ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on lesbian and gay (LG) activism in three neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia: Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The central argument of this chapter is that in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, the extent to which the LG movement has been influenced by the State can be gauged through the way the State regulates and denies homosexuality. Malaysia and Indonesia, for example, are Muslim nations while Singapore is not. Indeed, similar to Singapore, Malaysia's 'state, government, and party are largely fused in practice the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) has dominated' the Government since independence from the British in 1957. Third, activist attempts at organizing around sexual identity have occurred primarily within health discourse frameworks and specifically around HIV/AIDS through the work of Malaysia's oldest LG organization, Pink Triangle. The influence of the State in Indonesia on the LG movement, on the other hand, is perhaps the most paradoxical in this overview of Southeast Asia.
