despair, not being able to figure out how to aid them. I was under pressure to become a role model because some of my colleagues believed that having a homosexual teacher with accomplishment and authority would provide some peace of mind and assurance that everything would be fine. It wasn't a job that I thought I could handle because I'm not a natural activist and was afraid of the negative consequences of being a visible.

Matty Healy and Peter Tatchell have shed light on the anxiety and fear of the LGBTQ+ Malaysians suffer from, and are unable access the basic rights and freedoms that are essential for all humans. They have done something that I have never believed was possible or brave enough. I am grateful to them and everyone else Malaysians who struggle to defend LGBTQ+ rights. The visible expressions of homosexuality show those who are "IGTs" in Malaysia and all over the world that it's okay to be who you want to be. The conversations Healy and Tatchell created aid in educating and keeping these issues in the forefront. We need more attention and more dialogue.