Clamour Ensues After Hamzah Quotes Report Deeming Anwar Ibrahim M’sia’s “First Homosexual PM”

By Lara Alkhateri  •  19 Dec 2022 in News

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A yelling brawl occurred in the Dewan Rakyat after opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin (PN-Larut) quoted a source stating that Anwar Ibrahim is Malaysia’s “first full-blown homosexual” prime minister.

Hamzah highlighted the headline of a piece published by an obscure Italian media outlet named Agenzia Nova (‘Nova Agency’), which characterised Anwar as Malaysia’s “first full-blown homosexual elected prime minister in an Islamic country”.

MPs from Pakatan Harapan (PH) urged Hamzah to withdraw his statement in response to the above.

Hamzah ignored their calls and requested that they wait while he finished speaking in order to ask Anwar whether he intended to sue Agenzia Nova.

“Hear me out first. The prime minister is being jeered at by them (Agenzia Nova). A strict response is necessary. It is the duty of the administration to let everyone know that the King has already pardoned Anwar,” he stated.

Hamzah emphasised that even Umno has now “accepted” Anwar as prime minister after he was pardoned in 2018.

“It’s not a problem. I concur and congratulate Anwar on his appointment as prime minister,” he said.

The Head of the Opposition then turned his indignation towards the government for branding TikTok content purportedly posted by PN supporters during the recent general election as racially offensive and misleading. Hamzah claimed that the government’s actions violated its electoral promise to guarantee media freedom.

During the days that followed the recent elections, young Tiktok users were allegedly uploading provocative videos regarding a second-coming of ‘May 13th’, in addition to fake news about riots.

Concluding his speech, Hamzah told Anwar, “I am the opposition leader now,” and encouraged him to act like a prime minister rather than an opposition leader.

Subsequently, Lim Guan Eng (PH-Bagan) condemned Hamzah for using the story by Agenzia Nova, which he regarded as an unreliable news source, to employ personal attacks against the prime minister.