Malaysia: 'Effeminate' boys sent to camp for sex counselling

Malaysian authorities have sent 66 Muslim schoolboys identified by teachers as effeminate to a four-day camp where they will receive counselling on masculine behaviour to discourage them from being gay.

Gay rights advocates decried the measure as a symptom of widespread homophobia in the Muslim-majority country where gay sex is illegal.

The boys, between 13 and 17, have reported for what was officially being called a "self- development course" after their teachers in Terengganu state identified them as students who displayed effeminate mannerisms, said Razali Daud, the state's education director. They will undergo religious and motivational classes as well as physical guidance.

The camp is meant "to guide them back to the right path in life before they reach a point of no return", Mr Razali added.

"Such effeminate behaviour is unnatural and will affect their studies and their future."

It is the first such programme in Terengganu, a conservative state.

Pang Khee Teik, co-founder of a Malaysian sexual rights awareness group, called the camp "outrageous".

"If we don't do anything to stop the rot of homophobia. I worry it may get worse," he said.