The Malaysian government is offering up to $1,000 (886 euros) in cash prizes in a competition for the best videos on how to "prevent" homosexuality and on "issues and consequences" resulting from certain sexual orientations.

On the Health Ministry's website, people are invited to submit a video clip for categories including "gender identity disorder," containing suggestions as to "prevention, control and how to get help." It cited gay, lesbian and transsexual people, as well as tomboys, as examples of what the ministry calls a "disorder."

"Each work will be judged on originality, content, concept and creativity and quality production by a panel of judges appointed by the organizers," the website said, with the competition due to close at the end of August.

Participants in the competition can also make videos about sex and the internet, or sexual health, with the overall theme of the contest described as being "Value Yourself, Healthy Lifestyle Practice."

The Malaysian deputy director-general of health, Lokman Hakim Sulaiman, said the contest was to gather views and enhance knowledge among teens on healthy lifestyle practices.

"This creative video competition is purely to tap knowledge and creativity of adolescents on sexual and reproductive health related matters and does not intend to create discrimination to any particular group," he said in a statement to Reuters news agency.

Read: Asia: Downward trends in free expression

Growing intolerance?

Activists in Malaysia reacted with dismay, saying the move will increase fear among the country's LGBT community, which they said is already intimidated by increasing intolerance.

Nisha Ayub, Malaysia's most prominent LGBT activist, said authorities were fueling hatred and discrimination against the community with the competition.

"The ministry needs to revise this and think about their actions," she said.

Read: A woman's fight to embolden Malaysia's voiceless

Under Malaysian law, homosexuality is criminalized, and gay sex can carrying punishments of up to 20 years in prison, caning or a fine.

The country's negative attitude to homosexuality came to the international forefront in March when its film censorship board demanded that a "gay moment" be cut from the Disney hit movie "Beauty and the Beast."

Disney refused to cut anything from the film, and the censors eventually allowed it to be shown in the country with a "P13" rating, meaning that children under 13 needed adult accompaniment to be able to watch it.

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia An inhumane Muslim king? Justifying its tough stance, Malaysia's National Censorship Board (or LPF) said the film's plot "gave a bad image about Islam through the role played by a (Muslim) sultan." "He is portrayed as a Sultan who is arrogant, cruel, inhumane, devious with all kinds of trickery, unreliable and who does not fully practice Islamic teachings," the nation's home ministry said in a statement.

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia Beloved crowd-pleasers Bollywood films are popular in Malaysia, where ethnic Indians make up around seven percent of the country's 32 million people. The government's move means many Malaysians may not be able to watch Padmaavat. But it is not the first film to succumb to the censors' scissors, as authorities have often cracked down on foreign movies that they claim to offend religious or cultural sensitivities.

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia Schindler's List (1993) Other films that failed to make the cut or were subject to heavy editing by Malaysian censors included Schindler's List, for reflecting "the privilege and the virtues of a certain race only." The ban was overturned later and a DVD version was released after several violent and nude scenes were cut, to the disgust of director Steven Spielberg.

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia Babe (1995) The film was initially banned because the adventures of its porcine protagonist affected the sensibilities of Malaysia's Muslim-majority population, for whom pigs are taboo. Furthermore the word "babe" sounds very much like the Malay word for pig, which is "babi." It was later approved for DVD release.

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia Daredevil (2003) Besides deeming the film as "too violent," government representatives were quoted as saying that the film might encourage youngsters to "hero worship someone with a devil-sounding name."

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia Zoolander (2001) Depicting Malaysia as impoverished and dependent upon sweatshops, this film was deemed "definitely unsuitable" by the censorship board. The film's plot, which also saw Ben Stiller's character, Derek Zoolander, being persuaded to assassinate the Malaysian prime minister, didn't sit well with the board either.

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia Bruce Almighty (2003) The film was banned following protests for featuring a human being (Morgan Freeman) as God, which is prohibited in Islam. It was eventually approved for DVD circulation. Its 2007 sequel "Evan Almighty" also courted controversy as it took a comic view of the biblical great flood and the Prophet Noah.

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia The Passion of the Christ (2004) Initially banned because of "religious sensitivities," another justification for censorship was that the film depicted prophets on-screen who are also mentioned in the Quran. It was later allowed to be released on DVD and was specifically labeled, "for Christian audiences only and private viewing."

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Sex, drugs and 506 mentions of the F-word, doesn't really make this a surprising ban candidate. It was produced by Red Granite Pictures, an American film finance and production company co-founded and chaired by Riza Aziz, stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. The company is now the subject of probes into the 1MDB scandal.

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia Noah (2014) "It is un-Islamic for anyone to act out any portrayal of a prophet. If it is an issue to draw pictures of a prophet, why is a movie different? Of course this is prohibited, it is prohibited in Islam," the head of the LPF was reported to have said. Similar grounds were cited for the banning of Dreamworks' first animated musical, "The Prince of Egypt," in 1998.

'Padmaavat' joins list of banned films in Malaysia The Danish Girl (2015) While no official reason was cited in Malaysia for the banning of a film covering a gender reassignment operation, the decision was similar to those in other Muslim-majority countries like Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, where the story's "depravity" caused much protest. Author: Brenda Haas



tj/sms (AFP, Reuters)