2 hours ago
2
Australia’s home affairs department rejected a gay Malaysian man’s bid for a protection visa, saying he did not provide enough evidence that he was an LGBT person.
But the administrative review tribunal subsequently accepted the man is gay and could face persecution in Malaysia, sending the man’s visa application back to the department for reconsideration last month.
The tribunal decision, published this week, said it accepted the man is gay and there was a real chance he would face persecution due to his sexuality if he returned in the foreseeable future to Malaysia, where same-sex acts between adults are illegal.
Tribunal member Li Luo found the man, who is Malay Muslim, gave a “convincing” account of his experience. He said the man was a refugee and hence a person who Australia had protection obligations to under the Migration Act. He said persecution could include prosecution under sharia law and the penal code, being subjected to so-called “conversion” practices, and physical harm.
Sign up: AU Breaking News email
The man sought a review of a June 2022 decision by a delegate for the home affairs minister to refuse to grant him a protection visa.
Appearing before the tribunal in July, he said he realised his attraction to men during high school years but hid his sexuality until he was 19 or 20. At this time, he began to “fool around with a friend”, the decision said.
The man claimed his brother slapped him when he discovered him in his room with another man in 2016. He then chased him out of the house.
The man said he tried to explain his feelings but his family would not listen “because they were very religious”, the decision said.
Luo said he accepted the man was rejected by his family, who did not accept his sexuality. He also accepted the man was insulted, bullied and ignored by friends and colleagues in Malaysia after they discovered he was gay.
“I accept that, as a result of the negativity he experienced, he became introverted and stopped trying to socialise or do anything other than work, which made him feel depressed,” the decision said.
Luo also agreed that the man felt his sexuality was accepted in Australia.
The Malaysian government’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues apply to all people but is more pronounced for Malay Muslims, who face both sharia and penal code offences for expressions of LGBTQ+ identity, the decision said. Malaysian authorities have also promoted conversion practices for LGBTQ+ people, primarily aimed at Muslims.
The man travelled to Australia in February 2020. In his protection visa application that year, the man said he was gay and a supporter of LGBT rights. He claimed his family rejected him when they discovered his sexuality. He said he has not had contact with his family since he left Malaysia.
after newsletter promotion
He claimed his family unsuccessfully tried to find him after he left.
The department invited the man to provide further information and evidence to substantiate his claims. He did not respond to this request and was not interviewed by the department, the decision said.
The delegate subsequently refused to grant the visa because they “found that the applicant did not provide enough information or evidence to satisfy the delegate that he was an LGBT person”.
The department is now required to reconsider the application with regards to the tribunal’s order that the man meets the legal criteria for a protection visa.
The Department of Home Affairs and the home affairs minister were contacted for comment.
