Malaysia‘s tourism minister has claimed there are no gay people in the southeast Asian country.

Mohamaddin Ketapi was speaking to reporters ahead of the ITB Berlin tourism fair when he was asked whether homosexual people were welcome in his country.

“I don’t think we have anything like that in our country,” he replied, according to German newspaper Deutsche Welle.

He had previously sidestepped a question on whether the country was safe for Jewish and LGBT+ visitors.

An aide later told news site Malaysiakini the minister’s statement was his own personal views, but said it was in line with the Malaysian government’s official policy, which does not recognise the LGBT+ community.

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However, the anonymous aide added: ”Tourists coming to Malaysia like any other country are welcome regardless of their creed, sexuality, religion or colour.”

Mr Ketapi later tweeted to say his response referred to the lack of LGBT+-specific tourist campaigns in the country.

His comments were denounced by the deputy president of the opposition Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Mah Hang Soon, who said they had made Malaysia a laughing stock.

“He was asked by a reporter if Malaysia is safe for homosexuals. All he needed to say was that Malaysia is a safe country and every tourist is safe here,” he said, according to The Star.

He added: ”Malaysia does not ask or care about the sexual orientation of tourists. He just needed to say every tourist must respect the laws and cultural sensitivities of their host countries and it ends there.”

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Homosexual sex is illegal in the Muslim-majority country under a British Empire colonial era law.

In September, Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said his country cannot accept gay marriage.