Indonesian exec: Gays, lesbians not welcome in universities

Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community should be barred from Indonesian university campuses, a minister has argued.

“There are standards of values and morals to uphold. A university is a moral safeguard,” Indonesia’s Technology, Research and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir said on Sunday as quoted by Antara news agency.

According to Nasir, the LGBT community corrupts the morals of the nation, while a university should be able to uphold moral values and the values of the ancestors of Indonesia.

He was commenting on an organization at the University of Indonesia (UI) named the Support Group and Resource Center on Sexuality Studies (SGRC), which offers counseling for LGBT students.

Nasir said he had contacted the rector of UI to clarify the situation and was informed that the SGRC group had no official permit to exist as an entity under the banner of UI.

Recently, pamphlets distributed by LGBT groups around the campus sparked outrage from some students, who accused the university of letting the seeds of LGBT grow unchecked.

The situation also invited criticism from the government, with legislator and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Nasir Djamil stating that the LGBT community was a serious threat to the nation.

“The LGBT community should not be allowed to grow or be given room to conduct its activities. Even more serious is those LGBT members who go into universities with scientific studies, or hold discussion groups,” he said.

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