A Malaysian film company called Grim Film has teamed up with doctor-turned-comedian Jason Leong to launch a video contest in response to an anti-LGBT competition by Malaysia’s Health Ministry earlier this month.
YouTuber Jared Lee’s company and Dr. Leong have joined forces to offer $1,001 with the hashtag #ThisPaysMoreThanTheOtherCompetition, in an effort to counter the ministry’s homophobic contest.
“Our competition is not that sophisticated, but just basically to show that there are still people who support the rights of the LGBT community,” Dr. Leong told Malay Mail Online.
“It would be nice if some videos support them because once the Ministry of Health’s competition is up, there will be a lot of videos that may hurt or harm the LGBT community,” he added.
The ministry’s controversial contest urged participants to create videos on how to “prevent” or “control” people from becoming gay, with the theme of “Value Yourself, Healthy Lifestyle Practice.”
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Its blatancy was criticized, but in a statement, Public Health Deputy Director-General Lokman Hakim Sulaiman said the competition’s goal was to empower teens to make “wise decisions”, as if homosexuality were a choice.
“In medical terms, there has been no evidence to suggest that homosexuality is a choice, and that people choose to be homosexuals or whatever. In fact, I think there has been a study that said there could be a possible link to certain genes, that is expressed in homosexuals that is linked to homosexuality,” Dr. Leong explained. “Meaning, you are destined to be homosexual based on your genes. Just like race, a person can’t choose their sexuality.”
According to SAYS Malaysia, the duo’s contest has been met with great support:
Other weren’t too thrilled:
Despite being hit with threats on Facebook, Lee remains fearless, saying, “I mean, just like the other competition, which clearly states that they are there to cultivate creativity and not to discriminate, so I guess we can say the same right?“
Feature Image via Flickr / Taiwan Scenery Gallery (CC BY-SA 2.0)
